WSJ: Best Online Tools for Personal Finance

Jenny:

It’s a great list of online tools for Personal Finance. I have been using most of the sites for my finances and site like zimplemoney.com is new to me. Thanks for providing the link.

Along with some useful sites mentioned above, I have also been using following sites:

http://www.annualcreditreport.com – the official website for free reports from the 3 major credit reporting agencies: Equifax (EFX), TransUnion and Experian.

http://www.billshrink.com – it makes it simple to compare vast number of complex offers and plans, such as those from the major mobile carriers and credit card issuers.

Cheers..
Pritesh
http://twitter.com/mehta1p

Jenny:

It’s a great list of online tools for Personal Finance. I have been using most of the sites for my finances and site like zimplemoney.com is new to me. Thanks for providing the link.

Along with some useful sites mentioned above, I have also been using following sites:

http://www.annualcreditreport.com – the official website for free reports from the 3 major credit reporting agencies: Equifax (EFX), TransUnion and Experian.

http://www.billshrink.com – it makes it simple to compare vast number of complex offers and plans, such as those from the major mobile carriers and credit card issuers.

Cheers..
Pritesh
http://twitter.com/mehta1p

Hi Pritesh – thanks for your great comment. Annual Credit Report is a great site – a must have for the more official annual credit check (in addition to CreditKarma’s monthly updates). I love the idea of Bill Shrink – can’t wait to check it out – thanks so much for the link!

Hi Pritesh – thanks for your great comment. Annual Credit Report is a great site – a must have for the more official annual credit check (in addition to CreditKarma’s monthly updates). I love the idea of Bill Shrink – can’t wait to check it out – thanks so much for the link!

Hi Jenny, great list. Another tool I recommend you check out is moneyStrands. We are a free, web-based tool that helps people manage their money. It allows you to track your spending and income, create budgets and compare yourself to other users with similar traits. We’ve also got a mobile version and iPhone app as well. You can check it out at http://www.moneyStrands.com.

Hi Jenny, great list. Another tool I recommend you check out is moneyStrands. We are a free, web-based tool that helps people manage their money. It allows you to track your spending and income, create budgets and compare yourself to other users with similar traits. We’ve also got a mobile version and iPhone app as well. You can check it out at http://www.moneyStrands.com.

Thanks Lucia! MoneyStrands sounds great – one question I have is how it differs from Mint.com. Any insights you can share with us?

Thanks Lucia! MoneyStrands sounds great – one question I have is how it differs from Mint.com. Any insights you can share with us?

Of course! In an effort to keep this comment short, I’ll just go over a few differentiators:

-User interface: We have a great widget-based user interface (think Netvibes) that allow you to customize your view. You can also add RSS news feeds to your dashboard if you want to stay up to date on industry news.
-PDF Reports: We have a feature that allows you to create PDF reports of your finances. This gives users the opportunity to create a “backup” record of their finances.
-Compare: Our comparison feature allows you to compare your income and expenses to others like you, not just by location, but by a variety of other factors such as age, gender, marital status, occupation and so forth.

I hope you can check us out and let us know about your experience.

Best,

Lucia @ moneyStrands

Of course! In an effort to keep this comment short, I’ll just go over a few differentiators:

-User interface: We have a great widget-based user interface (think Netvibes) that allow you to customize your view. You can also add RSS news feeds to your dashboard if you want to stay up to date on industry news.
-PDF Reports: We have a feature that allows you to create PDF reports of your finances. This gives users the opportunity to create a “backup” record of their finances.
-Compare: Our comparison feature allows you to compare your income and expenses to others like you, not just by location, but by a variety of other factors such as age, gender, marital status, occupation and so forth.

I hope you can check us out and let us know about your experience.

Best,

Lucia @ moneyStrands

I’m a little hesitant to use Mint…does storing your financial information on the cloud scare anyone else?!

I just don’t feel that the security is that strong. Please tell me if anyone disagrees!

I’m a little hesitant to use Mint…does storing your financial information on the cloud scare anyone else?!

I just don’t feel that the security is that strong. Please tell me if anyone disagrees!

Great post, thanks for the list. But remember that these are only tools to help you make things easier and that building the habit of monitoring your finances is the key.

Great post, thanks for the list. But remember that these are only tools to help you make things easier and that building the habit of monitoring your finances is the key.

My personal fav is mint.com It is great!

My personal fav is mint.com It is great!

[...] have created a budget and a mint.com account (thanks, Jenny Blake). I’ve called all my creditors about why I didn’t pay them all summer, and I’ve set up [...]

A great informative and well-researched post. Internet has opened the door to get the latest financial information and also having a financial management plan at the click of your mouse. i personally liked mint.com very much.

Hello Jenny, one more financial management site that you could have included: http://www.loanback.com. It helps structure your personal loans and make them legally binding in all fifty states, so it cuts out the hassle of looking for and hiring a lawyer to process the legal side of the loan. Plus, it’s pretty simple to use – a matter of minutes to set your loan up and running. Great DIY loan app; can be used by lenders too.

Hi Jenny, Here’s a great online money management tool – http://www.loanback.com

Loanback (www.loanback.com) is an online loan management app which makes sure you’re successful when borrowing or lending money to or from someone you know. They’ve got great loan tracking tools for both lenders and borrowers of personal finance. It’s a breeze to set up too.

What a great site concept, Jenny. I was exploring life after college as it relates to personal finance and career choice and see you have addressed these concepts successfully.