Mint.Com: Manage your Money for FREE!

Hip2Save may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you via trusted partners and affiliate links in this post. Prices and availability are accurate as of time posted. Read our full disclosure policy here.

If you are a fairly new Hip2Save reader, then you may not have seen my post about Mint.com back in May of this year. Mint.com is the perfect tool for those of you who are determined to find a FREE and easy way to create (and follow) a budget. Mint.com is a secure web–based solution for online financial management and the best part– it’s FREE!

Here’s how it works…

*You register anonymously using any valid email address, and then add the log–in information for the online bank, credit union, credit card and investment accounts you want to consolidate in Mint.

*Mint connects securely to nearly all US banking financial institutions that have Internet banking capability; your account information is updated daily.

*Mint automatically categorizes all your purchases, showing you how much you spend on gas, groceries, parking, rent, restaurants, DVD rentals and more. (I love the fact that Mint creates pie charts of your expenses…it definitely helps those of us who are visual learners 🙂 ); Mint also provides you with tools to plan, create and track a budget

*Mint automatically analyzes and graphs your investment performance, showing you how you’re doing versus relevant market indicies like the S&P 500 and highlighting the fees you’re paying in each of your accounts.

*Mint’s advanced alerting system sends you email or SMS messages (your choice) on any unusual activity, low balances, fees and upcoming bills so you’re in constant contact with your money.

*Mint.com uses bank-level data security verified by Verisign and TrustE; you’re anonymous on Mint.com; you don’t share your name, address, social security number or account numbers.

If you are currently one of the 1 million members of Mint.com, please let us know in the comment section below what you think of this budgeting tool…has it made you more aware of your expenses and has it helped you stick with a budget? Let us know!

Join The Discussion

Comments 39

  1. Julie

    mint.com helps me audit my charge card statements for unauthorized charges. The search function is also excellent. Search all of your charge cards and checking accounts all at once!

    I also like the automatic notifier for fees (the sooner you take care of those, the better the outcome!), especially fees you aren’t expecting! Automatic notifier for large transactions is also nice — it’s just good to be aware that yes, you did receive your paycheck, yes, the mortgage ran, etc.

    mint.com also notifies you when your accounts’ interest rate changes.

    it helps me think of my finances like a business. I can see a “cash flow statement”, and a “balance sheet” to know where I stand.

  2. tino

    oh wow…
    finally a web site where everyone can add their most precious private information and wait “in peace” for it all to be hacked…. yey !

    • jeannie

      Tino-
      I was thinking the same exact thing! Let’s give someone all my financial information so that they can “get” everything all at once!!! Yeah for free…no offense, but I wouldn’t use this “tool” if they paid me! just a thought.

      • Diane

        My thoughts exactly!

      • Maggoo

        I would be suspicious too, as all should be, but it seems from research to be a reliable tool. Heck, with this economy and loss of job over a year ago, my credit is burnt. On humorous side, I’m pretty sure no one wants to steal my identity! I would be more than happy to switch with someone. (just kidding here)

    • Anikka

      They are now owned by ….I believe it’s Intuit…They own TurboTax and stuff. I’ve used the site for several years and have no problems. They use bank level security and somehow store your info seperatley or something so it would be difficult to hack.

  3. Stacy

    I was leary about it too at first but it really does appear to be very safe and I cant say enough great things about it. I’ve been using mint for over 6 months now and I don’t know how I lived without it. Everything is in place and you can run reports to see where your money goes. The budget tool is awesome. I sit down at the beginning of each spending period and redo that months budget to my current needs and can use past history to guide me. My only complaint (which I have sent in as a suggestion to Mint and received a reply that it was a great idea and something they would look into) is that we are not paid monthly or on the 1st and 15th. We receive biweekly pay which throws the budgets off slightly. I just manipulate the dates to make them fall in the month I think I am in even if the calendar does not agree which is worth the time to be able to use such an awesome site but admittedly it can be a bit confusing and tedious. Still, other than this one thing Mint is the best financial thing ever to enter my life so far (Hip2Save runs a close second though!!).

