Life Before Noon: A Millennial’s Manual

Money management isn’t my forte. I’ve seriously considered implementing Newly Corporate’s wallet trick.

Instead, on the recommendation of a friend I set up a Mint.com account. I’m still figuring it out, but I think I’m on the right track. At the very least, it should hold me somewhat accountable.

Mint is a free online money management tool, which, unlike other similar services, takes only minutes to set up and start using. When I’m in danger of going over budget, hitting the $0 mark or being late on a bill payment, Mint will alert me. It also continuously searches for ways I could be saving money with product, service and bank offers. I have yet to take them up on one of these, but at least the option’s there.

For those of us who like to visualize things, Mint offers an easy way to see how you’re spending your money. The site also analyzes your spending trends. With pie charts, you can view graphical representations of transactions over specified time periods–a day, a month, years.

A new feature, SpendSpace, lets you compare your spending with people in different locations. When I compared my food and dining spending with New York City’s, I felt much better about my addiction to going out to eat. Small-town Virginia is certainly great for some things.

Something that was a big concern for me was security. But according to their Web site, Mint “provides bank level data security and industry leading identity protection.” The “VeriSign Secured,” “TRUSTe Certified Privacy” and “Hacker Safe” emblems at the bottom of the page put me at ease.

As a Millennial who loves to spend the little money I earn, Mint.com is a great way to track spending habits. Hopefully, if I incorporate this service into my life and start using it regularly, I’ll be ready to manage my money when I eventually start earning some!

-Rachel