If you're like most people, you probably sit down at least two times a month to pay your bills: on the first of the month, when your mortgage and car payments are due, and at the end of the month, when your phone and cable bills are due. Wouldn't it be nice if you could record the data for those stacks of bills just once, in a preassigned group, instead of having to re-enter all the payment data each and every time? Then Quicken can notify you when bills are due or automatically record them for you.

Well, in this tip we show you how to do just that: create a transaction group. With a transaction group, you simply create a group name and, when the time comes to pay those bills, you don't need to enter each transaction individually. For example, you may want to create a transaction group that includes all bills due on the first of each month: rent, credit card, auto payments, and so on.

1. Choose Lists + Scheduled Transaction.
2. Click the New button in the left pane of the Scheduled Transaction List Window.
3. Click the Group button in the resulting Create Scheduled Transaction dialog box.
4. In the Create Transaction Group dialog box, enter the earliest date due in the Next Date field.
5. Select the Account to submit the payments to.
6. In the Group Name field, enter a group name, such as "end of the month."
7. Indicate the Frequency of the payments--monthly, quarterly, and so on.
8. In the Register Entry field, indicate whether you want the payments to be recorded automatically or whether you want to be prompted first. If you want to be prompted first, enter a value in the Days in Advance box.
9. Click OK.
10. In the resulting Assign Transactions to Group screen, select the transactions you want to assign to the group and click the Mark button after each one.
11. When you have selected all the transactions, click Done. Whew! That took a while, but all your hard work will pay off.

SUBTOTALS MEAN A LOT

When you generate reports, you can bring instant order to the chaos of your financial life by making use of the Subtotal button. Subtotals can give you a better idea of where all your hard-earned moolah goes each paycheck. You can subtotal your transactions in several ways, including by category, class, payee, week, month, year, and so on.

To generate subtotals:

1. Generate a report of any type by selecting Reports and choosing the appropriate option from the Reports menu.
2. In the Report screen, click the arrow in the Subtotal By drop-down box (in some reports, the arrow is next to the Column button, located along the top of your report, just above the details of the report).
3. Choose the type of subtotal report you want (week, payee, month, category, and so on).
4. Click the Update button to regenerate the report using the new Subtotal parameters. As you scroll through the report, notice that the data has been sorted and that a subtotal is generated for each category.

CREATING A REPORT OF UNNECESSARY EXPENSES

Quicken is loaded with reports that show you your expenses in just about every imaginable way. But have you ever wanted to see how much money you blow each month on stuff you really don't need--you know, things like clothing, movies, and dinner out? If so, why not create a custom report and include only those categories you can live without? With this report in hand, you just may be able to convince yourself that your money is better saved than spent.

To see how much you blow on unnecessary expenses

1. Choose Reports + Home + Itemized Categories.
2. Click the Customize button in the Create Report dialog box.
3. Make any necessary changes to the Display and Accounts tabs (name your report, set date parameters, select accounts to track, and so on).
4. Select the Include tab, where you indicate the categories you want to include in the report.
5. Click the Clear All button to deselect the categories (why not start with a clean slate?).
6. Scroll through the list to locate the categories you want to include. To select a category, click it. (Be sure to select any subcategories as well.)
7. Click Create to generate a report that shows only the selected categories. 8. To save the report for future use, click the Memorize button, enter a name for the report, and click OK

PEEK AT YOUR FINANCIAL NEEDS WITH BILLMINDER

You always want to keep up to date on the bills you have to pay and other financial due dates, but loading Quicken every morning to see what's on the day's financial burner can be a pain in the you-know-what. Why not set the Billminder to display at startup so that you can decide whether you want to run Quicken at that moment? Billminder gives you a list of all your upcoming financial events. Then you decide whether you want to face your finances that day.

To activate the Billminder

1. Choose Edit + Options + Reminders.
2. Click the Billminder tab.
3. Select Show Billminder When Starting Windows.
4. Click OK.>/OL>

   The next time you start your PC and after Windows has loaded, the Billminder appears, listing all your upcoming financial events. Click the Run button to start Quicken or click Exit to shut down the Billminder.

