Microsoft Money: How to Use the Original Money App on Windows 10
Microsoft has its own little graveyard of discontinued apps that many people loved. Tools like Windows live writer, Windows Live Mail, and Movie Maker are just some of the apps that users loved up until Microsoft decided they weren’t worth developing.
But what is Microsoft Money?
Microsoft Money is a Microsoft app that was discontinued and then brought back to life as something entirely different. It was originally an app for managing money i.e., bank accounts, investments, bills, budgets, and more. The new, revamped version of the app is a news app for financial and investment news. It’s far from the app that users loved.
Microsoft Money vs Microsoft Money Sunset Delux
When users look for Microsoft Money they’re looking for the Microsoft Money Sunset Delux app which is what the old, now discontinued version of the app was called. It had retail versions and it was a commercial app before it was discontinued. This new version is what normally comes up when you search for it and it has nothing to do with managing budgets, bank accounts, or bills.
Download and install Microsoft Money
The reason you won’t find the original version is that it’s discontinued but things don’t die on the internet so you can still get the older version.
Download Microsoft Money Sunset deluxe
You can no longer download Microsoft Money Sunset Deluxe from Microsoft so you will have to turn to online repositories that still have older versions of the app.
The Microsoft Money is a desktop app but even the old, outdated version does work on Windows 10.
To download the original Microsoft Money, visit one of the following links. We’ve vetted them but it’s always a good idea to run the EXE through a VirusTotal scan.
Set up Microsoft Money
Microsoft Money no longer requires a subscription so you won’t be asked to set up a license. You are asked to sign in with a Microsoft Live account but again, you can skip this.
Add a bank account
- Go to the Banking tab.
- Click Add a new account from tasks in the bar on the left.
- Select the type of account saving/checking/bank.
- Enter a name for the account.
- Enter the current balance and select a conversion value if you’re not using USD as currency.
- Click Finish and the account will be added.
Add a bill
Bills cannot be paid directly from Microsoft Money anymore. The app can add bills that are recurring and can be used to keep track of what is upcoming.
- Go to the Bills tab.
- Click New.
- Enter who the bill is paid to.
- Select when the bill is due.
- Enter an amount, fixed or estimated.
- Click OK.
Add a budget
Microsoft Money has two different types of budgets that you can create;
- Savings and spending
- Essentials
To create a budget;
- Go to the budget tab.
- Select the type of budget you want to create.
- Enter your source(s) of income.
- Select a category of expenses.
- Add an amount for each expense.
- Click Finish.
Limited features
Many of Microsoft Money’s features are limited since it has been discontinued. Originally, this was one of the first apps used to connect bank accounts and automate paying bills, among other things. Better apps and services have since come around but Microsoft Money remains popular.
It won’t allow you to schedule payments anymore and much of the expenses, bills, and accounts will be managed manually. Think of it as a more sophisticated spreadsheet that can guess what sort of data you need to enter. The UI is a relic of its times so you may find it difficult to learn, especially if most apps that you use are modern ones.
You may miss the old app, and you may still want to use it, but quite a few of its features are now limited.
Conclusion
Microsoft Money was a pioneering app of its time but that was a long time ago. It can no longer automate payments which may be enough to turn most people away from it.
