Recently I needed to rearrange some stuff at the office and part of that included moving our install of Quickbooks to a new machine. I purchased the new version online for download, install and moving over the data files went easy enough. The first sign of trouble was registration. I filled in the form online (how many employees, yada, yada) and kept going, then I get to a point where they want me to call in to 'complete' the registration process. Normally I click cancel rapidly at this point, but as we use their payroll service I figured I would have to do it one way or the other, so I called. On hold for a couple minutes, then I get a phone rep that starts asking me exactly the same questions I had answered online 10 minutes earlier. Getting impatient, I declined to answer any more, leaving the phone rep....confused. All I was waiting on was an activation code which for some reason required many minutes to generate. He then tried to get me to answer more questions, no way! Finally I got the code and ended the call. Not a great start, but my own fault for calling.

Everything else worked, but the point where I decided I liked the 2007 version better than 2009 was when it was time to download transactions. I download transactions from the bank and our main credit card, then match up and/or enter as needed, and it's a important part of my week to get it done, and hopefully done quickly. The process wasn't perfect before, but usable. The new version kicks you into a big modal dialog, so if you need to research something you have to close out, find/fix, then go back to processing downloads. Terrible work flow. I guess I'm stuck with it, hoping I can figure out a way to smooth it out - but I shouldn't have to!

I've been a Quicken user forever, and it's ease of use has spoiled me, I swear QB makes things harder than they need to be. Have to wonder if the two teams ever talk.

My friend Wes Dumey does a lot of work in the business intelligence sector as a contract employee and has a post worth reading called The Great Debate - Employee vs. Consulting. I don't agree with all of his points, but it's an interesting conversation to have. I do agree that too many of us seem overly focused on benefits, rather than just looking at the dollar value of the benefits and adjusting the wage accordingly. For example, I pay about $6k a year for health insurance for my family. It doesn't matter if I make $100k and get free insurance, or make $106k and pay my own, I net the same (assuming benefits are comparable/reasonable). The challenge is that employers have to put everyone in the insurance pool to get the rate, and so as an employee you can't negotiate for that extra $6k easily (and the same for the 401k match). But as a contractor, all doors are open - you just have to understand your own costs, financial goals, market value, and then ask!

I don't want to comment much until Wes does part 2, but I'll finish with this; most of us prefer to be employees for three reasons:

• We don't like any level of uncertainty in our lives and are willing to trade some percentage of salary for stability - human!
• We like being part of a team - human!
• We were never taught to be entreprenuerial - human perhaps, but a bigger failing in the education/mentoring picture

Wes has posted Part 2 before I get could this posted, so I'll wait on his Part 3 to finish my thoughts.

First, the usual disclaimer: I'm not a financial professional, so take all of the following with a grain of salt and back it up with some good reading and/or professional advice.

I'm often surprised at the many different ways people look at money. Not my place to say that any of them is wrong either! Instead, what I'd thought I'd do is list a couple positions I take on money because it's part of our industry that we have relatively young people (18-25) making very good money and from what I've seen, most schools don't seem to teach practical financial skills.

• Rule #1 is to live within a budget. A budget should be based on what you earn, but that doesn't mean you spend it all. Ideally you're putting 10% into savings or a 401k. The key to a budget is it simplifies day to day life - can I afford to buy lunch today? If you have a significant other it also reduces the arguments about whether you needed/could afford that geek book/tool/new pair of shoes. Note too, if you struggle to stick to a paper budget, try a few months of the old fashioned technique of putting cash (the green stuff) into envelopes that map to your budget. No cash in envelope, no spend.
• I've relied on Quicken for a long time. Pick a similar product if you wish, but being in the IT industry I hope you appreciate the value of having a custom built application that reduces to a minimum the time you spend managing money. I upgrade every other or every 3rd year.
• Use cash/check card until you're living by your budget. Then..only then..should you move to credit cards. Credit cards are not evil if used well. My definition of used well is to charge everything I can and then pay the bill in full at the end of the month. I prefer Discover because their service has been good, you get a full 30 days to pay from the date the statement closes, and you get 1% cash back. In other words I use 1% for mastering a pattern of how I use my money. If you stick to your budget this is easy, but you can supplement it by downloading your transactions into Quicken and keeping a placeholder value in the register equivalent to your current monthly bill. In other words if your current balance is $999, you have an entry in the check register as if you wrote a check for $999. That's your safety net.
• Revolving credit is evil, but sometimes necessary for large purchases - furniture, car, things of that size. For all else, work on being disciplined enough to save the money first and then purchase it. If you have to carry a balance on a credit card go for the lowest rate you can find and keep a separate card just for that, don't put in on the card you use for your pay at the end of the month charges.
• Having money in the bank will reduce your stress level - an obvious statement I guess. Goal number one is to feel no pain if your check doesn't deposit on time/correctly. Goal number two is to be able to survive 30 days unemployment without tapping a credit line. Goal three is to have the option (not a good one mind you) to survive at close to current standard of living for 3-6 months unemployment using a combination of savings and credit.
• If your employer matches 401k contributions that should be your first choice to use your 10% savings budget. If they don't or you can save more than 10%, start an IRA. Most 401k's will let you borrow the money back in an emergency, IRA's don't. Think of your 401k as the worst worst case safety net.
• Investing is a tough nut to crack, but the easiest way is to put your money in a few different mutual funds. Do your homework first by looking at the loads (fees). Play the stock/bond market, day trade, etc, only if you are really willing to invest time into learning how it works and can afford to lose some money.
• Buying a home is good debt. Homes appreciate over time and as long as you do your research on price and get a home inspection, it's hard to lose. This is for the one you live in. Speculate by buying other homes if you wish, but it's just like the stock market - expect to learn some hard lessons!
• Spend some time learning about the credit scoring system and working to increase your score. Don't turn into a life long game, but a little work now could save you a lot of money over the course of a mortgage or two.

There's a lot more to learn, but maybe this will get someone thinking enough to go buy a financial book or two. Money doesn't equal happiness, but not having money doesn't guarantee it either. Learn enough about money to manage your daily life using a pattern, then the only time you need to seek knowledge is when you decide to go a step further - investing, home buying, retirement planning, etc.

Recently I signed up for the FlyClear program (www.flyclear.com), a registered traveler program. Over the past year I've been travelling more than usual and security in Orlando can range from a breeze to having a 1000 people queued, makes the timing a little uncertain and waiting in line isn't much fun. To enroll in clear you fill out an outline form and provide credit card information (about $125), then you go to the airport to provide copies of two of the eligible documents (drivers license, passport, birth certificate, a few others). They scan the documents, then scan your iris and finger prints. Enrollment probably takes 10 mins online, 10 mins at the airport. Then you wait for 3-4 weeks for the background check to be completed and your card sent.

Orlando is one of a handful of airports that have the Clear program, so it's mainly helping me on the flights out. Is it worth what I give up in privacy? They have a decent privacy policy, but I didn't give them any information that isn't reasonably available about me to the government anyway, having been finger printed and background checked as part of my military days. I'm assuming if someone really wanted to investigate me officially they would start with credit cards and that would take them to the airlines anyway. The bigger danger is that the Clear security is compromised, opening up identity theft or really worst case - inserting someone as an authorized traveler that hasn't really been checked.

I'm trading money for time/convenience, more on that philosphy soon! In Orlando you go to the Clear area, scan your card, scan a finger print or iris, and they walk you right up to the xray machine. On good days no real time savings, on bad days easily an hour, plus the stress reduction of not having to worry about missing a flight because you're stuck in line.