Mint.com Personal Money Management Tool - After 3 Months What Do I Think?

Mint.com Personal Budget and Money Management Tool

Before I write about products I like to try them out personally first. I've used the Mint.com free, automatic, online money manager for about three months now. I have nothing but praise for the company. I signed up for the Mint.com money management/budget tool after reading Mint won TechCrunch40's top company award taking the $50,000 prize.

Sign up process

So you sign up for a free account and then enter your account(s) information. This includes savings account, checking, credit and debit cards, etc. The information is kept private and is 100% secure. Read Mint.com's extensive privacy policy here: http://www.mint.com/safe.html.

What are the benefits of Mint.com?

Easy to use: You’re up and running in less than five minutes. And Mint does virtually all the rest.

Comprehensive: Mint provides detailed visibility into virtually all your financial relationships with a single, secure login.

Visual and Analytical: Mint gives you powerful insights into your finances making–it easier to make good financial decisions.

Constantly working to find you savings: Mint typically finds users $1,000 in savings opportunities in their first session—minutes after registering. And Mint keeps looking for new ways for you to save every day—continuously comparing your needs to product, service and bank offerings most relevant to you.

Secure: Mint provides bank–level data security and industry–leading identity protection. Its security and privacy have been validated by VeriSign and TRUSTe.

Always On: You’re automatically notified of upcoming bills, low balances, and any unusual activity in any of your accounts through one (m)interface.

Anywhere/anytime access: You can get to Mint anywhere, anytime over the Web.

And it’s Free!

Conclusion

I have used Mint.com to keep track in real time my finances and recommend you do the same. Knowing how you spend your money is a crucial step to becoming wealthy.

My Weekend Adventure - Scenic Hot Springs Stevens Pass WA

Scenic Hot Springs Adverture

This past weekend I had an adventure that I don't want to repeat anytime soon. I decided to hike to Scenic Hot Springs near Stevens Pass after I went skiing. I think whether you’re a blogger or affiliate marketer or whatever, you need to take breaks from your work and get outside. Taking mini vacations in the end will make you more productive at whatever you do.

http://scenichotsprings.blogspot.com/

After skiing all day me and a buddy decided to hike up to Scenic Hot Springs near the resort. If you don't know about Scenic Hot Springs it's located 3 miles away from Stevens Pass WA. Scenic Hot Springs is perched high on a bluff at about the 2,000 foot elevation in the Western Cascades. We weren't prepared at all for this adventure, but we decided to trek out anyway. We didn't have snow shoes, flash lights, and it was 6:00 PM. We had to move fast if we wanted to hike in daylight. We parked the car and hiked Highway 2 to the trail head. We hoped the snow bank and started the long hike to Scenic Hot Springs. The total distance of the hike is about 1 1/2 miles each way.

First Leg

The first thing we noticed was about every third step you would drop about 2 feet through the snow. This proved to make traveling very slow. The first leg of the hike was through the forest at a mild incline. As long at you walked on old snow shoes tracks of a previous hiker you didn't fall through the snow so often.

Second Leg

http://scenichotsprings.blogspot.com/

Then came the second leg of the hike where the forest trail opened up to a clearing. This part of the hike you follow the snapping high tension power lines up a steep incline. The snow was extremely deep and if you fell through it was about 2-3 feet up your leg. Through the forest it took about 15-30 min. this part of the hike took about 30-60 min. it was brutal, especially without snow shoes. All the while I was thinking if it's healthy to be in such close proximity to high tension power lines.

Third Leg

Now we came to the third and most difficult part of the hike through another forest trail. This hike was the steepest of all the sections of the hike. During the hike we had to cross fractured snow on the side of small cliffs and cross streams running underneath the snow.

Hot Springs

We made it! After about an hour and a half we got the pay off. We made it to the Hot Springs. The temperature of the hottest pools runs at about 110 degrees. There is another pool that runs a little cooler at 90 degrees. We stayed in the hot springs that overlooks snowy mountains, green forests, and Stevens Pass below for about an hour.

Around 9:00 PM we decided we needed to leave immediately because number 1 it was dark, number 2 it was starting to snow and number 3 it was getting colder. So we got out of the Scenic Hot Springs put on our clothes and started the long hike back.

Danger

White Out Conditions

We used our cell phones as the only source of light. The snow was coming down more heavily now as we hiked through the forest trail. Every few steps you would fall through the snow or fall down completely. Before the trail opened up to the clearing of the second leg I asked my friend, “What’s that sound?” It turns out the load roaring, crackling sound I was hearing was the high tension power being bombarded with snow. The power lines were also glowing an eerie blue electricity color. I put the danger of electric shock out of my mind because the snow was coming down even heavier and our tracks on the way up were barely visible. The snow was causing near white out conditions. If we couldn't find the trail back I didn’t even want to think what would happen to us. So by this point we were running down the mountain. Not a good idea because the added pressure of our feet caused my buddy to fall through the snow about 3 ft. He said he was stuck and as I hiked back to dig him out he somehow got loose. Then shortly after that incident my leg fell through the snow about 3 ft. causing it to get stuck. I thought I would lose my shoe for sure, but I slowly dug my leg out by hand freeing my shoe and all.

