Financial Sanity via the Web
We’re all keeping a closer eye on our money these days. There are many ways to mind your financial matters via the web – from online banking and investing to monitoring your credit. Most capture one segment of your financial picture very well, but without the use of programs such as Microsoft Money or Quicken, you are without an easy way to see the big picture. Mint.com is a free online money management tool that covers everything from budgeting to tracking spending to monitoring your investments. I’ve used Microsoft Money in the past, and it’s spending tracker is similar but it’s MUCH more intuitive and easier to use. One thing I hated about MS Money was how time-consuming it was – categorizing transactions every month was painful! Mint took me a matter of minutes to set up and it does a pretty darn good job of recognizing transactions and categorizing them for you. If it ever makes a mistake, it’s super simple to correct and create a rule to automatically categorize similar transactions in the same manner.
Its reports are the best – pie charts give you quick visuals over broad spending categories, and it’s easy to drill down for more specifics. Everything is presented in real layman’s terms – no fancy financial jargon here. You can see a snapshot of your financial picture at any given time – your net worth (investments, loans, property, etc.) and monthly cash flow (hope that bar stays on the top side of that line!). My most visited merchant was not a surprise, but it was interesting to see how it added up over time. I should buy some stock in Target!
How can this be free, you ask? There is a nifty little “Ways to Save” tab built right in, which shows advertisements based on your information. It’s easy to ignore if you aren’t interested. And the security is top notch, if you are worried about having your financial info out there.
Related posts:
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment