Digitwirl: Mint.com— Show Me The Money!

We first wrote about Mint in 2008; at that time, I was inspired by another blog’s post about Quicken online. Fast foward nearly three years, and Quicken has acquired Mint. Funny how that works.

Since then, the service has gotten better in some ways and worse in others. On the “better” side: it connects with more financial institutions, and does so more reliably, and trend reports have gotten better. On the “worse” side, the interface is starting to show signs of the Intuit acquisition: with more and more options and choices. Choices can be good, but they can also create an overwhelming experience. And part of what really sets Mint apart (or has, in the past) is how simple the interface is, and what a pleasure it is to use.

It will be interesting to see if Mint can maintain their lean, simple approach to finances or if they’ll start to be bogged down by the things that led me to flee from Quicken in the first place.

Regardless, it’s still my favorite go-to place for managing my finances. Not necessarily taking action (you can’t move money or pay bills with the site — you can only view data) but for creating budgets and watching how my earning and spending is trending over time.

Keeping track of your life is challenging enough, so who can remember when your next credit card payment is due or that your checking account is on life support? But there is a simple way of keeping track of all your finances in one secure place: Mint.com.

With a few simple clicks you can upload your bank account balances, bills, mortgage statements and student loans and Mint will organize them so that you always know exactly what’s going on with your finances. No more searching piles. No more late fees. And, Mint gives you an up-to-the-minute view of all your transactions, analyzes your spending habits and lets you set up a budget. It might just surprise you to see where your cash is going and how you can save money. With the Mint app (available for both iPhone and Android) a quick peek at your bottom line will help you decide whether to purchase, or pass on, that little “me gift” you’ve been eyeing.

Watch this week’s Twirl to learn how you can gather up all your finances into one safe financial manager. Oh, and let us know what you think about Carley’s hat. Yay, or Nay?

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems.  In 3-minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step.  Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur.  Subscribe to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl