How does Quicken work? what's the point of using it?

Question

Just got quicken as I want to undertand where my money is going, I just want to understand the basics: is the point of reconciling simply to make sure that your bank isn't cheating you? it seems like a time consuming paranoid task, my bank provides a statement which clearly indicates all my transactions, what's the point of spending hours making sure that they've done it correctly? Or is there more to it?

Answer 1

Reconciling your statement, whether banking or credit card, allows you to confirm that the transactions you think you made match up w/ what the bank has recorded for you.

On the checking side of things, you keep your own ledger of what checks you've written so you don't overdraw.

On the CC side, you want to make sure there are no unauthorized charges against you, as well as make sure payments are getting there and being credited.

At that level, Quicken helps simplify the task by providing the ledger for you to enter your transactions. When your statement arrives, you can reconcile your ledger easily, cutting down the time spent on the activity.

You won't feel it's a paranoid activity after you've had your ID ripped off and someone runs up charges on your account.

Answer 2

To pay your taxes on time and right.