Using Mint.Com To Manage Personal Finances

Trouble with your monthly budget? Need to visualize your financial investments? Described by Wikipedia as a "free web-based personal financial management service," Mint.com is a tool to keep track of your money and cash flow. The website was named one of the 50 best of 2008 by Time magazine. Here's how to make the most of the free service.

1. Sign up for a free account at Mint.com. To navigate there, visit this link: Mint.com

2. Enter your bank information so Mint.com can access your financial accounts through a secure connection. Enter as many financial accounts as you have so that Mint.com can aggregate the data into a single overview of your financial situation to help you manage finances easier.

3. You can also add information about your savings accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, loans, real estate, vehicles and credit score.

4. Once your personal finance accounts have been authenticated, your transactions and balance information will be updated nightly.

5. Use the data Mint.com compiles for you any way you choose. You may notice a horrifying spending habit or trend (like dining out too much) after examining one of Mint.com's helpful pie charts and graphs. Use the Mint.com budgeting tool to assure that you never again have to scrap together dollars at the end of the month to make your payments. Managing personal finances has never been more fun.

6. Mint.com uses your transaction activity to recommend credit cards, saving accounts and checking accounts that could help you save money.

7. Hook Mint up with your mobile device to get instant notifications about your financial situation.