I’ve used Quicken for many years. NOT Quicken.com. I use the software on my computer and download bank account transactions (have two bank accounts at each of two banks), credit card transactions (I only have one card), stock/IRA info, etc. Some deposits are direct; other checks I deposit using a bank app on my kindle. Bills are automatically paid with my credit card (soon I’ll have enough Amazon rewards points to buy a yacht). I only write checks to my hairdresser and the cleaning lady. Everything financial is always up to the minute. When it’s tax time, I print out a report and give it to my tax preparer.
Does Mint.com have anything to offer me? Does anyone here use it? Does anyone here (still) use Quicken? I’m also researching reviews of the Mint.com, but I always want to know what Dopers think. About anything/everything.
Does it keep track of stock transactions (once I give it permission to access those accounts)? That’s the one area where I can’t get an accurate picture in Quicken. It’s accurate on the brokerage site, but a mess in Quicken on my computer.
I use Mint.com daily and it is awesome for me but you may have different expectations. It is basically an account aggregation site with some analysis tools. You set up your different online accounts individually and then give Mint.com access to them so you only need to log into one place to see your entire financial picture. It is free and makes its money by matching you up with unobtrusive loan and credit card offers. It takes some time to set everything up but it is very easy to use after that. For me at least, it eliminates the entire concept of balancing a checkbook or needing to look up when to pay individual bills. It will also show you graphs and charts about your net worth, retirement accounts and spending in various categories. It will also send you an e-mail if an account gets hit by an unexpected fee.
It sounds like Mint.com would just be a more automated cloud version of what you are currently doing on Quicken (they are owned by the same company) and it is free.
I use YNAB and really like it. I can’t comment on comparisons as I have not used anything else. YNAB is forward looking and based around having money saved a month in advance so you are spending money earned last month and saving this month’s pay for use next month. It really helps you put what you are spending into perspective and you can make your categories as tight or loose as works for you.
For example I used to roll chips and pop into my grocery budget but noticed that my spending was going over budget slightly. I moved a certain amount out of groceries and into its own category. That made it easier to say no to the chips as I only had $10 available for junk food instead of seeing $200 available in groceries.
It also got me off the two week pay cycle and I get some bonus cash twice a year from those “extra” paychecks. Bills are paid as they come in and I can adjust my budget on the fly to cover unexpected expenses. I also do something that you’re not really supposed to. I will “borrow” money from a category for an unexpected major expense instead of using credit. For example, my ignition coil went on my car and I needed $200 for repairs but had just emptied the category with another expense. I overcharged that category without rearranging any case from the others knowing that I can pay it back over the next two months or so.
It can be a pain to save up the extra months salary if you don’t already have it but I started right after getting a big tax refund and it went to build up that buffer.