Last night I was poking around in the Applications folder on the iMac and discovered, much to my astonishment, that I own a copy of Quicken. It’s the 2002 version, which neatly coincides with the age of the machine, making me think that it was an extra included when the machine was originally purchased four years ago. Somehow it has remained, lurking, in the Applications folder all this time without my noticing it.
Wanting to keep better track of my spending and funds I decided to give it a try. Within a few minutes I had accounts setup for my checking and savings accounts, and had imported the QIF file downloads from the credit union. I’ve been in the bad habit of not tracking receipts and expenses for some time now, using this will require that I start poking “yes” at the gas pump instead of “no” when it offers to print a receipt.
This morning I sat down and wrote out checks for a couple of monthly bills so I could mail them on my way to work. I entered them in to the register immediately. I understand that it takes three weeks to develop a new habit and make it part of your routine. One day down, twenty to go.