To some it might seem like a dream come true. Balancing that checkbook every month is a task better left to someone else, someone like a personal assistant or your accountant. The problem is that anyone who has enough money to hire a personal assistant does not need to worry about money, or just does not care if the checkbook balances.

For the rest of us, life is like it was for the character in the daily comic strip. The young, professional woman announces she is tired of not being able to balance her checking account, then goes out and buys a money management software package. She installs the software and crows, "Never again will I have to wonder what my balance is." She starts the program and a screen appears, "Step 1: Enter your checking account balance."

Reality

What makes the comic strip so humorous is that it is accurate. That is exactly the first question that has to be answered to get started with most financial planning software. The good part is that once the programs are set up and running, they can do almost everything from "soup to nuts" to manage a person's financial life.

Perhaps the two most popular features of these packages are budgeting and checking account balancing. All of the basic financial planning software packages offer these features and a shopper can expect to pay as little as $10 for COSMI's Balance My Checkbook to as much as $60 for the latest version of Quicken Deluxe.

Pricy Features

Of course, you get what you pay for and a simple program with a simple name, such as Balance My Checkbook or the $20 My Budget Planner, will do little else while Quicken or Microsoft Money will do that, maintain your investment portfolio, and keep track of mortgage depreciation schedules. The simpler packages also may lack compatibility with various banking and financial planning web sites offered by the more comprehensive programs.

Generally, most people do not use all the fancy features offered by any software package and that also is true of financial planning software. Most everyone would like to see their checkbook balanced, and many people will warm up to the idea of being able to print checks on their computer or automatically paying their bills online – another compatibility feature that might be limited with the less expensive packages. The key is to read the product descriptions and purchase the one that speaks to your individual needs.