A word on Mint.com

I try every month to keep an eye on how much money we're spending, compared to how much we're bringing in. However, with a checking account, two savings accounts, 401ks, various credit cards, and our mortgage, it's a lot to keep track of.

Back in my single days, I used Mint.com  to keep track of my finances. As my husband and I started combining our accounts, I lost track of my Mint account, and stopped using it.

Now that we're settled in our accounts and trying extra-hard to save some cash in 2011--we have many out of town weddings to travel to, as well as hoping to take a trip to Europe in the summer-- I decided to make a new Mint account. The best part is that my husband and I can both log on whenever we want to check out our funds, see how much we are spending, or track our investments. Since I've always been the one to manage our finances, it's nice that now he is in the loop without having to ask me a lot of questions!

There are lots of other great features that Mint.com has. My fave five are:

1. Payment reminders: Mint emails me a few days before my credit card payments or mortgage payment are due
2. Long term goals: Mint lets you track specific savings goals and follow your progress.
3. Categories: It divides all of your spending into customizable categories--rent/mortgage, entertainment, travel, utilities, and it shows you all of your different categories in a pie graph. 
4. Accounts: Mint links all of your accounts in one place, and keeps them constantly updated. I can see the status of all of my accounts in one place, without having to log in to each of my accounts online separately. 
5. It's free! 

Oh...and there's a mobile app!