Microsoft Money Plus Sunset

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In today’s Windows Secrets Fred Langa column, Fred says he can’t recommend Microsoft Money Plus Sunset because of its age and limitations. But he also makes a statement about it that just isn’t true. “It might work fine for some users, but it’s still obsolete, unsupported software. It also lacks some functions included in the original. For example, the Sunset edition offers thin help information, limited import/export abilities, and no online services.” (emphasis mine)

I use Money on an almost daily basis to update my checkbook by connecting online to my financial institution and downloading my latest account information directly into Money. The connection is secure (https) and links up through IE 11. Money does everything I want it to do, and does it securely through MS’s latest browser. For me, there’s no need to look any further. YMMV.

>>>edit: I no longer use IE, but I can still download the .ofx file from my financial institution to my desktop, double-click it, and Money will open and import it.  I use it almost every day, and it’s still working great.<<<

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

1 user thanked author for this post.

Pepsiboy

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@bbearren: I also still use Money (since 1994!!), but accept that it is unsupported. I still download data from my bank securely, etc. In fact, here in South Africa, we have no choice but to use Money, because the latest versions of Quicken cannot connect to our banking system.

My Rig: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core CPU; ASUS Cross Hair VIII Formula Mobo; Win 11 Pro (64 bit)-(UEFI-booted); 32GB RAM; 2TB Corsair Force Series MP600 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD. 1TB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 NVME SSD; MSI GeForce RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC; Microsoft 365 Home; Condusiv SSDKeeper Professional; Acronis Cyberprotect, VMWare Workstation Pro V17.5. HP 1TB USB SSD External Backup Drive). Dell G-Sync G3223Q 144Hz Monitor.

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Guys, Microsoft Money Sunset Plus is alive and well even though its not supported.

There has been some serious work done by an ex Microsoft employee (the guy who wrote the Portfolio Manager) that allows the stock prices to be updated. I can vouch for it working here in Australia. You can download it for free (60 runs) from ‘gaiersoftware.com’. He is thinking of asking $10 US to cover his time.

Here is a link to the latest post. Its well worth a look.

http://microsoftmoneyoffline.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/restoring-microsoft-money-quote-updates/comment-page-1/#comment-4719

Cheers

Chris

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Chaps,

I don’t know if you have this issue with Money, but I’ve found that some of my banks provide their downloaded QIF files in slightly different format.

If you edit the downloaded file and the comment line is prefixed with a ‘P’ rather than a ‘M’ then Money bombs out when you try to import it.

As I say, some banks are okay, but some are not and I’m not sure why. There must have been a version change in Quicken at some stage but I don’t really know.

I’m in the habit now of opening up every downloaded QIF file with Notepad++ and running a macro to change the ‘P’ to a ‘M’ before I import them. My macro changes every ‘P’ so some of my comments read a bit strange but as I set Money to ignore them it doesn’t really matter. Its the amount and dates that are important for me to reconcile and not having Money bomb out is vital.

Let me know if there is a better way of handling these downloaded statements. My method is a bit clunky, but works.

Here is what I mean…..

This wont work

!Type:Bank
D16/04/2014
T3.68
PDirect Credit M2 DIVIDEND
^
D11/04/2014
T-153.53
PInternet BPay to ORIGIN ENERGY – Biller Code
^
D10/04/2014
T94.70
PDirect Credit AMP LIMITED
^

After I have run my macro to change all ‘P’s to ‘M’s

!Type:Bank
D16/04/2014
T3.68
MDirect Credit M2 DIVIDEND
^
D11/04/2014
T-153.53
MInternet BMay to ORIGIN ENERGY – Biller Code
^
D10/04/2014
T94.70
MDirect Credit AMM LIMITED
^

Cheers

Chrisso

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My bank offers downloads as CSV (comma separated values) or OFX (open financial exchange), and Money Plus Sunset accepts OFX without any difficulty. Since I only use it for reconciling my checkbook and savings account, it does everything I need.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Thanks for the response bbearren,

Yeah my bank(s) offer those file formats too as well as QIF files.

I prefer to use QIF files to reconcile all my accounts so it was a bit unnerving when I struck problems (and its only with some banks too). I just thought that I would share my experiences and hope it may help someone else.

Money is great but I know the tide is receding on it, so its up to us poor users to keep the faith for as long as we can.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Cheers

Chrisso

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Chaps,

Just to let you know that Gaier Software have now released their first version of their MS Money stock pricing program.

Is available for download (30 free runs) or purchase $9.99 US

http://gaiersoftware.com/Money

I can vouch that it works and is safe to download.

Cheers

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Chaps,

Dan (from Gaier Software) is looking at amending his program to include a CVS file upload so that UK pricing can be included.

I think he is looking for some people to help him with his testing if you are interested in supporting him.

Here is the link……

http://microsoftmoneyoffline.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/ms-money-quotes/

Cheers

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Hi @petesmst  @wschrisso

As a Saffer in  Aus , I hope you guys can offer some ideas to get my MS Money 2000 (version 8.0) moved to my new schmicko Windows 11  Home (64-bit ARM) PC.

