So you say you've been cutting back on your expenses, and now you'd like to see whether your sacrifices are making a difference. You may want to see what kind of progress you're making toward your savings goals or see how much more you spent on entertainment this month than last month. So why not create a Comparison report to get a quick look at how you're doing on the financial front:
1. Choose Reports + Home + Comparison.
2. Click Create to generate the report.

Quicken generates a report that shows all of your inflows (income) and outflows (expenses) generated in your bank, cash, and credit card accounts for two time periods. By default, Quicken compares this year's inflows and outflows with last year's.

In the following tips, we show you how to customize the report to compare certain categories of transactions and how to alter the time period that's being compared.

1. If necessary, switch to or create a Comparison report by choosing Reports from the Toolbar.
2. Click the Customize button in the left pane of your Report window.
3. Select the Include tab in the Customize Comparison Report box.
4. Click the Clear All button in the Select to Include area.
5. Select the category or categories you want to compare in the report.
6. Click the Create button.

1. Choose Edit + Options + IconBar.
2. In the Customize IconBar dialog box, select Show Icons to turn on the IconBar. The IconBar appears at the top of the Quicken window.
3. To display the text along with the icons, select Show Text. Or, to conserve space, you may decide to display just the icons or just the text; just select (or deselect) the appropriate option.
4. Click Done to close the Customize Toolbar dialog box.

1. Choose Edit + Options + Register.
2. Select the QuickFill tab from the Register Options box.
3. Deselect the Drop Down List on Field Entry option.
4. Select the Display tab.
5. Make sure Show Button on QuickFill Fields is selected.
6. Click OK.

Before you print any report, get in the habit of first using the Page Preview command to see how your report will look when printed. Hey, you'll save yourself some aggravation and a few trees while you're at it.
To preview your reports before you print:

1. If necessary, switch to or create the report you want to preview.
2. Choose File + Print Report.
3. Make any changes to the print settings as necessary.
4. Click the Preview button. Quicken displays an image of how the report will appear when printed. Here's a quick overview of the buttons found in the Print Preview window:
   - Click Zoom In to get a closer look.
   - Click Zoom Out to return to full page view.
   - Click Next Page to view the next page in the report.
   - Click Prev Page to--you guessed it--view the previous page in the report.
   5. If you need to make any changes to the settings, click Close to close the Print Preview window and return to Quicken. Otherwise, just click the Print button to send the report directly to the printer.
   **************************************************************** TIP: THE SHOPPER'S LITTLE HELPER--PART 1 OF 5
   Tip: How To Keep Track Of Your Holiday Spending.

   With the Holiday season going into full swing, you're probably wondering how Quicken can help you through this hectic period. Well, Quicken can't do your holiday shopping for you, but it can help you keep track of your holiday spending and can also help reign you in if you go a bit overboard. In the next series of tips we'll show you how Quicken can help you organize and monitor your holiday spending--leaving more time to spend with your friends and family and less time at the mall.
   The easiest way to track your holiday spending in Quicken is to create a category named Holiday and assign it to each of your purchases. Then use the Memo field to enter a description of the present and the intended recipient. This will be the basis for analyzing and tracking all your seasonal gift spending.
   To create a Holiday category:

