Over the past two decades, budgeting skills have been taught in NSW high schools using:

• paper and hand calculators
• Excel templates
• Limited-duration school licences for Quicken or Microsoft Money, etc.
• Free trialware versions of Quicken, etc.

This year, MS Money has been taken off the market, the price of Quicken has risen, and takeup of online products has accelerated. It is as if the market for personal finance software has evaporated.

• Are consumers shunning good-sense financial practices?
• Is this type of personal financial management no longer necessary?
• Will desktop products shift online?
• Are other products more suitable now?
• What can we expect in the future?

What personal budgeting tools should be taught in school now? Recommendations are welcome.

References

Mitchell, R.L., 2009. The Quicken monopoly. Computerworld blogs. Available at: http://blogs.computerworld.com/the_quicken_ultimatum_part_2 [Accessed February 15, 2010].

Reckon Ltd, 2010. History. Available at: http://www.reckonlimited.com.au/About-Reckon/History [Accessed February 15, 2010].

Ricadela, A., 2008. Intuit Taps Hewlett-Packard and Google for Advice. BusinessWeek. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2008/tc20080929_263094.htm [Accessed February 15, 2010].

Roth, J., 2009. Good-Bye, Microsoft Money! 16 Powerful Personal Finance Programs. Get Rich Slowly. Available at: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/01/good-bye-microsoft-money-16-powerful-personal-finance-programs/ [Accessed February 15, 2010].

Image from http://blogs.quicken.intuit.com