Tools for Success in Financial Planning

For many people, managing their finances does not come so naturally; creating a spreadsheet on excel and trying to work through each of the separate mobile banking sites for their individual accounts may not always cut it! Luckily for all of you broke college students, there is another way! 

For this post, I wanted to talk a little bit about a neat tool that can help you to manage your finances effectively through a number of awesome features. The site is called Mint.com and it will:

• Compile all of your accounts in one place (checking, savings, credit, loan, etc.)
• Help you to create and stick to a budget that can be as basic or meticulous as you would like
• Send you email/mobile alerts for things like upcoming payments, nearing a credit limit, suspicious activity, and more
• Categorize your expenses in a pie chart to show you how much money you spend on things like gas, food, clothes, transportation, bills, etc.
• Make some personal recommendations based off of your spending history and financial position to help you save money
• Help you set legitimate goals, and track your progress from start to finish. Examples: paying off your credit card debt or saving money for a new car 

The bottom line is that Mint.com will help you to organize your finances in a way that you can understand, and then provide you with the tools to get on the right track, make smarter financial decisions, and plan for your future. The site is very user-friendly, clean, and customizable. Mint also offers a super convenient mobile app available on apple and android devices! For more information about how the website works, check out this link: https://www.mint.com/how-it-works/

If you happen to be one of those people that just can't seem to get on top of your spending, or you are chronically late on your credit card or student loan payments, this is a really simple way to take control of your life and avoid damaging your credit score. Also....did I mention that the service is COMPLETELY FREE?

Here is a quick video to explain some of the basic functions of the site -- if you like what you hear, I definitely encourage you all to sign up on the main site, and connect all of your accounts (have no fear! Mint uses bank-grade security on it's website).

As always, let me know your thoughts!