Lifetime Moms

I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to budgeting and finance my eyes glaze over. The check and balance process bores me to tears, unless of course there is a significant change in a positive direction. I would much rather hire someone to handle all of my finances, but where does that really get me. I decided it’s time to stop leaning on my financial clutch and take control of my finances, after all you can’t be financially independent if you aren’t independent with your finances.

So I decided to check on line for some great budgeting tools and found three that immediately stood out from the pack, Wesabe, Mint and Geezeo. Plus I love that two of them have an iPhone app.

Mint
Mint is more than just a budgeting tool; you can find lower interest rates for your credit cards, track your spending and easily decide where to cut back, reducing your debt at a faster rate. Setting up an account was a breeze; I was up and running within minutes.

Mint can immediately pull in your balances, purchases, stock trades and other finances so you can get a complete picture of everything. Mint connects securely with more than 7,000 US financial institutions, saving you hours of tedious data entry.  I have my checking account and business credit card with two different companies, Mint helps me manage them both in one central location.

Another unique feature of Mint is that it updates your account information automatically, with some other competitors some transactions take a couple of days to appear.  If you are concerned about security, Mint can send you email and/or text messages to alert you to large purchases or unusual charges to any of your accounts.

If you're feeling a little uneasy about accessing your bank information online through a third party Mint offers complete security and privacy. To get more information on setting up your free Mint Personal Finance Software visit www.mint.com.
Cool support features: iphone application, blog, SMS updates, forum

Wesabe
Wesabe is an online money management tool and community that is easy and free to use.  Wesabe allows you to review all of your accounts in one convenient place.

When you join the Wesabe you will know where your money goes and you can learn from others just like you, freeing you from financial stress. Similar to Mint you control your data, set your own privacy levels and can be completely anonymous.

Cool support features: iphone application, blog, mobile version

Geezeo
Another free personal finance software is Geezeo. Like the others, Geezeo offers an online community to help you with your finances and meet your financial goals.

With Geezeo you can make better sense of your money, you will find easy to use budgeting tools and all of your accounts in one place. If you are like me and could use some tips and advice on budgeting or securing a financial future, then you can get involved in the Geezeo community. You can ask experts for expert advice or participate if you are an expert.

To ensure your security, actual account numbers and names are never stored on Geezeo, user demographic data and financial data are stored in a separate encrypted database, and your balances are never shared with anyone.

Cool support features: blog, forum and community