Sunday was a waste of time. For 2 hours I clicked, I optioned, I read help documentation, all to try and get Microsoft Money 2003 to play nice. Specifically, what had happenned was that something called the spending limits thermometer had disappeared from the account register view. That is, in the winow where you list all your daily expenses or deposits, what checks were written (or my case, what cash was spent) and deposited, there is a handy little bar slider. It graphically lists how much you have spent in a category, and what your preset spending limit is. It's actually very handy. It appears in the main startup page, and in the account registers. Or it did until last night, when I wanted to know how overbudget I had gone on eating out ($30 at least). The help menu is of no help. There's an example picture, but if you look carefully, there are subtle differences. The cash flow chart is a bar graph. Bar graph was a whited out option in Money 2001, and not even an option in 2003. The title where the thermometer is supposed to be reads "Upcoming Bills", where as in Money 2001 and 2003 it reads "Upcoming Bills and Deposits". I surmise this, therefor, is an old screenshot taken from Money 99 or maybe an even earlier version. After giving up in disgust (and afraid I might lose my temper more and smash in my new laptop), I came to work to get some filing done. But then the siren call of the internet came a coming. 20 newsgroups and no answers later, and nothing. Back at home, I figure, let's test to see if this is a bug of mine or a feature of Money 2003. I'll reinstall and set up a new account and play with that. Reboot, and viola! All is good. I forgot to follow the cardinal law of Microsoft products. Reboot at least three times before calling a "feature" a bug/problem. Reboot. Reboot. Reboot. What did I learn from all this? Besides the need to reboot right and reboot often. I learned that Money 2003 is not really all that much different from Money 2001. Certainly not $20 worth of improvements. Certainly not worth the pain and hassle of reinstalling and trasferring my data. Certainly not worth relearning and resetting all the customizations. Certainly not worth all the new usless crap that tries to get you to sign up with MSN. What I learned is that Money 2001 is all I really need, and now that I have Money 2003, I'll never need (or pay) to upgrade ever again in my lifetime. Ever.