The traditional approach to personal finance software is epitomized by Quicken or Microsoft Money.  The main reason many people don’t like these applications is because they involve real work.  You have to enter each transaction manually in order for the proper category to be assigned to each transaction.  If you don’t categorize each transaction properly, your reports are inaccurate.

Web 2.0 startup Mint.com takes a different approach.  This is a site for users who don’t care to track every cent, and don’t care if every transaction isn’t categorized correctly 100% of the time.

This week Personalfinancehacks.com test drove Mint.com.  Their initial thoughts are below.

Security

Your main concern with any financial data should be the security of that data.  The premise of Mint.com is that you register for online access to all of your bank accounts, and then turn over that information to Mint who then tracks your finances for you.  Sounds scary, but the site’s Security FAQ explains it further.  In fact, Mint.com uses Yodlee to connect to your bank; the same company used by Microsoft Money for account aggregation services.  Mint.com never sees or stores your account information.  So is Mint.com safe?  I believe it is.

Sign Up

The sign up process was faily simple.  I was asked to enter my email address, zip code, and a password to create an account.  Once logged in, I started adding my accounts.  This was the time consuming part, and in my case, was disappointing.  The bank where I hold my main checking account is not supported by Mint, so it was hard to really give the site a true test run.  I was able to add several other accounts though, so I think my opinion’s are still valid.

Once I added my accounts, my past transactions were immediately visible, along with several charts and graphs showing my spending patterns.  I could also compare my spending patterns with other people nationwide.  This was kind of cool, but didn’t really tell me anything.

Strengths of Mint.com

• Your accounts will always be up-to-date.  Mint.com synchs with financial institutions nightly
• A very slick user interface; very “web 2.0-ish”
• The site is smart enough to look at your situation and make recommendations.  For example, if Mint sees that you have a high interest credit card, it will recommend a lower interest one.  This may also become a weakness if the suggestions become too obtrusive.

Weaknesses of Mint.com

• The main weakness of Mint is that there is no way for you to balance your accounts.  Without this type of double-entry system, you would never catch bank errors.
• Minimal reporting features.  As a 9-year user of Microsoft Money, I felt hampered by the lack of detail.  Mint will give you the 30,000 ft overview of your finances, but doesn’t let you drill down to look at the details.
• No support for brokerages.

Conclusion

Mint.com is a cool idea, but one that needs to bake a little longer in my opinion.  As it is now, Mint would be great for a college student or recent grad with a single account and/or a fairly simple financial situation.  That being said, the site is still fairly new, so maybe additional features will be added soon.  But for now, I’ll stick with Microsoft Money.

Source: Personalfinancehacks.com

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