Consider Using Personal Finance Software to Keep Track of Your Money and Taxes

One of the quickest and easiest ways to simplify and summarize your finances is to use personal finance software like Intuit's Quicken or Microsoft's Money.

To get a good read on where you are financially, you need to check out your bank statement, pay stub, investment statements, loan agreements, tax forms and so on. These programs, which cost about $60, can neatly consolidate your finances by offering the following:

• Categorized expenses: Each of your expenses is labeled, giving you the chance to see where you're spending money, i.e., is your phone bill much higher than usual or are you spending more than you realized on new clothes or nights out?
• Seamless online banking: If you bank online, you can download each month's statement and automatically balance your checkbook.
• Portfolio analysis: Once you input what funds, stocks or bonds you own, these programs can help you estimate where your money is invested and what kind of returns and risk you should expect.
• Planning tools: If you're saving for a goal, you can get a look at how much you'll have to save or invest on a monthly basis to get there.
• Tax forecasting: During the year you can get a sense of what your tax bill might be and links with tax-preparation software like Quicken's TurboTax or H&R Block's TaxCut.

Of course, if you're a technophobe or just aren't interested in tracking this stuff regularly, you should probably save yourself the $60 and skip these software packages. Otherwise, head to www.quicken.com or www.microsoft.com to see what they have to offer. It's also a good idea to check out sites like ZDNet and CNet, too, just to see what the pros think of each program and the others out there.

10 Things You Should Do Before You Invest

• Figure out what you're worth.
• Set your goals and figure out how much they cost.
• Spend less than you make.
• Build an emergency savings fund.
• Pay off your credit card debt.
• Insure yourself against the unexpected.
• Contribute to tax-deferred retirement plans like 401(k)s and IRAs.
• Consider using software to keep track of your money and help with your taxes.
• Be your bank's thriftiest customer.
• Check out your credit report.