Maybe your idea of an accounting system is a shoe box that you simply stuff all your receipts and statements in when you shuffle off to see your accountant once a year. Perhaps you wonder where the money goes while you sip your daily cappuccino. Or maybe your retirement planning consists of buying lottery tickets. It's Quicken 2006 to the rescue! America's #1 personal finance software, it helps you balance your bank account, track income and expenses, pay bills, manage investments, plan for the kids' college or your retirement, and more! But merely owning the software won't help you have to know how to use it. With step-by-step instructions and lots of screen shots, this friendly guide shows you how to: install and set up Quicken (or update from a previous version) and navigate using the financial activity centers and QuickTabs; manage personal or small business bank accounts and even print checks; set up and review a Secret Plan (the author's term for a budget); track your tax deductions; monitor your income and outgo (with eleven suggested categories for expenses); and track your assets (bank accounts, investments, and real estate), and debts (home mortgage principal, loan and credit card balances, etc.). It also helps you to: monitor stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; pay bills electronically and, in some cases, do all your banking online; maximize your investment earnings and minimize your taxes; and handle the payroll for a small business. Author and Quicken guru Stephen Nelson is a CPA, so he knows how to help you get the most from Quicken 2006 and the most for your money. This guide empowers you to take charge of your finances. It covers: using Quicken's six powerful calculators to compare options and make smarter borrowing and refinancing decisions, more accurate savings and investment calculations, and more; creating and printing reports and charts to summarize your financial information in all kinds of ways; working with the Premier , Deluxe , and basic editions of Quicken . For less than the cost of a pair of shoes (and a new shoe box to put your valuable financial info in), you can learn how to determine exactly where your money goes and how to make it go further. Quicken 2006 For Dummies is an investment in your financial future one that pays very good dividends.