Trail Head

Even after all this hiking down was faster than hiking up. We had a 50/50 chance of finding the 'first leg' forest trail through the blinding snow, luckily we eventually did. This forest trail was easier to follow than the open second leg under the power lines. The whole time I was thinking about all the TV shows on the Discovery Channel about "respecting the mountain." That day we had no respect for the mountain... I will definitely be more prepared next time (at least bring a flashlight) I decide to go hiking in the mountains. At least I got a blog post out of it though right?

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament - See My Picks

Just taking a break from working for one of my favorite events of the year. I'm talking about the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. See picture below for my 2008 picks . According to BizJournals.com "'March Madness' is predicted to cost up to $1.4B in lost productivity." I would answer this fact with, there are some things more important than money. The The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is one of those things.

CNBC Jim Cramer Wrong on Bear Stearns - Video

I feel sorry for Jim Cramer it seems lately he's the most hated talking head on TV. As I've said on this blog before passive income is one of the best ways to becoming wealthy. When you decide to make an investment don't just listen to one source like CNBC's Jim Cramer, do research from multiple sources. Jim Cramer in the video clip below said "Don't sell Bear Stearns!" Oh how wrong he was!

If you haven't heard already, "The Fed agreed to pony up $30 billion in so-called nonrecourse loans - agreements that transfer the risk of Bear's bad mortgage bets to U.S. taxpayers. The Fed's decision paved the way for the Sunday evening deal that put Bear in JPMorgan's hands for $2 a share, a 93% discount to Friday's closing price (http://money.cnn.com)."

Going Down Affiliate Summit Las Vegas Memory Lane

I've been to several affiliate conferences, but the one that stands out every time I go is Affiliate Summit Las Vegas. Here are some pictures of the parties (the best part). Some people call this networking...

Cheap Banner Advertising Animated Banners From $24.95

I learned about this web site by reading one of the many blog authored by affiliate marketers. BannersMall.com is the site for inexpensive animated banner ad creation for your web or blog. The prices start at $24.95. Here’s a breakdown:

728 x 90 = $37.95
468 x 60 = $34.95
125 x125 = $28.95
100 x100 = $27.95
300 x 250 = $38.95
234 x 60 = $28.95
120 x 240 = $31.95
120 x 60 = $27.95
120 x 90 = $27.95
120 x 600 = $37.95
80 x 31 = $24.95
Web Site Headers = $79.95

Each order will usually complete in 3-4 days. When you order just describe to the designers what you want your banner to look like. If it doesn’t meet your expectations the first time just e-mail the designers back. The BannersMall.com designers will redesign the banner for you until you like it.

I used BannersMall.com for a 468x60 banner for my web site DrasticDeals.com. I am very happy with the results and would use BannersMall again.

This 468 x 60 banner was created for the web site DrasticDeals by BannersMall.

Attention Bloggers Get Free Stuff by Becoming a Member of the Press

First step join the nationally recognized "Media Bloggers Association" at http://www.mediabloggers.org/
Find more information about them at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Bloggers_Association

You would not believe the power of the press to get free stuff and attend events for free. Now as a blogger you can get the same credentials as a reporter from CNN. For example at the Scooter Libby Trial bloggers got press credentials.

“After two years of negotiations with judicial officials across the country, the Media Bloggers Association, a nonpartisan group with about 1,000 members working to extend the powers of the press to bloggers, has won credentials to rotate among his members. The trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the highest-ranking Bush administration official to face criminal charges, could "catalyze" the association's efforts to win respect and access for bloggers in federal and state courthouses, said Robert Cox, the association's president.”

Source: http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/1/11/11928/3163

The possibilities of going and getting free stuff as an official member of the press is staggering. For example the OMMA Expo in Hollywood is accepting applications for members of the press.

“Members of the media are welcome and encouraged to attend OMMA Global Hollywood Conference and Expo, designed by and for the online marketing community.

To request credentials or for further information, contact Lou Rossi, lou@mediapost.com.”

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/omma/index.cfm?ip=Press

In closing if you are a blogger think about the possibilities. The freedom of the press is written in the constitution. Bloggers unite and take advantage of this untapped opportunity!

Top 3 Reason Why You Should Join Zecco.com

Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Join Zecco.com $0.00 Stock Trades

1) Cheapest out of all the stock trading companies. eTrade.com is $12.99, Ameritrade $9.99, Scottrade $7.00, and Sharebuilder $15.95.

2) No minimum balance and no minimum deposit to open an account.

3) Make more money while trading with less money! Every penny counts for the small investor.

