I got a warning message a week or two ago that the online features of my OEM copy of Microsoft Money 2004 would stop working in mid-December, meaning I could no longer download bank statements and the like.

So, somewhat begrudgingly, I went on the Money web site and looked at my options. But I didn’t look closely enough — I decided that Money Essentials would be fine, since it was the cheapest option.

But Money Essentials was designed from scratch and therefore (intentionally?) isn’t backwards-compatible, so I could not import my files from Money 2004. It’s also a very bare-bones program. I think I’ll be fine with it, but I’m having to set up from scratch.