<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Personal finance tools on the web have been booming with both features and users.  The combination of more powerful web technologies and a stinging recession have led people to tools like Mint, perhaps the hottest company in this sector.\nMeanwhile, LendingTree, the online lending exchange behind the well known \"when banks compete, you win\" commercials, has been furiously bringing its website into the Web 2.0 age.  And while their website and design have been cleaned up, they quietly took a different product out of beta yesterday: MoneyRight, a new tool that helps you understand your financial situation and provides financial advice based on your finances and goals.\nMoneyRight: A Virtual Financial Advisor?\nMoneyRight has two core aspects: to show you where your money is and to show you what your money means.  On the first point, LendingTree's new tool works like Mint: it pulls in data from your banks and credit cards and provides a simple overview of how much you have in income, how much you spent, the status of your savings, and where you're spending it.  It's not as feature-rich as Mint in this department, but it doesn't skimp on features either.  Its dashboard view is easy to comprehend.\n\n\n\n\nThe second part, though, is where it separates itself from its competitors.  The system has something called \"moneywise,\" which provides you with information on whether you're meeting spending goals, the status of your financial health, and even can help you figure out how much $200 invested in retirement today (rather than spent on a new iPhone 3GS) will impact your financial future.\nMoneyRight and the new MyLendingTree suite are essentially virtual financial advisors.  Their premise is that you don't need to go to an expensive financial planner when you have all the tools necessary to understand your finances on Lending Tree.  It seems that Lending Tree's taken the time to think out the implementation so that it has the information you need without overwhelming you.\nSo now you may be wondering: is it better than Mint?  Truthfully, there isn't a yes or no answer to that question.  If you want better visualization and management of your data, you're better off with Mint.  However, if you like the idea of being able to plan out your finances (i.e. there's a tool that will tell you how many days you have until you're broke if you've been laid off), then LendingTree's MoneyRight app is a free and impressive choice (however, Mint Financial Fitness is also good for improving your financial wellness).\nSee Also: HOW TO: Reorganize Finances Using the Web"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2009/07/21/moneyright/>