Mint.com

Save a Mint

You know that moment right after the spending blur of the holidays when you finally sit down at the computer to check out your balances?

What’s in checking? What’s in savings? What’s the damage on each of those credit cards? What did I spend all that money on anyway? And (a particularly frightening question of late) how much is left in that 401K? It’s a long painful process — the financial equivalent of ripping off about 40 Band-Aids.

Well, if you identify with this on any level, you probably need Mint.com. Founder Aaron Patzer came up with the idea back in 2005 while using Quicken to do his personal budgeting. After several hours he still couldn’t answer two key questions: How much did I spend this month? And on what? (Sound familiar?) He decided he could create something better. Patzer’s award-winning website helps you consolidate all of your accounts into one easily-viewable dashboard (it even offers a handy iPhone app). It gives you a great overview of your money habits (across ALL accounts), tells you where and how you can save, and turns that long, painful process into something regular and refreshing — the financial equivalent of popping a mint.

I gave Mint.com a quick trial (it took less than 10 minutes to set up access to all of my accounts, and it is totally free). First eye-opener: I spent almost $500 on my baby last month. A little crazy, perhaps, but also very good to know. I should spend more time looking for discounts and coupons with baby retailers.

Have you used Mint.com? Do you like the sound of it?

—Emily

• Mint.com is a free, online personal finance tool that delivers personalized offers to save you money
• Named the best online personal finance tools by Money Magazine, PC Magazine, and is PC World’s Editor’s Choice
• Patent–pending categorization technology automatically identifies and organizes a user’s purchases made in virtually any bank or credit card account; transactions in virtually any investment, brokerage or retirement account
• Proprietary search algorithm finds savings opportunities unique to each user
• Information is read-only to eliminate security concerns
• Bank-grade security systems are designed to fully protect your personal data and account information
• Mint addresses security concerns in this video