I AM definitely not good at budgeting, money management, fiscal organization — call it what you want, I’m not good at it. Obviously, I am not alone in this because there are a great number of programs for the T/S1000,ZX81 designed to help me organize my money, books, records, coupons and just about anything else you can name.
For this Focus I review and compare four programs specifically designed to help me manage my money; one to set my home files straight (birthdays, recipes, phone numbers, and so on) and one full 16K program just for all those bonus coupons that accumulate. Every program was worth the money — each did what it said it would do, and did it well. There were a few minor problems, none serious and none that prevented me from enjoying the programs. And I didn’t have to be a bookkeeper to use any of them!
Checkbook, Tax and Budget Organizer (ZX-Panding Ltd.)
THIS program is ideal for managing your bank account and checkbook. Checks can be listed, recalled and totalled by number, name or ledger entry. Then ten jobs that this program performs are all accessed from a menu that is displayed by pressing GOTO 50 after LOADing. You can store more than 100 transactions with a 16K RAM and up to 1,000 with a 64K RAM. To keep your files up to date simply save one month at a time. There are 12 pre-set headings from business expenses to miscellaneous. You can use these or make up your own.
Loading: 4 1/2-min., no problems Self-starting: No Opening screen: none Documentation: clear 4-pg. booklet Preset categories?: no Packaging (1-10): 6 Main area of use: checkbook balancing Problems?: no clear instruction on how to get going after LOADing Suggested correction: make the program self-starting Best feature: excellent save frame — lets you return to the menu in case of error Service card #: 22
Home Budget (Orbyte Software)
IF you want to organize your spending habits this is the program for you. It starts with 39 pre-set categories that cover everything we can think of. If you wish to change any of those categories, that option is open also. You have a choice of going through the categories one at a time or choosing the specific one you want to analyze or add or delete information from. After you have entered your budget you enter your actual expenses. The program then analyzes the two sets of data for you and will display that analysis as a graph or a set of compared figures. This program does the job it sets out to do and does it well to boot!
Loading: 6 1/2-min., no problems Self-starting: Yes Opening screen: 4-item menu ready to start Documentation: inadequate Preset categories?: yes/39 Packaging (1-10): 6 Main area of use: budget planning Problems?: no clear instructions on saving the tape Suggested correction: put some information on the screen before going into the SAVE mode Best feature: graphs a comparison of acutal and planned budget Service card #: 23
The Financial Manager and Record Keeper (Softsync, Inc.)
HERE is a program that is well set up for you to keep track of your expenses and income. Further, it will tell you what per cent of your income each expense constitutes and it does this on a monthly and yearly basis. Then, if you want, you can have all your information presented by category or by month. When the program begins, you set up a starting date which is useful for filing your data for future reference. The SAVE instructions were particularly well set out allowing you to SAVE your new data (press R) or clear the data (press C) or return to the menu (press P). A well designed program!
Loading: 5 1/2-min., no problems Self-starting: Yes Opening screen: clear, simple, well laid out Documentation: inadequate Preset categories?: yes/19 Packaging (1-10): 6 Main area of use: budget planning Problems?: couldn't get out of option 4 unless I made some changes — what if I didn't want to? Suggested correction: allow an exit option for each menu choice Best feature: gives 19 good categories all set up — lets you start the program very quickly Service card #: 24
The Fast One (Mindware)
THIS program is ideal for setting up lists of information. You could file phone numbers, records, recipes, addresses, credit cards or any other set of material that is listable. It was written for a business to keep track of mailing lists, catalogs, inventories, client records and other business data. It is as advertised, a “computerized filing cabinet”. It is extremely well-documented and quite easy to use. The program features the Quickload system which puts this 16K program into the computer in under two minutes. This program is excellent for filing and retrieving lists of information.
Loading: 2 min., no problems Self-starting: Yes Opening screen: 10 instruction codes and their meaning — easy to start Documentation: excellent Preset categories?: yes/n.a. Packaging (1-10): 6 Main area of use: lists Problems?: not specific to household use Suggested correction: put a section in the guide that explains how to adapt it to home Best feature: excellent documentation Service card #: 25
Home Money Manager
THIS home budgeting system allows you to input 14 of your own categories, 11 expense items and three income items. You can keep track of your budget on a monthly basis, then do a month by month or full year balance sheet. The program is well documented and easy to use. As with the others, no special computer or bookkeeping knowledge is needed. The seven option menu is well-presented, making each section of the program readily available. The categories are changeable and each can be accessed individually. A well set up screen for each section makes this program easy and enjoyable to use.
Loading: 5 1/2-min., no problems Self-starting: Yes Opening screen: starts at menu, clear instructions Documentation: good Preset categories?: no Packaging (1-10): 8 Main area of use: budget planning Problems?: quit to menu message not given often enough — I forget! Suggested correction: print the options open to user on the screen when needed Best feature: before you can clear a month's or year's entries, the machine checks with you Service card #: 26
The Coupon Manager (Timex Computers)
THE Coupon Manager program lets you store and retrieve store coupons. We all have dozens of these discount coupons everywhere in our wallets, homes, purses and cars. Now you can file them. This program gives you 18 different categories for your file system. It keeps track of when coupons become outdated and which store honors them. You can list the coupons by store, category or date. Now, as Timex says, when you’re ready to go out on a shopping spree you can flip through your file of coupons and pick out the ones you want. It is easy to use and well designed. It keeps good track of your coupons — but it’s up to you to remember where you left them.
Loading: 6 min., loaded on second try Self-starting: Yes Opening screen: 18 coupon categories — we didn't know there were so many Documentation: good Preset categories?: yes Packaging (1-10): 7 Main area of use: coupon organization Problems?: too many inputs needed for simple changes Suggested correction: simplifying the program a bit Best feature: recalls your coupons Service card #: 27