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General discussion

What S/W for personal address list and expenses

Jan 3, 2008 5:29AM PST

I have 2 needs for a "database".
1. I want an address list for names, addresses, phone #'s, birthdays, comments, etc. I also wish to use this list to create mailing labels for Christmas cards and such.
2. I want to track our family expenses; i.e., checks, credit & debit cards payments, etc. I want to categorize the individual expenses such as "Medical", "Charitible Contributions", "Insurance", "Tax Payment", etc. At tax time I would need to be able to filter and sort the data.

What s/w do you recommend for these rather simple needs? Would the Microsoft Works database do it OK? What about using a spreadsheet such as the Microsoft Works spreadsheet. If I did use a spreadsheet, what do I do to keep the cells on an individual row together. By that I mean how do I keep from getting the data all jumbled up if I accidentally did a sort and the cursor was in the wrong place. Yikes!
So, what s/w do you folks suggest I get?
Thanks,
Glenn

Discussion is locked

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Re: database
Jan 3, 2008 7:24AM PST

Glenn,

For #1 you could use a table in any program that supports tables, even a Word processor (although that has rather limited page width).

For #2 it's nice if you can do calculations or reporting.

I don't know the MS Works database, but it seems easier and safer than a spreadsheet indeed.

Did you consider dedicated application software like Quicken for #2? Such software often has a way to integrate with bank or creditcard companies to read their statements automatically and to help you fill in your tax forms or manage equities.
And I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of address-programs also.

The basic tasks, however, surely are in the reach of the capable DIY person. I'd start with #1 because it's the most simple (or, maybe, least difficult).


Kees

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Ahh, who else misses DTO2K?
Feb 1, 2008 1:18PM PST

DayTimer Organizer 2000 is a sorely-missed organizer that handled contact and calendar information more efficiently and easily than anything before or since. You can, of course, use Outlook for all of your contact management - I've had to do so, just make sure that you tell Outlook that you want to work offline, then the contact management portion is reasonably easy and quite powerful. Otherwise it will beat you to death with email prompts and questions. Still, ... I miss DTO2K.
We can hope that when Open Office replicates Outlook it will get a little better.
For your finances? Quicken. No question. Easy, friendly, will do everything you want because that's exactly what it was designed for. Make sure to avoid Microsoft Money - it's a beast.

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DTO2K
Feb 17, 2010 12:30AM PST

I have so loved DTO2K that I'm still using it. I'm wrestling with trying to get it to syn with my Palm from my new Windows 7 64-bit computer, but otherwise it's still running fine.

I've looked into replacements, but nothing works like I do besides DTO. I may still need to upgrade to something else, but it will be with a heavy heart.