How to Create a Debt Reduction Planner in Quicken 2008

Quicken 2008, published by Intuit, is one of the most popular personal finance software programs. It offers consumers a comprehensive way to manage every aspect of their financial life. One of the key features of Quicken 2008 is the ability to create a debt-reduction plan.

Instructions

1

Check your installed Quicken program to see that you have entered all of your debt accounts. In order to do this, you will need to click on "Tools" and then "Account List." Alternately, you can hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and then press the A key. This will bring up a list of all of the accounts in Quicken 2008. Scroll down through the account list and verify that you have all of your debts listed. Once you have confirmed that the debts that are included in Quicken 2008 match the information in the list you have, you are ready to start the Debt Reduction Planner.

2

Click on "Planning" in the Quicken 2008 top menu and then select "Debt Reduction Planner." The Debt Reduction start screen will pop up. Read the introduction information and click on "Next."

3

Quicken 2008 will automatically add all of your debt accounts from your Account List into the debt reduction planner. If you would like to exclude a debt from the planner, select the debt and then click on "Remove." If you would like to add a debt that is not listed, click on the "Add" button and then fill out the required information. After your debt information has been completely entered, click on "Next." You will then be shown an update that lists your total debt, total monthly payment, debt-free date, total interest paid and interest savings thus far.

4

Click "Next" after reviewing the debt information and watch the video that comes up. Click "Next" again to confirm your debt order. Quicken will automatically list the debt with the highest interest rate first and the lowest interest rate debt last. This is the optimized plan and will save the most in interest. You can choose to change the order of repayment by selecting a debt and then clicking on the buttons "Move Up" or "Move Down."

5

Verify that your debts are listed in the order that you choose and then click on "Next". Another video will play; after it has finished click "Next."

6

Read the information provided on the "Savings" screen. Your debt payoff results will have changed from previous screens. If you have savings that you can apply toward your debt, enter that into the "Onetime Amount" box and then click on "Recalculate." Your results information will now be updated. Once you are done with the Savings tab, click "Next."

7

Watch the next video. After the video, you will then determine where you can cut back on discretionary expenses in order to apply more money towards your debt. After you have entered the data in these fields, click on "Recalculate" to look at your current results. Verify that all of the information on this screen is correct and then click on "Next."

8

Read the Action Plan to Get Out of Debt, print the plan if applicable and then click on "Next." Choose whether you would like Quicken 2008 to alert you if you fall behind or add scheduled bills for your monthly payments.

9

View the final video and then click on "Next" to see a graphical comparison of your debt payoff on your current plan with your old method.