Mint, the refreshing Money Management Tool!

Mint has officially been released and the interface looks fantastic!

I got the eMail that Mint went live and so I set up an account last night. It was pretty easy, I had KeePassX create a password [16 character is the highest Mint supports], the account setup took less than a minute. I really like the interface, it is clean, smooth, and very slick. My only trouble came when I tried to add accounts. I don’t fault Mint, I figure that with all the other people checking it out, the system was probably being slowed down. Now this morning, I had no trouble at all, I was able to add four accounts rather quickly. I do recommend that you get ALL of your account login information together before you begin.

The Mint Overview Section provides a very nice high level view of your accounts including Total Cash [account list], Cash vs. Debt, Alerts, Spending Trends, and Your Ways to Save. One nice feature is that almost every thing is clickable and leads to more in depth information. The team made good use colors to separate, define, and add value to the information displayed. There are several [eMail] Alert features – for bank fees, large deposits, large purchases, and low balances. These alerts can also be delivered via SMS to your mobile phone. While some find this type of feature valuable, to me it is like more spam, since I am in my accounts two or three times a day.

The next section [or tab] is Transactions. This tab show all of your transactions at once, but you can switch to a specific account and then search that account. It allows for some customization a labeling feature, a categorize feature, and a notes section for each transaction. When you highlight a transaction it will display the last three months of spending associated with that merchant.

Mint‘s third section is Spending Trends, where you can analyze your data. The header section has a large pie chart that breaks down your spending across all accounts. You can click on the pie chart and it will focus on the piece of the pie you selected. This will give you a greater breakdown of that category and provide links on the right to take you to the transactions that are represented in the pie chart. The bottom portion of the page contains 5 bar graphs that provide information on how your spending changes over a six month period. These five graphs are titled: Entertainment, Gas, Groceries, Restaurants, and Shopping. Currently there is now way to change these or customize them in any way – that is okay, it just launched!

The fourth section is Ways to Save, this part of the website shows where you can save money by providing comparisons between your current credit card [for example] and another one that provides better rewards, lower fees, and other features. One that shows for me provides the amount Mint expects me to save and then five other options.

Whew, almost done! The last tab is Accounts, the left side of the site shows all the accounts that you have added and in this section you can add accounts. I have added four only because my investment and student loan companies are not listed – which is not a big deal, overall, since the focus is on banks, credit unions, and credit cards. It would be really great if I could add these accounts. I was really impressed that if pulled in all of my savings accounts and even an IRA; the only thing missed is a credit card with my credit union. Mint pulled the other two accounts, but just not that credit card. This is a bit disappointing – but this may be more due to how the CU posts and handles the account. I hope it is something that gets resolved in the future.

Okay, the rest of the page displays Accounts Summary, Personalized Ways to Save, and Setup Tips on the right; and a How Do you Compare section on the bottom. This section has three parts: Bank Account Savings, Credit Card Interest Rate, and Spending at the Pump. The comparison comes in between You, the Average, and the Best rate, gas doesn’t have a best bar graph.

Some things I would like to see, the ability to add transactions manually, a reconciling check box, and the ability to import those other accounts.

Over all I give Mint 3.5 stars. I look forward to seeing it grow and improve. The security looks really good, they have plenty of information on their site if you want to know more. I felt the security was enough to take the plunge [obviously], so check it out and see what you think. It is not quite good enough to replace MS Money or Quicken, but it looks like it could very easily – with a few changes.

iron wil