Mint photo from flickr
Money is an important part of any self-respecting RTW’s education. And I’m not just talking about spending it. 
In preparing for the future, money management skills are essential to dealing with emergency needs as well as leaving a trust for your heirs or other worthwhile charity. Right now I’d be leaving behind a pile of med school debt, but hopefully that will change!
In any case, I was doing my routine maintenance on finances a couple days ago, and thought I’d share my favorite all-purpose finance tool with you.
Mint is a free, web-based version of Quicken/Money etc. For a girl like me who manages her finances entirely online (oh-so-green without all those paper statements!), it works extremely well.
It will let you assign categories and sub-categories to transactions, and set monthly budgets for each category. You also get bill reminders and alerts, like most other online money management services. When you check your account, it will show you spending habits by month, year, or whatever period you specify.
For example: I have a couple credit cards that I use just for reward points (pay off in full every month), my autobill payments for rent, utilities, etc. from my checking/savings, plus 401(k) and Roth contributions/investments. It’s a pain keeping track of all that on various websites, but Mint aggregates it all in one place. If I’ve used most of my “Restaurant” budget halfway through the month, I can make a conscious decision to eat out less and cook at home more in order to meet my monthly budget. Overall, I’ve found this to be a great way for me to keep on top of my finances without obsessively updating my own spreadsheet.
Trust fund, here I come!
How is it free? Mint will evaluate where your money flows and suggest various ways to save (targeted credit card offers, refinancing loans, etc). I imagine the advertising pays for the service, but you’re not obligated to sign up for anything.
How secure is it? The security was a major thing I worried about– but Mint put my fears to rest with a very clear privacy statement. They do not use any personal identifying information, and although they ask for your banking logins, the information is not stored with Mint, so potential hackers can’t access it. In addition, the data is passed via the same financial service providers that serve credit cards and banks.
The skinny:
Hot for: People who like keeping track of their finances, without the hassle of inputting everything manually into a spreadsheet. People who like free, accessible, self-explanatory software.
Not for: People uncomfortable with handling online accounts. You could definitely input all your transactions here as you do with a software package, but it may be more trouble than it’s worth. Of course, it is free and serves the same functions as budgeting software that you have to pay for, so in my estimation, worth a shot.
What’s your favorite method for keeping track of your finances?
