Budgets are the staple behind personal finances and how individuals manage their money. But how? How do we go from the hundreds of transactions per year to tracking every dollar. It seems like a pretty arduous task. Thankfully now we have the internet which can easily compile all of your transactions into one site. The two major ones that I utilize are Mint and Personal Capital.
Now these websites largely offer the same concept with some minor tweaks and benefits specific to each. Both websites allow you to digitally connect and link your bank accounts, credit accounts, investments into their websites. This makes tracking spending and net worth growth easy and passive.
Mint
Mint is run by Intuit who commonly provides products such as Turbo Tax, QuickBooks and formerly, Quicken which was sold in 2016. The website provides superb budgeting and spending tracking by connecting to the accounts. After you connect, you can establish budgets with numerous categories allowing you to track it online or via the mobile app. There is some wealth management and investment tracking but no investment management option, and less in-depth portfolio analysis.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital was founded by the former Intuit and Paypal CEO (you can see why similarities would exist). It provides in-depth tracking with detailed breakdowns in investments like sectors, investment types, and offers active management of investments for a fee. You do lose categories for budgeting but can still see what you spend money on. Both websites allow you to connect numerous websites through an encrypted connection and track spending. The differences primarily are with the focus on budgeting versus investments. Mint allows much more in-depth budgeting and breakdowns.
Whereas Personal Capital offers net worth on their front page and investment breakdowns.
Each has their own specific benefits. Personal Capital also offers investment management for a fee to actively manage your account. I like to use both. Mint helps me out by building budgets out of my expenses, tracking transactions and deposits, and seeing where my money goes. Personal Capital I lean on for investments. Being able to see the sectors and growth of investment accounts is easy to use and straight-forward.
If you would like to signup at Personal Capital you can sign up and help support this blog by heading over to Personal Capital here.
Personal Capital Cash
A high-yield savings option was recently launched for Personal Capital users. Current rates offer 2.30% APY for all accounts regardless of balance, Personal Capital advisory clients earn 2.35%. This is a full percentage point higher than the average savings account interest rate of 1.33% and a great option to store your emergency fund or spare cash. (Rates current as of June 2019)
Budgeting
Similar to tracking calories, budgeting requires an objective view in being completely honest about income and expenses. You may be surprised to find hundreds of dollars spent over the course of a month on small transactions that build up throughout the month. This can end up costing you quite a bit out of your discretionary budget. When budgeting, start with the required items first, housing, utilities, vehicles, food, etc… Then work on savings, ideally at least 15% of your income and work upwards then finding your discretionary piece (i.e. fun money). It may seem like a waste when cracking down on financials but it’s important to reward yourself and enjoy what you work for. Take a look and see what happens when you track your expenses and see how you’re coming out. You may be surprised at how many individuals spend more than they earn without realizing what they spend it on. Thanks for reading! Whether you choose a spreadsheet, notepad, or one of the websites listed above they can all assist you in reaching your financial goals.
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