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   A QUICKER, CLOSER LOOK

   While perusing a report, have you ever wanted to see the details of a transaction or correct an error? No need to switch back to your check register and look up the transactions there. Simply double-click any of the entries in the report; Quicken takes you directly to the Register with the current entry selected.

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   "Hi, I'm Dr M. Don't go away - I'M TYPING UP MORE TIPS" !!!"

   
   

   HAVE YOU UPDATED QUICKEN LATELY?

   Did you know that even though you already purchased Quicken, the folks at Intuit are busily making updates or fixes to the software? Quicken frequently releases software patches, file updates, and the like. You can access these updates via Quicken.com if you use Quicken Deluxe 98. Get in the habit of checking every so often for the updates. If you already download Online Quotes or Market Watch, you have also probably received software updates (which happens automatically whenever you download information from Quicken.com.

   Even if you don't download Online Quotes or Market Watch data, you can still check for software updates. Here's how:

   1. In Quicken, choose Online + Update Quicken 98.
   2. Deselect Online Quotes, Market Watch, and Security News.
   3. Click Update Now. If there are no updates to download, Quicken tells you.
   4. Select Tell Me More to view the update information.
   5. Click Update Now to update the software.
   6. When the download has finished, select Exit Quicken from the resulting dialog box. The update program then runs to update your software.
   7. When the update is complete, click OK to restart Quicken

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   REORDERING YOUR CHECKS

   Do you frequently overlook that little paper reorder form that comes with your checks? So much so that you run out of checks before new ones arrive? Well, have no fear, Quicken is here. You can use the Set Up Alerts feature to remind yourself when to reorder your checks:

   1. Choose Features + Reminders + Alerts.
   2. Select Check Reorder Notice in the Set Up Alerts window.
   3. Indicate the Bank Account.
   4. In the Check Number box, indicate which check number you want to trigger a reorder alert. (Remember to give yourself enough time to get the checks reordered and delivered; you may want to set a warning ten checks in advance to be sure.)
   5. Click OK.

   Later, when you enter a transaction using that check number, Quicken displays a friendly reminder that it's time to reorder those checks. The rest is still up to you: You have to make the call or send in the reorder form.

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   PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE EARLY--PART 1 OF 2

   Ever wonder how much you can slice off your mortgage if you send, say, $100 more per month to your mortgage company? You can use the Loan Summary screens to get an idea:

   1. Choose Features + Bills + Loans.
   2. Click the Choose Loan button (along the top of the View Loans window) and select the mortgage loan.
   3. Click the Payment Schedule tab and take note of the summary information in the lower-right corner. Specifically, view the Remaining Payments and Final Payment Date items.
   4. Click the Edit Payment tab and then add $100 (or whatever amount you want) in the amount in the Principal and Interest field.
   5. Click OK. The Payment Schedule recalculates to factor in the new higher payment. Notice the recalculated Remaining Pmts and Final Pmt Date items to see how much you can save. Just think--you'll add years to your life not having to worry about the looming mortgage.

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   PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE EARLY--PART 2 OF 2

   In our last tip, we explained how you can shave payments off your mortgage by sending in extra money each month with your mortgage payment. If you can't send extra money with every payment, you can still take a bite out of your principal balance and, over time, decrease the amount spent on interest by making an extra payment. Just make sure that you indicate on your check that the amount should be applied to the principal only.

   To make an extra mortgage payment

   1. Choose Features + Bills + Loans.
   2. Click the Choose Loan button along the top of the View Loans window and select the appropriate mortgage loan.
   3. Click the Payment Schedule tab. 4. Click Make Payment.
   4. Select Extra from the resulting Loan Payment dialog box to indicate that you are making an extra payment.
   5. Enter the amount of the payment in the Amount field.
   6. In the Memo field, note that payment is for a Principal payment.
   7. Click OK to apply the extra payment to the loan. The payment is also entered as a transaction in your checking account. Again, take a look at the recalculated Remaining Pmts and Final Pmt Date items and see the immediate difference the extra payment makes to the recalculated balance of the loan.

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