Mint: There’s many other great systems, but I simply want something that will scream at me (or text me) if I’m over budget and a dashboard or “mission control” for all my accounts in one place. Networth on demand, every day. I love Mint. If you haven’t tried it—you should! If you use a smaller bank—you may need to use Green Sherpa (they’ll add banks for you, but there is a small monthly subscription fee). Green Sherpa is also much better for the data-nerds who want to download, and “play” with all their data every month.
SmartyPig: Who doesn’t love a 2% return on a small-balance savings account? Just try to beat that with your local bank for a minimum deposit under $100. This is like savings account and gift registry, with all the convenience of an automated 401K contribution. Set it and forget it—literally, and there’s no charge to use it. These handy free savings accounts are set to automatically transfer from your primary account at any bank over to your SmartyPig account until you’ve reached a savings goal. You can even use a widget to show your savings goals on your Web site or Facebook. Kids’ college fund, honeymoon cruise, or just your annual Christmas shopping savings account, this is free, convenient and cute. Check it out! (Also, they offer great customer support via phone or Twitter!)
Podcasts: My personal favorite is The Dave Ramsey Show—especially the “Debt Free Friday” shows. I plug this one-hour daily podcast in and hit the treadmill. So far I haven’t lost any weight but I’ve lost a lot of debt!
NetQuote: If you love shopping for insurance… you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re like me, and would rather hang out with your dentist—a wealth of free quotes is pretty spiffy and saves time and money.
SmartHippo Nope, the name doesn’t tell you anything, but SmartHippo.com can tell you if you can get a better deal on a mortgage. It’s smart and social search engine is an awesome tool for getting the best deal out there—it helped me get a screamin’ deal on a refinance earlier this year.
Credit Score: You don’t get your full credit report, but you can monitor your credit score for free at CreditKarma.com. Handy for a multitude of reasons, and allows you to watch for long-term trends in your credit history.
Blogs: The blog world is vast. Most bloggers aren’t experts in their area. I’m no personal finance expert—but I’m an expert on my situation—and you may find some things are similar to your situation. Perhaps we can all learn something from one another. Not only is the blogsphere a great resource for creativity and ideas, but also for community. We get to know our readers and our readers get to know us. It helps keep us on track and accountable.
So—speaking of staying on track and accountable—what have I missed? What are your favorite free financial tools online?
