I may be late to the party but I only just learned that Microsoft has discontinued its game-changing Money software. I’ve been using Money for years to track my spending, retirement allotments, taxable investments, and savings accounts all in one tidy package. But unfortunately for me and Microsoft, the advent of free budgeting websites has pretty much torpedoed Money’s viability.

Sad as Money’s demise is, there’s a wealth of free online tools to track everything from your credit score to your net worth. Here are a few of the better options:

• Mint.com is the grandaddy of online budgeters. Functioning like a web-based version of Money or Quicken, it can track every retirement, credit, and savings account with your name on it. While wary consumers are wise to think before they Mint, the website has taken many steps to safeguard your financial information, and was recently purchased by Intuit, the maker of Quicken.
• Similar to Mint, Thrive is an online money-management program with a neat feature that shows you how long you’ll have to save up to get that new smart phone or down payment.
• Curious what your all-important credit score is but hate paying the fee to check it? CreditKarma.com will give you a free score like magic.
• ESPlanner.com offers a free basic version of its retirement-planning software online. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the original, but it doesn’t cost $149 either.
• The Financial Planning Toolkit offers free advice to help you navigate the tricky world of making an estate plan or will — a critical document if you have people who depend on you.

Of course, if you don’t mind paying for a more full-featured solution, Quicken 2010 is always an option. It will import your existing Money files and has more features than most web-based products, particularly for rental property and small business owners.