yodlee | Online Savings Blog

Do You Manage Your Money Online?
02.28.08 | Online Finances | 2 Comments | by Tom Valenti

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Within the last year, there has been a proliferation of interactive money management sites. If you don't know how they work, they basically categorize your income and spending so that you can better track your finances.

Depending on the service, you enter in your own data or can have it scraped from online banking sites you already are signed up with. Kind of like what one would see in Money or Quicken, but online, and often they give advice based upon your data.

For instance, if they see you have a high-interest credit card, they might suggest one with a lower rate. As of now, they all seem to be free of charge.

Some examples: Wesabe, Mint, Buxfer, Geezeo, Billeo, Quizzle. I know I've seen even more. I can't recommend or offer too much individual comment on any of these because I haven't used them enough and, frankly, I don't feel like going through the set up for each one.

I really don't know how anyone decides which ones(s) to use.

The ancestor of this technology seems to be the account aggregators, such as Yodlee. With the explosion of so-called Web 2.0, they've evolved into something more. It's inevitable there will be a shakedown sometime soon, with some collapsing, some merging, maybe some charging, and some being bought by banks or online banking providers.

Until that happens, I plan to sit on the sidelines.

Is anyone using any service like this yet? If so, how has it (or not) helped you?

Tom Valenti is a marketer and project manager who currently works for a financial institution in New Jersey. For more info, visit him at http://tomvalenti.com.
10 Smart Money Moves We Made in 2007
01.04.08 | Money | 4 Comments | by junger
2007 was a great year for us financially. No, we didn't win the lottery or get any other kind of windfall, but we made a bunch of smart money moves that will pay off well in the long run.

Here are 10 smart money moves we made in 2007, in no particular order.
- We Moved Cities
  It wasn't a cheap move, but by moving to a more affordable area, we're much more prepared to purchase real estate. Moving is not a small change — but it can have big effects on your financial situation.
- We Started a Housing Fund
  In order to meet our home-savings goal, we opened a new online savings account earmarked for housing money. Every month, HSBC automatically pulls money from our checking account and deposits it — paying ourselves first.
- We Started Using Index Funds
  Rather than trying to beat the market (an unsuccessful long-run plan), we transferred our Roth IRAs from Ameriprise to Vanguard, investing in low-cost index funds.
- Increased Monthly Roth IRA Contributions
  In addition to our move to Vanguard for our Roth IRAs, we increased our automatic monthly contributions. Last year, we used a chunk of money from our tax returns to max out our Roth IRAs — this year, we'll be closed to maxing them out without additional funds.
- Got a Promotion
  Earlier this year, I got a promotion at work, leading to more responsibility, more work and, yes, more money. While my paycheck is a bit fatter, our lifestyle isn't. We're spending nearly the same amount of money as we were before the promotion — pocketing the difference for savings.
- Bumped Up 401(k) Contribution to 10%
  At the same time I got a promotion, I upped my 401(k) contributions to 10% of my salary. Because I did it at the same time my pay went up, I never "knew" the difference and questioned its worth.
- Opened an FSA
  As I've said, the smartest $400 I ever spent was on my FSA. With a flexible spending account, the money comes out pre-tax, and with a debit card, purchases are seamless. Since it's not coming from my normal accounts, it's like buying things for free!
- Joined Yodlee to Track Finances
  If you don't know where your money is going, you don't know how to save. Even though we use a written budget, we joined Yodlee for more automatic budgeting and to track all of our accounts and net worth.
- Downgraded Cell Phone Plan
  I wasn't using all of my cell phone features, so why should I pay for them? Earlier this year, I downgraded my cell phone plan, saving money every month on features I don't use. (Even though Spring screwed up my plan change.)
- Automated Our Finances
  Even though we think about our finances daily, we don't worry about when bills are due or if we can pay for them. Nearly all of our bills are paid automatically, our savings are transferred without a key stroke, and our salaries are deposited directly.
Well, you've heard our smart money decisions for last year. Now, we want to hear yours.

What were the smartest money moves you made in 2007?
Where Did My Money Go?
01.03.08 | Money | 3 Comments | by junger

You know you have to save money. You'd like to start investing. You'd like to go on a vacation.

But you don't have the money for it. Each of these scenarios leads you to the question: where did my money go?

This is the fundamental question to beginning your financial responsibility. The first step in simple money management is to spend less than you earn.

Chances are you know how much money you make. But do you know exactly how much money you spend, and where it goes?

Being as detailed as possible in tracking your spending is a huge first step to proper money management.

Here's how I do it.

I keep receipts for nearly every transaction I make, both cash, debit and credit card purchases. When I get home, I put them on my desk to add to my budget notebook, which tracks all my spending.

The most important receipts to ensure that you get are for purchases with tips and gas purchases. You'll find out why in a minute.

I also log onto my checking account online all the time, to double check that my transactions are correct and to find out when my monthly bills have been automatically deducted.

Online banking also helps when I forget to get a receipt or lose it somewhere in the process.

As I said before, certain receipts are more important to keep: gas and purchases with tips. This is because, when you buy things with a debit card, the correct transaction amount does not appear until the payment has cleared.

When you go out to a restaurant and pay (with tip) on your debit card, you'll notice that the pending transaction only deducts the amount for the meal: not the tip. So you can't rely on this number instead of a receipt — at least not if you add the purchase to your budget that day.

On the gas side, funds do not get deducted from debit cards (even those acting as credit cards) automatically. The process normally takes a few days.

So, I always keep my gas receipts to add to my budget that day, so I don't wait for it to appear online and forget about adding it.

In addition to keeping a budget with my monthly spending, I track my expenses online via Yodlee. The number isn't as precise as my hand-written budget, but once you've categorized a few of your transactions, Yodlee does the rest.

Want to start saving more money? Find out where your money is going first.

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