Having run Money 2000 since 1999, in 2015 I downloaded the ISO file from a reputable source to my then new Surface Pro 3  running Windows 10, where Money has run like a dream for 9 years. Microsoft’s inability to upgrade their own operating system  on their own  hardware for over 2 years has finally forced  me to give Surfac e the flick and opted for a Lenovo S7 – run ning… Windows 11… which now reports the following error  when I run setup.exe extracted from the ISO file  (and sub sequently more recently downloaded ISO files):

“Error launching D:\money\setup.exe
<OK>
The Microsoft Money 2000 setup failed. Please try re-running the Installation Wizard”

I was put off downloading Money Plus Sunset by  number of sites (MS included) stating that “<i>Money Plus Sunset cannot import data files from non-US editions of Money”  – </i>which, being based in AUS, would make Sunset as useful to me as an ashtray on a motorcycle!

Soooo….

1. does Sunset load data files from the International version?
2. If not, what’s  Plan B – download the Money 2005 ISO, the last International edition, and hope a) it installs on  Windows 11 and b) reads the Money 2000 file?

So gatvol of Microsoft  ATM but can’t live with them and can’t live without them!

Appreciate  any suggestions, opinions  most appreciated.

Cheers.

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Mike,

Sunset Ed. does NOT download from any source. That’s the one feature the took out when they made the Sunset Ed. available.

I’ve always inputted my own data, don’t like messing with different download formats and exposing my records to the vagaries of downloads, and it works just great for me.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Thanks RG. Guess that confirms that MS have in fact offered me that ashtray for my motorcycle!  And that the geek in us never quite retires! Appreciate your response – stay well and be greeted

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I am going to guess that Money Sunset is not compatible with Windows on ARM. I am running Win11 on ARM and not all (older) programs run on it.

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Thanks PK. My guess is that your guess is a) better than mine and b) correct. Time to prise Money 2000 from my cold dead Windows 10 hand and finally make the long-threatened leap to GoodBudget!

Appreciate your response, stay well

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PKCano wrote:

I am going to guess that Money Sunset is not compatible with Windows on ARM.

Not sure if it applies to an ARM PC running Windows 11, but there are quite a few posts out there that indicate ARM based Mac PC’s are able to run versions of MS Money, even the Sunset edition, using the Parallels Desktop VM for Windows 11.

Of course he’d need to get MS Money 2005 installed/working to solve the problem of being able to export/import his existing non-US Money data.

BTW, other that the fact none of the “on-line” stuff works because it needs Internet Explorer 6, I’m still using MS Money 98 on my Windows 10 Pro 22H2 without problems.

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That’s the way I am running Win11 on ARM. In a Parallels VM on a Mac with Apple Silicon. Parallels handles some of the cross platform, especially the hardware, differences.
Not sure it will run on a PC running ARM natively.

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bbearren,

I have been using MS Money since I first discovered it in 1995. It is easy to learn and use. I’m currently using MS Money 2010 on my Win 7 machine. Still no problems with it.I like the ability to balance my checkbook in about 15 minutes compared to SEVERAL hours doing it by hand. Also like the ability to make entries the way I want to make them, not some locked in format the way THEY want them made.

I have tried several other checkbook programs, BUT they just didn’t work the way I wanted them to work. Most of them were DIFFICULT (to say the least) to use, and very confusing.

For as long as I’ll be around, it will be MS Money for me.

Dave

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@ Pepsiboy /Dave,  Good on you for your commitment  to and satisfaction with what is a truly remakabIe  value-for-money (excuse the pun!) application. I too have used it for over 25 years and don’t really  feel any urge to jump the Money ship. However, I’ve  had the devil’s own job getting my Money2000 “International”  Version 8.0 data from a Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) machine onto a Lenovo S7 Windows 11 Home (64-bit ARM) PC.

The setup.exe fails.

I’ve since managed to install  2004 Money Deluxe Version 140.0.120.1105  on the Windows 11 PC (hooray!) That read the Money2000 v8.0 data file (phew, relief!) – but discarded the neat functionality I’d used to issue (and manage payment of) simple tax invoices for some casual consulting: “<i>The information entered in the <b>Business area will unfortunately be unavailable </b>in this version of Money” </i>.  Ah boo!

But at least that was better than painfully exporting the 42 accounts that have been active over the 25 years…. one at a time…. then importing each into the Windows 11 PC….one at a time, entering the account title and type….. only to discover that you CANNOT EXPORT LOAN ACCOUNTS !!!!

Thanks again too to @RetiredGeek, @PKCano for your repsonses yesterday.
I ‘m back in the MS Money saddle again, having made the momentous leap to Money2004 … on 64-bit ARM … lookit me go!!!

Cheers  for now and stay well all,

Mike.

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Thanks for the info. I have been using MS money on XL for church.  with about 20 checks in a year and “other” is used for all subjects I want to keep track.  I am turning the job to an younger fellow and he asked about a spread sheet. Thus the files may stop with me and he will start new.

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