Mint.com

Posted by the bear Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:20:00 GMT

For the longest time, I've wanted to figure out a way to record my spending so that I could categorize and keep track of where my money is going. That way I could see how much I was spending on food, gas, etc. each month and how it compares to the other categories of spending. However, I am also lazy about manual labor so the thought of entering everything I spend into some kind of system didn't seem very glamorous. But now I have discovered the solution to my problems. It is called Mint.

Mint Logo

I saw Mint about 30 days ago on Digg and wanted to try it back then but it didn't have a lot of people talking about it so I was concerned about security. But recently there have been more reviews and an understanding of how Mint works helped (I included some links about Mint at the bottom). What Mint basically does is it aggregates your bank and credit card accounts and shows your spending as a whole. The whole process is very easy to setup. What is nice about Mint is that it tracks your money in realtime. You can see what purchase was posted last and have it added to reports nightly.

My spending category graph

Hmm...probably need to cut down that shopping.

Where Mint makes their money is from referrals to other bank and credit cards if you decide to switch. They try to look for better deals according to your existing spending habits. If anything it's nice to see what offers are out there.

Restaurant Spending

Yes, that's right. Chick Fil A.

Reviews and criticisms: http://lifehacker.com/software/screenshot-tour/is-mint-ready-for-your-money-312083.php http://www.nobosh.com/Article/Mint.com-%2D-Is-it-Safe%3F/712/ http://consumerist.com/consumer/budgets/mintcom-initial-review-305539.php http://techlahore.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/the-fools-at-mintcom-or-mintcom-sucks/

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  1. Mint seems to be gaining popularity. If you're concerned about their reputation, business model, or security, you may want to try out Yodlee.

    Yodlee is used by several major banks and financial institutions as the platform for their online banking software. They also offer a free standalone version which isn't publicize on the website ($$$ comes from the corporate customers).

    From what I've read, Mint also uses Yodlee as their platform. But of course, Mint is more Web 2.0ish and I'm even attracted to it! The "look for better deals" feature is also a benefit that Yodlee doesn't offer.

    Companies that use Yodlee: http://corporate.yodlee.com/customers/consumers.html

    I think you bank at WAMU so unfortunately, they aren't a provider.

    ray said Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:32:00 GMT

  2. funny... i've been wishing for a system like that as well.... i just finished writing a system of my own last week... but i still need input each transaction into my little system. =( let me know how it works out for you after a couple of weeks.

    will said Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:22:30 GMT

  3. by the way.... booo... my blog is not under Friend's Blogs.... either i don't have a blog (which i do), or i'm not a friend...

    will said Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:24:06 GMT

  4. Me too, from what I read many people and companies use Yodlee. If I needed more security I probably would use them directly. Also, Mint doesn't keep the logins but sends them to Yodlee anyway.

    If a major bank provided this service I would feel safer but Mint feels safe enough for now. Unfortunately WAMU doesn't use them. I would like for them to have the BofA online features someday or a Mint-like service.

    Sorry Will, I guess you'll have to figure that one out =)

    bear said Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:14:21 GMT

  5. yeh!!! i'm on the bear's list!

    will said Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:15:42 GMT

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