Recently I discovered that, despite a hefty student loan debt, I finally have a positive net worth. Considering my desire to live in a house, my entrepreneurial tendencies, and the fact that I'm American, my new status seems like it's temporary and I should savor it while it lasts.
This was also a surprise because creative people are notoriously bad at managing money, or at least that's the stereotype. Whether you're creative or not, personal finance is something every grown-up should understand and think about. So, here I'll discuss a tool that has helped me break the creative pro spendthrift mold: Mint.
A breath of fresh air
Mint.com is a free personal finance application that was recently purchased by Intuit, the makers of Turbotax (also awesome) and Quicken. The app allows you to add your bank accounts, investments, debt, property–all your assets and liabilities. It updates each account automatically and compiles the numbers so that you can see a complete picture of your financial situation, including your net worth.So how can something so awesome be free, you ask? Well, as best as I can figure, they make their money by gently referring you to offers for credit cards, bank accounts, and investments that may be superior to, or cheaper than, what you currently have. You might think this would be annoying, but the offers are based on your own data, so they're pretty targeted and specific. I actually signed up for a high-yield savings account through one of their offers.
What's awesome
Here are some examples of the cool things you can do with Mint:- See every asset and liability in one place
- Create a categorized monthly budget that updates automatically as you make purchases
- Get alerts when you're going over budget, getting hit with finance charges, or when there's a security concern
- See how your current spending compares to previous months
- Track your investments
What sucks
The only trouble I have is that certain banks (I'm looking at you, American Express) have such a complex security system that I constantly have to help Mint log in to them. That's not Mint's fault and it's not a huge hassle.Security Concerns
Of course, the number one concern with this kind of system is security. To use the app, you must enter your login information for the websites containing your bank accounts, credit card accounts, etc. This can be a scary proposition, and it was even more (or less?) scary when the company was privately owned.However, Mint only allows you to look at your financial situation, not change it. You can't actually move any money around inside of Mint. You also can't see the login information for your various accounts by logging into your Mint account. So, if you can't do these things, neither can anyone else. If someone hacks into your account, the biggest risk is the embarrassment of someone seeing how much you spend on porcelain Star Wars figurines.
Also, Mint never asked me for my name, address, or other personal information besides my email address. This way, there's no real connection on Mint between me as a person and my bank accounts. To them, I'm literally just an arbitrary set of numbers.
Mint produced a short video to explain their security policy:
A fresh look at your money
Yes, Mint has helped me keep an eye on my spending, get a better sense of my total financial picture, and saved me money in more ways than one. On a bigger scale, though, I feel like it has changed the way I think about money.Suddenly, money seems like something I can understand and control. No longer is it a fickle, spastic, unpredictable force like the weather or Robin Williams. I see that, by being smarter with my money, I can actually think about it less.
If you feel like you have a loose grip on the reins of your finances, or you'd just like a convenient and beautiful presentation of your complete monetary life, I'd suggest giving Mint a try.
Have you already tried Mint? How has it affected your financial outlook? Let me know in the comments.
Note: I promise Intuit is not paying me for the praise. I just seriously love their application!
