Copyright 2007, 2008 Claire J Rottenberg

Are you like me, always trying to keep track of every penny you own and spend? Or are you someone who never knows where your money goes? In either case, or if you're somewhere in between the two extremes, there are plenty of tools available, including free ones, to help you manage your money with Mac OS X (Leopard and Tiger).

Spreadsheets

One of the simplest ways to keep track of your money is with a spreadsheet. You can have separate worksheets for each of your accounts, your income and expenses, and your budget. Spreadsheet programs let you record data and then use formulas, ranging from simple sums to complex accounting formulas, to calculate additions, deductions, averages, totals, and more. For example, you can have a worksheet for your checking account that computes your account balance every time you write a check or make a deposit. Once you understand how a spreadsheet works, it's quite easy to use one.

The most popular spreadsheet is the commercial (and expensive) Excel, but there are free or low-cost alternatives. If you have an older Mac, you probably also have AppleWorks, the original Apple office suite that includes a basic spreadsheet program. A more powerful, free alternative is the Calc program packaged with NeoOffice. Or, if you own Apple's low-cost office suite, iWorks '08, you can use Numbers.

Personal Finance Programs

A second popular way to keep track of your expenses is with a personal finance program. This type of program lets you store all your financial data in one place. Most of the programs include common features, such as account creation and management, categories for income and expenses and reports of net income. More advanced programs may also include features that support budgets, printing, multiple currencies, and online transactions.

The commercial program, Quicken, is probably the most popular program in this category, and some of you may own it. Several years ago, it was included with the free programs packaged with home market Mac computers (primarily iMacs and iBooks). There are also some shareware and freeware options you can find through MacUpdate.

Tax Preparation Software

A final type of software program that can help you is tax preparation software. These programs help you complete most US tax forms and prepare your final tax statements for the IRS. Most of the commercial packages, like TurboTax, are for US residents only, but Mac OS X 10.5 has one free option that can help people in other countries also complete tax forms. If you can download tax forms in PDF format, you can use the Preview application to complete, print and save the final forms.

Managing your finances with Mac OS X 10.5 doesn't have to be difficult or cost you any money. Download NeoOffice and a free personal finance program and soon you'll know how much money you have and where it goes when it seems to disappear.

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