Microsoft Money is the best one out there
Source(s):
http://financialplan.about.com/od/software/tp/MoneySoftware.htm#

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This may sound a little silly, but in all seriousness, I have found the best success using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

I am able to insert a couple addition and subtraction functions for my income from several sources, and my expenses. I can play around with the numbers (if I have extra money left over after expenses) and I can do additional columns of "estimated" and "actual" costs.

Then, every month or so, I review my bank statement online, and transcribe some of the information to the spreadsheet as needed.

This works well for me for a couple of reasons. One, it is very flexible. I can put it in a different format if needed, if I am looking at trying to save up money for a long term project or looking at a few months at a time. Two, it is very simple and I don't have to make sure to update things or import software. I'm the type of person who does not like to do a lot of setup to make a product work.

I did see that Download.com has free trial versions of Microsoft Money and Quicken. Might be worthwhile for you to try them both and out and see which one you like best:

http://download.cnet.com/windows/?tag=hdr

Good luck!
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Software can't budget for you. It's gotta be you, your spouse, and/or a financial adviser that sits down and figures out what goes where. However you can get software that helps you visualize the movement. I'd start with excel since the simple act of writing down, and categorizing where your money goes, helps you get better control of your money. Plus it's free!

Also go to http://www.mappingyourfuture.org/money/budgetcalculator.htm
to get a good estimate on how much of your income should be going where- just remember that you know better than anyone else on where your money should go and how much you need for what.

If you've got your heart set on buying software, I'd buy Quicken though. Quicken can help you categorize your spending (though you could do this on your own for free) and next year at tax time you'll be able to see if you have any deductibles, and if so how much. Of course, this probably isn't worth it if you are lower income.
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