Wait, What???
So with our new angle on blogging. I have decided to share some thoughts and things that I think are useful and/or helpful.
I understand this post may be coming from left field. I showed Katie this post and she looked at me like I was an idiot. I am sure you are thinking the same thing. We will try this once and if everyone hates it then I will stop, but we’ll give it one try to see how my writing skills hold up. Leave me a comment and let me know if this is too much and/or boring
I chose Personal Finance because everyone can be better at saving/managing money and I have a weird obsession with overly micro-managing (if that’s possible) our finances.
I am going to showcase Mint.com, a product I use all the time. . . .
Step One:
I have been spending a lot of spare time cranking away on our finances and investments and mint has been the way I monitor all of it.
Mint gives me an up to date report on: 4 checking and savings accounts, 7 credit cards, Roth IRA, and our mortgage. All in one place.
Why is Mint.com in Step 1?
First: It’s free and easy to use.
Second: It can be a launching point for better financial management.
Before Mint, I was spending about 3 hours per month making sure all of my credit cards were being paid on time and Katie was paying most of the bills. (actually she still does) We were’nt even taking into consideration budgets or savings goals.
Mint has changed the way I look at our finances. That’s profoundly the point. I no longer Look at my finances. I analyze and measure them to find places to improve. Mint is a simple way to manage all of your finances in one place. Emphasis on the one place. I was wasting WAY too much time doing the things that Mint does for you automatically.
“What gets measured gets managed”
–Dr. Peter Drucker
Mint Screen Shot – Categorical Spending Analysis. (not ours by the way)
Conclusion:
I will post exactly what I do with Mint (and many other services) in future posts that save me time and money. (if this post is successfull. . . if it isn’t, I will delete this post right away – I promise) For now go to Mint.com, open an account and start using it.
Disclaimer*** You must have an online account at your financial institution to sync with Mint.com. If you’re not managing your money online you need to wake up and join us, it’s not 1985 anymore and we don’t balance our checkbooks and we don’t get statements in the mail. (if you still do, I apologize, but consider this an introduction into the new financial world)