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KATHERINE BOEHRET Wall Street Journal My Dad will be proud to read that I've spent much of the past week studying my finances and figuring out my budget. But I'm willing to bet he'll be surprised to learn that I did this in no time using a free Web-based program. This week, I tested Mint.com, which serves as a Web home base for account information from credit cards, credit unions and bank accounts. The site securely and automatically logs into those accounts, fetches the latest data and presents the information in easy-to-read and useful ways.
Mint hopes to help users get a better handle on where their money is going, how much is in each account, and what can be done to budget more efficiently. It sends automatic alerts about account data or when you exceed your budget. It can even translate a bank's often odd rendering of merchants' names into plain English versions. Starting Tuesday, the site will let users add investments, such as individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans, to their accounts, though Mint isn't designed for serious investors. Today, readers can get sneak peak access to this Investments feature via www.mint.com/wsj. In June, Mint will add auto loans, student loans and mortgages. Mint won't work offline because it's completely Web-based, and can't be used to pay bills or move money around, meaning people will still need to visit separate sites for bill payments and money transfers. Talk of money-related software programs often brings to mind the old reliables: Intuit Inc.'s Quicken and Microsoft Money. But these programs can cost close to $100 and require intense bookkeeping. Stripped-down versions are available, but these still include fees. Geezeo.com is a Web service that's more comparable to Mint.com, but it incorporates social-networking tools. Mint was created for 20-somethings who want to pay more attention to their finances but aren't interested in taking hours each week to do so. This Web site worked ideally for me, and its clean interface integrates Web 2.0 features in a way that makes it a pleasure to use. I think it will appeal to people who want to feel more in control of their money, but don't want to spend a lot of time updating their information. I set up my information on Mint in minutes and used it to track five accounts. In seconds, Mint used data from my accounts to generate colorful pie charts that illustrated where my money was spent -- and most expenses were accurately labeled. I was pleased to find my local bank in a list of Mint-supported companies. And the site even encouraged me to look at my 401(k)'s progress online for the first time in a while because I didn't need to dig into an out-of-the-way, unfamiliar Web site. Security is important for a site like Mint.com, so it teamed up with online banking-service provider Yodlee to make secure connections to banks. This involves using encryption that the company claims is the same as what banks use. Mint also says that because it requires nothing more than an e-mail address, password and ZIP Code from each person, registration is anonymous. And the company claims that it never sees or stores password information, nor does it ever see account numbers. Advertisement - Find a Mortgage Lender - NationalBrokerDirectory.com
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