APP
OF THE
DAY
Mint: Budget & Expense Manager
Bill Organizer & Money Saver
Want to master your money?
Maybe you’re looking to improve your credit, pay down debt, or simply understand the basics of personal finance.
Consider downloading Mint, an app from Intuit (the company behind TurboTax) that makes it easy to understand your financial picture by syncing with your bank accounts, credit cards, bills, and investments.
Tap the settings button in the lower right corner of the app to begin adding accounts. Once you’ve linked everything from checking accounts to 401(k)s, the next step is to make a budget.
Since each transaction is automatically categorized for you, it’s easy to see how much you spend on things like travel, food, clothing, rent, entertainment, and more.
After your spending is determined, Mint will let you know if your budget actually aligns with your income. If you’re in danger of going over budget—say, spending more on books than you have planned—the app can warn you. Notifications will alert you when upcoming bills are due or when big deposits hit your account.
All this info is presented in easy-to-read pie charts, graphs, and lists.
Mint also helps you keep an eye on your credit score (and the criteria that effect it) and notifies you if any fraud or identity-theft alerts pop up. Credit score monitoring is free, with warnings any time your score is updated for better (hopefully!) or for worse.