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"Wendy Boswell stays on top of Web search and social media trends at About.com. You can catch up with her via Twitter. \nIf you\u2019ve been looking for a simple way to track your spending, make a budget, or follow your investments \u2013 without splashing out any dough \u2013 then online finance managers might be just up your alley. Let\u2019s take a look at Mint and Rudder, two very similar money management sites that give you the tools to manage your hard-earned cash. \nGetting Started with Mint\n\nGetting started with Mint couldn\u2019t be easier: you\u2019ll just need to hand over the username and password to your financial institution (you can reassure yourself with Mint\u2019s privacy policy, along with a detailed FAQ of security issues). \nIt\u2019s easy to add accounts to your Mint dashboard, and thousands of financial institutions are available from which to choose from. In less than five minutes total, I was looking at an extremely detailed (yet manageable) analysis of three of my accounts, along with transaction information, spending trends, saving suggestions, and more. \nMint Your Money\nThose of us who are financial software-phobic will love Mint\u2019s simple yet comprehensive financial habits breakdown. There\u2019s nothing you have to dig through a manual to understand here \u2013 it\u2019s all pretty basic. For instance:\nOverview: This is your main dashboard where you can see a quick snapshot of what your money\u2019s been doing: recent account activity, budget trends, any alerts, etc. \nSpending Trends: This gives you a pie chart o'spending; you can dig down within each category to see what your spending looks like. This is Quicken without the hassle.\n\nTransactions: You can get a quick overview of all your accounts at once here, filter them by individual account, search via transaction type or just type in a search term (i.e., \"Costco\"). \nWays to Save: Mint pays the bills with sponsored offers on the \"Ways to Save\" page; this is also where you\u2019ll be offered potential moneysaving deals, such as a higher interest rate for your savings account. \nMint Alerts: The most convenient tool that Mint offers is email or SMS alerts that can warn you if you\u2019re going over your credit limit, about to incur some fees, getting a bit low in your account, and a lot more. This is an amazingly simple yet super awesome way to stay on top of your finances. \nMobile Access: You can access your entire Mint profile from the convenience of a Web-enabled phone or mobile device. For instance, if you text \u201CBal\u201D (balance) to \u201CMyMint\u201D (696468), you\u2019ll get instant balance reports for any account you\u2019ve added to your Mint dashboard \u2013 and as we\u2019re heading into the holiday season, this comes in especially handy. \n\nCredit Management: Mint also offers a credit management program that scans for better interest rates and fees in addition to information on how to lower your current credit card debt \u2013 again, all for free. \nInvestment Management: You can manage all your investments \u2013 401K, brokerage accounts, etc. \u2013 in one easy portal with Mint (rather than logging into one out of the way site after another). Also, since Mint automatically updates your investment information, you can stay on top of exactly what\u2019s going on, rather than relying on an annual update. \nPros &amp; Cons\nPros:\n\u2022 You don't have to balance anything; it's all done for you. \u2022 Read-only connection to bank accounts according to privacy policy. \u2022 Excellent credit card management program; scans for better interest rates and fees and gives you information on how to lower your current debt. \u2022 Easy to set up alerts \u2022 Free! \nCons:\n\u2022 You can't import from any other financial software (such as Quicken), and you can't take Mint data anywhere else. \u2022 Mint also trusts your bank or other financial institution to be completely right, there are no inherent checks and balances. \u2022 Good for keeping track, but shouldn't be the only thing you use - always go to the source. \u2022 Can\u2019t be used offline.\nGetting Started with Rudder\n\nRudder initially is not as easy to set up as Mint. The process is similar: pick your financial institution, hand over your username and password (read the privacy policy), and wait for your information to be extrapolated. However, this initial step alone took nearly five minutes \u2013 compared to about thirty seconds for Mint, and everything at Rudder must be entered manually. Yes, that\u2019s right \u2013 manually. \nOnce you\u2019ve added in your data, Rudder will identify your recurring bills and expenses. You also have to add in your income, which unless you work a straight paycheck to paycheck kind of job is not the most intuitive way to track your revenue.\nHowever, Rudder\u2019s not necessarily about the nitty-gritty details (and this is where a lot of people might say \u201Cthanks, but no thanks\u201D). Rudder likes to focus on your big fiscal picture via broad stroke financial widgets that track this activity, such as:\nSpend Meter:  a simple way to tell if you're spending beyond your means, but it won't give you exact dollar amounts.\nSavings Widget: A simple way to track your savings. \nBill Tracker: See if there\u2019s anything upcoming that needs to be paid. \n\nRudder also offers emails (daily, weekly, monthly) to give you your account overview without actually having to log in to your account \u2013 you can get these via your Web-enabled phone or mobile device. \nPros: \n\u2022 Easy to use\u2022 Good for overall tracking\u2022 Email-based; manage your finances via your inbox\nCons:\n\u2022 Requires a manual setup\u2022 Not good for specific money management\nRudder is definitely a simple, no-clutter tool for tracking your finances\u2026emphasis on simple. If you\u2019re looking for a big picture sort of tool that gives you an overall view of your money, then Rudder might be a good pick. \nMint vs. Rudder: The Bottom Line\nMany of us have a nagging feeling in the back of our minds that we\u2019re just not doing enough to manage our money, so we purchase expensive financial management software packages that end up sitting unused on the shelf. Both Mint and Rudder aim to solve this problem, providing free, simple, yet powerful money management tools that anyone can use, no matter what their level of financial expertise. \nHowever, Rudder, while somewhat useful, only provides a core overview of your finances and is tedious to initially get going. In addition, there\u2019s not much in the way of actually teaching you to manage your money more efficiently; it\u2019s a tool aimed at showing you what you have left in your account, and that\u2019s pretty much it. \nOn the other hand, Mint is simple to set up and gives you a detailed yet completely understandable money analysis, with tools that can quickly help you become more financially savvy. Credit, investments, budgets \u2013 all of these are concepts that many of us tend to avoid, but Mint makes them accessible using our own accounts as a springboard to a healthier financial outlook. While Rudder is a good tool to get you going in the quest for fiscal improvement, Mint is a better long-term choice. \nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, bns124"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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