   1. From the menubar, choose Lists + Category/Transfer.
   2. Click the New button located in the upper left corner of the Category list window.
   3. In the Name field of the Set Up category dialog box, type Holiday.
   4. In the Description field, type Gifts or any other description.
   5. Select Expense in the Type section of the Set up Category dialog box.
   6. Click OK to complete the process.
   Now, when you purchase an item, enter the transaction as you normally would in your check register. In the Category field, select Holiday. Then in the memo field, enter a description of the gift, or alternatively, enter the name of the individual the gift is for.
   _________________________________________________________________ TIP: THE SHOPPER'S LITTLE HELPER--PART 3 OF 5
   In our last tip, we showed you how you can use Quicken's Category Report feature to help you keep track of your gift buying during the Holiday season. Now let's say that you've allocated a certain amount of funds to spend on the holidays this year and you want to make sure you stick to your budget.
   In this tip we'll show you how to set up a Holiday account where you enter the money you've allocated to spend on gifts. Then as you make your purchases, you enter them as withdrawals from the account. We'll be using the Credit Card account type, since you are, in effect, "loaning" yourself the cash to make your holiday purchases.
   To create a Holiday spending account:
   1. From the menubar, choose Lists + Account.
   2. Click the New button located in the upper left corner of the Account List window.
   3. Select Credit Card from the list of account types in the Create new Account box and click Next.
   4. Enter a name for the account, such as Holidays 98, and click Next.
   5. Select Yes in the following dialog box to indicate that you want to set the opening balance of the account and click Next.
   6. Enter the current date as the Statement Date of the account and enter the amount of cash you have allocated to yourself in the Balance Due field and click Next.
   7. Select No in the next screen and click Next.
   8. Click Next to skip the Credit Limit screen.
   9. Review the information in the Summary screen and click Done to complete the account setup.
      In our next tip we'll show you how to record your purchases.
      _________________________________________________________________ TIP: THE SHOPPER'S LITTLE HELPER--PART 4 OF 5
      In our last tip we showed you how to create a holiday credit account to help you stick to your gift-spending budget. To recap: choose Lists + Account, click the New button, select Credit Card from the list of account types, and follow along with the dialog box to enter the remaining information.
      When you're ready to record a gift purchase in your holiday credit account, enter the transaction as you normally would in your check register. When you get to the Category field, select the name of your Holiday credit card account to transfer the payment to that account. The amount you spent is recorded as a payment in your check register and is also recorded as a payment in your Holiday credit account. This in effect, lowers your balance by the amount spent. When the account balance reaches zero, it means that you're out of money to spend on gifts.
      Please note that since we are using a credit card account in this scenario, remember that any reports you generate will include this balance as a liability. At the end of the holiday season, make sure you close out the account, or reduce the debt to zero so that Quicken no longer holds you accountable for the debt.
      ________________________________________________________________________________________ TIP: THE SHOPPER'S LITTLE HELPER--PART 5 OF 5
      Finally, are you flabbergasted at how much you spent on gifts this Holiday season? You can begin now to save enough for next year's gifts by starting a Holiday Savings Club. Throughout the course of the upcoming year, each time you have a little extra cash, transfer some to your Holiday Savings Club so that next season you'll have enough to go around.
      To create a Holiday Savings Club Account:
      1. From the menubar, choose Lists + Account.
      2. Click the New button located in the upper left corner of the Account List window.
      3. Select Savings from the list of account types and click Next.
      4. Enter a name for the account, such as Holidays 99, and then click the Summary tab to skip the remaining steps.
      5. Review the information in the Summary screen and click Done to complete the account setup.
      To transfer cash over to your Holiday Savings Club account during the year, start in your check register; create a new transaction and enter Holiday Savings Club or something similar in the payee field. Enter the amount to transfer as a payment and then enter the name of the Holiday Savings Club account in the Category field to transfer the cash. Keep in mind that we are merely funneling available cash from one account to another--you'll have to make sure you actually have the cash on hand when the next holiday season rolls around.
      _________________________________________________________________ TIP: MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE--PART 1 OF 4
      What could be as time consuming as keeping track of your Holiday gift purchases? Managing your holiday card list, of course. Well guess what? Quicken can again come to your aid. If you already use Quicken's Financial Address Book to keetrack of your friends and family, then you can also use it to manage your holiday card list.
      First, from the menubar, choose Lists + Track Important Addresses to open the Financial Address Book. If you've never used the Address Book before, click the New button to create a new record, and then enter the information in each field provided in the Address Book window. Click Record to bring up a new record window after each addressee you add to the Address Book.
      Next, we'll create a group named Holiday Cards and assign it to the individuals you wish to send a card. Then you can quickly generate a list of all your recipients.
      To create a group name:
      1. From the Address Book menu, choose Options + Set Up Groups.
      2. In the Add Group Field at the bottom of the Groups dialog box, enter the name of the group to create. In this case, type Holiday Cards and click Record.
      3. Click OK when you have finished.
      To assign a record to a group:
      1. From the list of names and addresses in the Address Book window, click on the record you wish to assign to the Holiday Cards group.
      2. Click the arrow in the Assigned to Group field at the bottom of the Address Book window.
      3. Select the group name to assign to the record, in this case select Holiday Cards.
      4. Click the Record button. In our next tip, we'll show you how to generate a list of all the individuals to whom you need to send holiday cheer.
         _________________________________________________________________ TIP: MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE--PART 2 OF 4
         In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Group tool in the Financial Address Book to mark the names of all the people you want on your Holiday Card list. In this tip, we'll show you how to produce a listing of all the names and addresses assigned to that group. If necessary, choose Lists + Track Important Addresses to open the Financial Address Book.
         To sort the records by group:
         1. Click the drop-down arrow in the Group field located at the top of the Address Book window.
         2. Select the group name, in this case, Holiday Cards.
         3. All of the names and addresses currently assigned to the Holiday Cards group are displayed in the Address Book window.
         In the next tip, we'll show you how to print the Holiday Card list.
         BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE EVEN MORE QUICKEN TIPS BACK TO QUICKEN HOME PAGE _______________________________________________________________