What do I actually do with quicken?

ZRXRACER

I signed up a few weeks ago after looking at similar apps. I am trying to get a better grip on my day to day finances. On, the surface, the iphone app and laptop version look cool with all sorts of charts and graphs. It is nice to see all my accounts in one place. So far thats all I am doing with it and it seems silly to have a subscription to something just to show my account balances. But what do I do with the program? Say for instance, I want to make a plan to pay off debt. How do I get started on something like that?

RobWilk

What's useful for me: Setting up recurring payments and seeing balance (with cash flow chart) into the future. Then you can set up recurring debt payments (say on statement date or due date) and forecast up to 12 months ahead where you can see the balances coming down on the debt, while at the same time making sure balance doesn't go too low in checking in the future.

Sadly, the app does not track APRs yet (there are requests for that), so it cannot forecast interest on credit cards/oans.

-Rob

ZRXRACER

So I can make payments using quicken? I had no idea you could do that.

RobWilk

More like reminders.

Recently, it got the ability to make transfers, but not payments.

The reminders are plotted on the graph of cash flow, so you can see what the balances will be after paying those bills in the future. If you have a lot of debt, you can experiment to see what kind of payment fits into your budget.

And i schedule all my recurring bills, not just payments/transfers.

-Rob

RobWilk

Also the spending plan, presuming you entered your reminders (bills and income) can give you an idea (especially if you're spending on credit) if you're spending more than your monthly income. It helps guide you to spend less than your monthly income (which isn't 'always' possible, of course, as emergencies pop up).

-Rob

ZRXRACER

Thanks for your replies. I have not entered any reminders. I literally have no idea how to use the program at all and to be honest Iam a little overwhelmed by all the data.

RobWilk

I know they used to offer (and may still) coaching sessions on the phone for new members, they might be able to help you better than I can - I'm just another user, not support. But I'm managing my money much better with this app. (and I have a relatively small income, but went from $12k+ in debt a few years back to now around $6k in savings and no debt - it's not a lot, but having money in savings is important if, for example, i'm going to need 2 months rernt in an emergency).

You don't have to figure it all out in one day, at some point, the app may seem (as it does to me now) very simple but useful. The first few days with this kind of app can be a bit much.

Of course, if you're worried about the return period to get your money back, I think the rule used to be 30 days (not sure if that's still true). You'd have to talk to actual support for that, though, I couldn't do anything as another user.

KP_9

Hi @ZRXRACER, welcome and glad to have you among us Simplifi users. I'll share a couple features of Simplifi that might help get you started if it's your first time using a personal finance software like this:

1. Spending by Category Report: With your stated goal of using Simplifi to "get a better grip on… day to day finances," this could be a great starting point. In the Transactions section, you'll notice that each transaction gets assigned a category (which you can adjust/customize). The auto-recognition of categories is pretty good but not perfect, so you'll want to review your latest transactions occasionally and update any whose categories need manual reassigning. You can then review how much you're truly spending with the Spending Report, drilling into different categories over different time periods. This can be both eye-opening and sobering to review for the first time - you'll be squaring with exactly how much you're really spending in different areas. Acknowledging it is the first step toward making positive changes that will help you achieve your goals and feel better about your finances. I like to review mine each month and have an honest conversation with myself about whether I'm comfortable with what was spent or if I need to be more disciplined in a certain area next month (*cough… Dining Out 😊).
2. Net Worth Report: This is simple but very powerful chart that provides positive reinforcement for both paying down debt and building up savings. Because it shows the combined sum of all your assets and debts, anytime you make a payment to reduce debt, it shows up as a positive bump on your net worth chart. For me, watching the net worth chart trend positively over the years has been both motivating and reinforcing of good habits; for example, seeing each student loan payment show up as a positive move on the net worth chart motivated me to pay down my student debt much more rapidly than I was before (it no longer just felt like tossing money into the debt black hole each month - each payment now showed up as moving me toward, and eventually into, the green)!
3. Savings Goals: Creating custom Savings Goals is how I like to stay organized and plan ahead for upcoming expenses. For example, if I know I'm going to have my annual car insurance premium coming due in 8 months, I'll create a "2025 Car Insurance" Goal for that total amount with a completion date of the month before the payment is due. Simplifi will then calculate how much I need to "contribute" each month to make sure I have enough money set aside by the date I set. These "contributions" don't actually touch the underlying money in your account, just functions as a virtual overlayed bucket to reflect that amount is "reserved" for this specific purpose. I use Savings Goals for everything from big goals years down the line (saving for a roof or car replacement) or a small goal next month (buying that gadget or going on that weekend getaway). Using these Goals to always make sure you have enough set aside for your upcoming expenses is a great way to avoid an unexpected (or worse, expected) expense dragging you down into a credit card debt hole that's hard to dig out from.
   1. Consider making your first Savings Goal "Emergency Fund" - if you've already got one, you can fund the Savings Goal fully right away, which feels great! And if not, this functionality is a great way to help you start saving more toward one.
4. Spending Plan: Many people use this feature to create and stick to a monthly budget. The Spending Plan allows you to set how much you want to budget for a certain category each month. For example, you could have a $600 Groceries budget, $200 for Dining Out, $100 for Shopping, etc. Simplifi then tracks your spending toward each category budget so you can hold yourself accountable - are you trending to be over or under budget for this month in each category? I find myself making spending adjustments mid-month based on whether I'm on track to exceed my budget, especially in discretionary spending areas like Dining Out/Shopping. The "Rollover" feature can also help smooth out big expenses over time. For example, if this month I spend $150 on Shopping (far over my $100 Spending Plan budget) but have rollover turned on, next month it'll show that extra $50 I spent as already consuming half of next month's $100 budget. Whatever you overspent last month already using up some of this month's budget is a helpful way to limit unnecessary spending.

There isn't one right way to use Simplifi - everyone has their own strategy, so see what fits best for you. Spend some time in the how-to documentation to learn what you could do with each feature and then try some out until you dial in on the ones you find most useful.

Hope this helps and you enjoy using it! — KP_9

ZRXRACER

I am spending some time looking around the app and making corrections on some things. My mortgage doesnt appear in any spending reports. Its in the transactions but it doesnt seem to be factored in anywhere. Its my biggest expense so how do I get that into the reports and such?

RobWilk

"Spending" in the mortgage, would be "buying the house", monthly payments are TRANSFERS (payments should be a transfer subcategory where the subcategory is the name of the account it's paid to/from).

When you set up a transfer, you have the option to UN-EXCLUDE one side of the transfer (either money in or money out). In this case, you could UN-EXCLUDE money-out and the transfer would be deducted from the transfers section under Income after bills and transfers in the spending plan.

Transfers, by default, are not considered "spending". i.e. If you bought $100 item with a credit card, that is spending, but if you also in the same month pay $100 to that credit card, you didn't really spend $200 so only the spending is counted, not the payment.

If you want more clarity on this, ask, I can try to explain better. I've got a neurologist appointment i have to leave for soon, so I'm being reasonably quick.