  4. Stacy

    I haven’t had any security problems with them at all and to the best of my knowledge they have never had an issue. I don’t see it as any less safe than online banking. Read up on their safety info which explains it but it put my mind at ease.

  5. rchooker1

    I have been looking for a budgeting software but didn’t want to pay $40+ for Quicken or something like that. This is great!

  6. Wendy

    My husband and I have been doing Dave Ramsey (and yes we are half way with knocking down our debt) and this website makes it easier. As far as safety, it is probably as safe as making a transaction online. I haven’t had one problem with it in the 6 months we had it.

    • Christina

      Congrats Wendy!!! I am doing the Dave Ramsey plan as well. I don’t have any credit card, student loan, or car debt but I am all about paying off my house ASAP. 🙂

      • Wendy

        You go girl!!

    • Lynn J

      I’m going thru Financial Peace university too. In my 5th week, It’s going to be hard but I’m determined to be debt free

  7. jana

    LOVE YOUR SITE!!!!

    Any good deals coming up for the Finish Automatic Dishwasher Detergent, 20 or 32 ct box . I still have my coupons but I am not seeing where anyone is having them on sale. Am I missing the deals?

    Thanks
    Jana

    • Nikki

      They are B1G1 at Publix starting today!!!

  8. Christina

    For people who are using Swagbucks… I just wanted to point out that there is a special offer for I believe 59 Swagbucks if you sign up for Mint.com using their site. Unfortunately I didn’t get to partake in that promotion since I already have an account but I wanted to pass it along to anyone who might be eligible. 🙂

    • Chandra

      Thanks so much for mentioning this! That was very nice of you. I think I may sign up and earn some swagbucks!

    • Jamie

      I haven’t signed up for anything using the SB site, how do I find it? Thank you!

      • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

        Jaime first you have to join swagbucks if you are not already a member http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/stinger and then on the home page there is a banner at the bottom with a bunch of special offers losted. scroll through until you fine mint.com and then sign up there. You will receive seagbucks for doing so and they can in turn be used to buy stuff. 🙂 GL

        • Cara

          Thanks for the tip on signing up for Mint through Swagbucks. Was anyone able to find Mint in the special offer section today? I looked and didn’t see it.

          • Jamie

            Lolo thank you! I was able to find it and got the SB for it!

            • K Crew

              I can’t find it. How many sb was it for? Thanks.

  9. kari

    To all those that are worried about security – I have been using the website for a few months and have never had any problems. I have had fraudulent charges on my credit within the past couple weeks, though. But that? Came from my insurance company, whose system was hacked. Who I have also never registered with online.

  10. Ryan

    You have to try https://www.budgetsimple.com

    I tried Mint but didn’t want to enter any private info. Mint does not work unless you do.

    The site above is 100% Free with a paid upgrade for more features.

    I use it to track my Budget and love it.

    BTW, Also a Dave Ramsey listener here. We’re about to squash our Student Loans, then it on to the house.

  11. Liz

    I use Mint and I love it. Mint is VERY thorough with their security. They use Yodlee to store your bank info, which is the very same service that Bank of America uses for its online banking. It is actually just as safe as logging into your online banking account.

  12. J

    I’ve used Mint for almost a year and haven’t had any issues with security. It has been really good for seeing where my money goes and to see what I can still cut out and also how much some of my budget cuts are helping. It also has a “reimbursable” category for items purchased for all those rebates… which is a substantial amount of the non perishable items I purchase. I’d highly recommend it.

  13. singleandsaving

    I agree with everyone who has said that Mint is just as secure as any banking instiution where you might do online banking. I’ve been using it for a few months now and the graphs and other features have helped me keep track of my spending to the penny and learn how to make my money go farther.

  14. Gretchen

    Mint.com is owned and ran by Quicken, and it does use the same securities as banks. I’ve been using it for months and have had NO issues. It’s helped me keep a budget, see where my spending has gone, and has definately helped me in my savings. I highly recommend it.

