Introduction

You aren’t a dummy, of course. But here’s the deal: You don’t have to be some sort of technogeek or financial wizard to manage your financial affairs on a PC. You have other things to do, places to go, and people to meet. And that’s where Quicken 2015 For Dummies comes in.

In the pages that follow, I give you the straight scoop on how to use Quicken 2015 for Windows, without a lot of extra baggage, goofy tangential information, or misguided advice.

About This Book

This book isn’t meant to be read from cover to cover like some Scandinavian crime thriller page-turner. Rather, it’s organized into tiny, no-sweat descriptions of how to do the things you need to do. If you’re the sort of person who just doesn’t feel right not reading a book from cover to cover, you can, of course, go ahead and read this thing from front to back.

I can recommend this approach, however, only for people who have already checked the TV listings. There may, after all, be a Grimm rerun on.

To make the best use of your time and energy, you should know about the following conventions I use in this book.

When I want you to type something, such as Hydraulics screamed as the pilot lowered his landing gear, I put it in bold letters.

By the way, with Quicken, you don’t have to worry about the case of the stuff you type (except for passwords, which are case sensitive). If I tell you to type Hillary, you can type HILLARY. Or you can follow e. e. cummings’s lead and type hillary.

Whenever I describe a message or information that you see on the screen, I present it as follows:

Surprise! This is a message onscreen.

Sometimes I provide step-by-step descriptions of tasks. I feel very bad that I have to do this. So to make things easier for you, I highlight the tasks with bold text. That way, you’ll know exactly what you’re supposed to do. I also often provide a more detailed explanation in regular text. You can skip the regular text that accompanies the step-by-step descriptions if you already understand the process.

Here’s an example that shows what I mean:

  1. Press Enter.

    Find the key that’s labeled Enter. Extend your index finger so that it rests ever so gently on the Enter key. In one sure, fluid motion, press the Enter key by using your index finger. Then release the key.

Okay, that’s kind of an extreme example. I never go into that much detail. But you get the idea. If you know how to press Enter, you can just do that and not read further. If you need help — say, with the finger depression part or something — just read the nitty-gritty details.

Can you skip anything else? Let me see now… . You can skip the paragraphs with the Technical Stuff icons next to them. See the “Special Icons” section, later in this Introduction, for an example of the Technical Stuff icon. The information I stick in those paragraphs is really only for those of you who like that technical kind of stuff.

But a warning: Don’t skip the Warnings. They’re the text flagged with the picture of the 19th-century bomb. They describe some things you really shouldn’t do.

Out of respect for you, I’m not going to put such stuff in these paragraphs as “Don’t smoke.” I figure that you’re an adult. You can make your own lifestyle decisions.

So I’ll reserve the Warnings for more urgent and immediate dangers — things akin to “Don’t smoke while you’re filling your car with gasoline.”

Three Foolish Assumptions

I assume just three things:

  • You have a PC with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.
  • You know how to turn it on.
  • You want to use some flavor of Quicken 2015.

Oh, wait, I’m going to assume one more (fourth) thing: You own or somehow have access to a copy of Quicken.

You may be interested to know that Quicken comes in several versions. It doesn’t really matter which one of the several versions you have. Each version works basically the same way, and this book applies to them all. But because each version has a few unique features, you may find that your screen doesn’t look exactly like the screens shown in this book. You may, for example, have a few buttons that you don’t see in the figures I show you. Don’t worry if this happens. It probably means that you’re working with a different version than I am.

Just to let you know, I used the super-duper, includes-everything version to write this book. You can tell this because the menu bar, which appears in some of the figures, sometimes shows both a Rental Property menu and a Business menu. If you have a different version, your menu bar will not show these menus. Your title bar (if you compare) will also show a different name.

The upshot here? Don’t freak out if your version of Quicken 2015 looks a wee bit different from the figures shown in this book.

Beyond the Book

This book is packed with information about using and benefiting from Quicken. But you’ll be glad to learn, I’m sure, that you can find additional relevant content at the www.dummies.com website:

Special Icons

Like many computer books, this book uses icons, or little pictures, to flag things that don’t quite fit into the flow of things. For Dummies books use a standard set of icons that flag little digressions, such as the following:

technicalstuff.eps This icon points out nerdy technical material that you may want to skip (or read, if you’re feeling particularly bright).

tip.eps Here’s a shortcut to make your life easier.

remember.eps This icon is just a friendly reminder to do something.

warning.eps And this icon is a friendly reminder not to do something … or else.

Where to Next?

If you’re just getting started, flip the page and start reading the first chapter.

If you have a special problem or question, use the Table of Contents or the Index to find out where that topic is covered and then turn to that page.

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