Frugal Tips

Personal budget programs such as Quicken can be magnificent tools, but they aren't free. Worse than that, the manufacturers cut off support for older versions while the programs are still usable, forcing an upgrade to the new version at still more expense.

There is an alternative - open source software. These programs are created by volunteers, and can be remarkably powerful.

They lack some of the features of the higher end programs, such as integration with tax software, but they typically handle check printing, budgeting, and providing useful reports. They also support a range of currencies.

As with all software, free or paid, it's a use at your own risk world, but check these programs out.

• Grisbi
• GFD
• GnuCash
• jGnash