  15. Suzy

    I LOVE MINT! I have been using it since May and I think it is fabulous. This is from someone who has never balanced her checkbook. (How is the is possible you ask, I just do not spend as much as I make!)

    What I love about Mint
    * Pulls all accounts together in one spot- Checking, Savings, Retirement, 529 Plans, Car etc.
    * Updates your accounts all at the same time saving your time going to mulitple websites
    * Sends you emails telling you important info (and also reminds me to look at my accounts, remember, I have never balanced a checkbook and I am 36 years old)
    *Has a message board that tells you when paychecks are deposted, you have gone over a budget, when a payment was withdrawn etc.
    * Totals your net worth
    * You can set goals like saving for a house or vacation
    * I like the budget page that you can carry over $ you did not spend to the next month.
    * I love the charts/graphs

    What I don’t love about Mint.com
    * When inputting info, you can only go back 90 days.
    * I do not understand the spending graph on the right side that compares you to the National average. The National average is always blank.
    * Would love to set up a the budget a little differently. Difficult to explain- you need to paly with it yourself.

    I have not used the Ways to Save Money” yet.

    Give it a try, you might actually LOVE IT!

  16. Lauren

    I think the safety is there because you can’t actually move any money around. It shows how much you have, but you can’t deposit/withdraw/transfer through the site. So even if someone did hack in, they can’t do anything but know your account number, which they could also learn by looking over your shoulder while you write a check!

    My husband and I love it….and its the only way I was able to convince him that by taking his lunch to work 3x/week instead of eating in his “cheap” cafeteria, we could save $20/week, or $80/month!!! A visual representation of those savings really got us on track!

  17. Lori

    It won’t work with 53rd. Boo. I am thinking about switching all my accounts to PNC because of this. Can anyone share which banks they are using that it does work with, so I can find the best deal for switching? Love the software. Just can’t get it to work.

    • Kelly K

      We have PNC and my Hubby connected to Mint just fine.

    • Katy

      Don’t switch to Bank of America. I’m not able to add my accounts because of BoA’s site key feature. I’m bummed-I really wanted to try mint.com!

      • Christina

        I used to use it with my Bank of America account and it worked fine. Mint.com doesn’t have (at least didn’t use to) a running balance after each transaction. For this basic reason Mint.com doesn’t work for me. I have Quicken on my computer. I was so sad when they got rid of Quicken online.

  18. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    I LOVE MINT AND RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY. It’s free and easy to use once you get all the information update to day. I do love the budgeting tool. Its good away to see everything all at once. I hated quicken and never go it to work. Its safe in my opinion.
    https://www.nycsinglemom.com

  19. Kelly K

    I had my Hubby check into Mint several months ago. He signed up and got everything set up. He LOVED it (I keep saying “he” because he deals with all the money in our house). Unfortunatly we have not kept up with things and have lost touch so to speak with our budget. This is giving me motivation to try to set aside some time for us to become re-aquainted with Mint! I did get an email from them recently about a new feature they have. Something about setting a savings goal…?? Must investigate!

  20. cborton

    I tried mint.com and I like it also. It’s easy enough to set up and I love the alerts they give you if you go over budget. I’m still trying it out and all the features.

  21. Matt

    We started a new site, https://www.simplechecking.net, which is a free, easy-to-use personal finance site that requires no sensitive data to set up and use. SimpleChecking allows individuals to track income and expenses, then see how various finance categories are impacting household finances over time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

It's not your Grandma's coupon site!

Sign up for a Hip2Save account (it's free) to access all of the awesome features!

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot Password

Don't have an account? Register

Become a Hip2Save Insider

Don't Miss Out! Join our large community of insiders - it's totally free! Once you join, you'll be able to save & share your favorite deals, rate posts and recipes and add items to your HipList and Cookbook! What are ya waiting for?!



Already have an account? Login

Thank you for rating!

Would you also like to leave us a comment?