Mint.com --- A Window into Your Financial World
It's that time of the year when you look back, and then look forward to goals, plans and the status on those goals and plans.
I've been using Mint.com for a little over two years now. In that time, I've recommended it to anyone who will listen. I use it daily, and sometimes multiple times a day. It's helped me find over $1000 in misplaced reimbursements, and it acts as a barometer for our spending and savings. Mint saves, tracks, reports and budgets. It's compatible with almost every banking institution, mortgage and credit card company. I've linked different banks, different credit cards and even different bank accounts.
Mint has told me how much I've spent with Rogers over the past two years (too much) and if my plans to cut back on iTunes purchases have been working (yup!). I know how much we've spent on clothes, hair cuts and Christmas. Before Mint, I had a rough idea of the operating expenses of the household, but with Mint, I was pleasantly surprised and sometimes shocked by where our money was going. Mint learns and categorizes expenses on your behalf, so there's nothing arduous about budgeting or tracking. Mint also tracks how much we're saving, and if our net worth is increasing or decreasing on a weekly basis. It's one of my go-to apps, hands down.
Folks have asked me about the security, and it's bang on. You only give Mint read-access to your regular financial portals, and it just reports on your activities. In fact, if you're a little tense, Mint can even notify you of any odd transactions on credit cards or bank accounts, so you can check into them quickly and easily to make sure nothing has been compromised.
How about tax time? With Mint, I can pull a report of the household expenses that make up part of my expenses. Easy Peasy. It's curious that our cable tv costs are about the same as our electrical costs... Huh....
If you aren't using anything to track and manage your finances, shame on you --- give Mint a try. It is abso fab. And no, Mint isn't endorsing this review --- It's all me. I love Mint - no kidding.