me[at]privacy.net wrote:
- quote -

[regarding online service named "Mint"]

Coincidentally, I stumbled on another option for this sort of thing,
named "Buxfer" (as in, "bucks transfer"). It appears to be free, and
claims its security is better than Mint because your account login
information is stored locally using "Google Gears" instead of being
stored remotely. In addition to budget and spending tracking, it also
has a separate feature to allow small groups sharing expenses to track
individual payments amongst themselves (e.g. roommates sharing utility
bills).

I haven't used this one either, and have nothing to gain from anyone
else using it, other than learning from any experiences they care to
share here (hopefully someone will). The web link is the obvious one
based on the name.

-Mark Bole

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PeterL wrote:

- quote -

My Visa CC allows me to import all my credit transaction details from
their on-line site along with their best guess on budget
categories-Groceries, dining, gas, etc- depending on where or what the
vendor was. They get it right about 90% of the time. Saves a ton of
typing. It can be imported in Quicken, Money, or spreadsheet format.

My bank does this also with my checks, but not nearly as good.

Chip

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PeterL <po.ning[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

Thing is ... if you don't do it daily.... then you
don't get that instantaneous "snap shot" of exactly
where you stand money wise.

It would be like driving a car where the speedometer
shows you your speed 1 month after you actually drove
it!

- quote -

Good question! I don't know. I do know from reading
the web page that the system has some "learning"
capability in it. But Like you say.... how does it
know WHAT you bought from Amazon?! A person could buy
clothes, electronics, most anything of varying
categories!

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On Jul 11, 2:11*am, m...[at]privacy.net wrote:
- quote -


I also used to use Quicken to track. I charge a lot of stuff so I
enter my items when the credit card bill comes, or when the bank
statement comes. I definitely did not do it every night using
receipts. But even two or three times a month was a real hassle.


- quote -

How would they know what your charges are? $100 to Amazon, was it for
some books, electronics, or music? You write a check to Jane Doe, was
it for gardening, housekeeping, babysitting, or what? I don't see how
any service can automate this without you still having to do a fair
amount of massaging.

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me[at]privacy.net wrote:
- quote -


If you've been doing this for a while now, can't you just put in a
single monthly number for coffee, it's likely the same every month (you
can average the varying number of workdays per month over the course of
a year). For budgeting purposes this should work fine. OTOH, if you are
using a charge card for every small purchase, then you have the details
already.

- quote -

Slight correction -- Mint *uses* an aggregator, namely Yodlee.

- quote -

Try it. It's free, the security risk to use it for one or two months is
minimal because you can always cancel and then change all your passwords.

One downside, if you have a database already and want continuity for
historical reporting or forecasting, switching around in this way will
require you to import and export data in some fashion.

-Mark Bole

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Mark Bole <makbo[at]pacbell.net> wrote:

- quote -

Well I did it for years using Quicken.... but it was a
hassle as I would have to save all receipts from daily
expenses and enter them at night to get the necessary
"snap shot" of what's going on.

I basically track EVERYTHING.... even small purchases
such as coffee and such.

I do use my Visa card for 99 percent of payment....
even small things like coffee.... but still need some
way to get that snap shot.

I do realize there are competing services that do same
thing such as Mint..... but am just unsure of giving
Mint my acct info

But as you say.... they are basically an aggregator

what to do... what to do

I'm attracted to the automation that Mint has. Sounds
like it could eliminate the nightly entry of receipts
into Quicken

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me[at]privacy.net wrote:
- quote -

The third party aggregater in this case is Yodlee, you can visit their
web site yourself to read more. A leading investor in Yodlee is Bank of
America, wouldn't be surprising if they just buy it outright at some point.

In fact Yodlee itself offers a competing service to Mint. You can also
check out Wesabe, which according to the web site does not require you
to upload your login info, you can manually upload the data yourself. I
don't use any of these, and can't tell you what the costs or other
comparative data are. Quicken on-line apparently is another similar
service.

If using a service like this makes the difference between tracking your
finances and not tracking them, I'd say the benefit outweighs the cost.
After all, if you have all your account information stored on a
notebook computer and already have "paperless" financial accounts
on-line, I'd guess the aggregater's security is probably better than
yours (in other words, the aggregater isn't the weakest link).

-Mark Bole

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On Jul 10, 9:14*am, m...[at]privacy.net wrote:
- quote -


I use Quicken. It's not automatic, but I am not sending someone all
my acct. info either. I share your wariness.

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I've been reading rave review abt this service

Wary abt giving my account info tho

Anyone be ok with doing it?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2321082,00.asp

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