Hello ladies,
My husband and I have recently decided that we would like to buy a new home with acreage. Here in AZ, that can get expensive!! So I'm looking at ways to help us save money and budget better (aren't we all?). Anyway, I came across this website called Mint and from what I can tell, it looks really good. My hesitation in joining come from the fact that they want access to all of my accounts (credit card, bank, mortgage etc.) so that they can create an accurate spending report and budget. It makes perfect sense, I'm just wary of giving out that information! So I was just wondering if any of you mama's and papa's out there have used Mint and what your experiences with it were?
Thanks in advance!!
A.
I LOVE Mint.com! Check them out on Better Business Bureau if you feel uncomfortable, but I was hesitant too. I have been using them for a while, and I don't know how I did without. They are also on Facebook. :)
My friends family uses it and highly recommends it. Her dad is in the banking business and he likes it, for what that's worth. I used it briefly, but it just didn't click with me. I'd rather just use my own spreadsheet to budget since I can categorize things exactly how I like and it's more customizable, but people seem to really like Mint. In addition to using Mint to budget, I highly suggest you read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey or listen to his radio show/podcast for great motivation and clarity on how to manage money.
We just finished Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and so far Mint is the one program I like the best. It came highly recommended by the people on the discussion boards for Dave's FPU classes. I tried doing my own spreadsheet but became bogged down in the mess! (am not the "nerd" of the family) I tried You Need A Budget but wasn't pleased with the set up and the fact that you had to pay for the service. Mint is free and my husband and I can both see what is going on even when he is on active duty with the Army. Again the program is only as good as the effort you put in to make it work for you. And to respond to Jay - everyone needs a budget! How can you know what money you have and were it is going if you don't. We "found" soooo much money being wasted when we did our first budget! Now we do one every month and are finally getting out of debt!
Good luck on your budgeting journey.
Im On it as of a few days ago, i love it!
Yes. I use it and love it and consider it very secure. It's owned by Intuit, the Turbo Tax people. You can't do any transactions from it, it just downloads and consolidates your information. It's wonderful.
Yes, I have used Mint.com. It is an EXCELLENT resource. However, it's only as good as you make it...you have to be willing to look at their suggestions and take time to adjust your budgets for various things, etc.
I, too, was hesitant about my personal information being needed (which, of course is a must for them to be able to budget for you). I went ahead and did this AFTER doing some research. A lot of personal finance experts recommend mint.com, including David Bach. After reading his book and hearing about the sites from other experts, I decided to give it a go. I've been pleased with the results.
We don't have enough money to budget. LOL. A good friend of mine uses it and highly recommends to everyone. She says it is awesome.
