As Personal Finance Tools Gain Popularity, Where's Money Going?

The news of Microsoft's dropping its Money software offering really caught my attention. The company says that growing competition from financial institutions and a shift in the way people manage their finances were the main reasons for the move.The PFM landscape has indeed changed since Money was introduced in 1991. Banks are offering their own versions of PFM services to customers or are leveraging the synergies of the Intuit/Digital Insight relationship-Intuit, of course, being the makers of the Quicken PFM software. And then there are online PFM offerings like mint.com that provide the service for free.

To me, the time is right for personal financial management tools like Money. As I've written previously, with the economy the way it is, people will want to track their finances more than ever. The sense of control that comes with PFM software can achieve this. I would think the demand for software like Money would only increase. Then again, numbers talk; so if Money is producing lackluster sales revenue for Microsoft, then the most expeditious solution in an economy like today's would be to scrap it.