If you can pay less for something you already use I recommend taking advantage of the offer. I already trade online, but pay $9.99 with Ameritrade. That’s $19.98 when you have bought and sold a stock. It ads up, especially when you don’t put a lot of capital in the trade. That changes with a company called Zecco.com. With Zecco on account balances on $2,500 or more you get 10 free stock trades a month. With account balances Less than $2,500 you pay only $4.50 per trade. I plan on closing my Ameritrade account and opening a Zecco.com account as soon as possible. With no commissions on stock trades on balances over $2,500 this really changes everything.

JOIN NOW

Bucca Di Beppo Free Entree Coupon For Filling Survey

Why ever pay for your meals? My suggestion to you is fill out comment cards at the restaurants you frequent, sign up for restaurant mailing lists from their web sites, and tell them your birth date. You never know what kind of free stuff they will send your way. On my birthday I get several offers from free desserts to completely free dinners. If you live in the Seattle area my recommendation would be to sign up for the Duke's Chowder House e-mail list. Duke's always sending free stuff my way.

Right now fill out a super short survey and receive a free meal from everyones favorite Italian Restaurant Bucca Di Beppo.

To fill out the Bucca Di Beppo Survey click here.

Find Bucca Di Beppo locations.

Continuing the Super Affiliate Blog Tradition

"Super Affiliate Dinner" Beer Batter Cod & Home Made Chips

The name of this article is, "Continuing the Super Affiliate Blog Tradition." What is the tradition you ask? We’ll I’m a subscriber of a number of blogs authored by Super Affiliates. I notice that they like to show off where they go and what grand lifestyles they live in order to increase their blog popularity. Who can blame them? Out of all the things Super Affiliate Bloggers take pictures of I find it funniest when they take photographs of their food. Super Affiliate bloggers take picture after picture of their extravagant 4, 5, and even 6 course dinners. I thought what the hell I’ll take pictures of my (A Super Affiliate) meal. Except I got one up on them, I made it myself from scratch! I’m not only a successful affiliate marketer I’m also a chef! Eat that Super Affiliate bloggers.

VelocityChecking.com - Checking Account That Pays 6.01 APR

Like I’ve been saying all along on this blog the most important thing you can do on the road to becoming wealthy is look for ways to generate passive income. My advice is always look for a better return on your investments, apathy won’t get you anywhere. When you see something better, take action immediately and find power in making a true decision. I was driving the other day and I saw a billboard for a checking account at VelocityChecking.com that gives you 6.01 APR on balances up to $40,000 and 2.0 APR on balances over that. The account is from Verity Credit Union and is Federally issued up to 100,000. Like the eTrade account I mentioned in a earlier post you get ATM refunds up to $25 monthly. You can’t beat this offer, I plan to sign up as soon as possible. I love competition.

Terms and Conditions: Everything has a catch, this is no exception. In order to qualify for the 6.01 interest rate you need "12 debit/point of sale transactions, receive electronic statements, and access online banking."

Lets run the numbers

Just to give you an idea of how much money this means to you… Lets say you deposit $10,000 that’s $610.00 free money every year or $50.83 per month. That’s paying for your cell phone bill.

Visit at VelocityChecking.com

Big Mac Index – Demonstration of PPP Purchasing-Power Parity

The Big Mac Index was introduced by The Economist in September 1986. The goal of the Big Mac Index is to demonstrate PPC Purchasing Power Parity. The concept of PPP is “that the exchange rates between two currencies should naturally adjust so that the cost of a sample basket of goods should cost the same in one currency (bigmac.biz). Basically, it tells you whether or not a countries currency is overvalued or not. After the Economist introduced the Big Mac Index this created a new term called Burgernomics. The Economist later introduced the Tall Latte index.

See the full Big Mac Index

Happy Valentine’s Day… Psss Save Money Skip the Restaurant

So you’re here because you want to save and become wealthy. I’m hear to tell you can do this, but you got to be smart in both how you work and how you spend. Relationships and family can be very expensive. I don’t want any angry e-mails, but tonight on Valentine's Day instead of getting pressured into going out to some fancy Restaurant bring the entertainment home.

I did some searching on the Internet for a semi fancy restaurant. I found one called Max Streak House located in New York City. Here’s the price breakdown.

"Classic" Caesar Salad- Hearts of romaine, shaved reggiano, herb croutons, and classic caesar dressing, please request anchovies, 8.95.

Filet Mignon, (Bone-In) 16oz- Served with brandy peppercorn sauce, 47.00.

This is just the bare minimum mind you, no desert. You will probably order a couple glasses of wine so lets say they cost $8.00 per glass.

OK total is 63.95 per person x 2 (Your date) = $127.90 + 20% tip = $153.48

I know I’ll be accused of being cheap, but you could do this in your home for around $50 or less. Caesar salad kit $3.50, Filet Mignon is usually about $10 a pound $20, and a fine bottle of wine $10. So your grand total for the evening is only $33.50 and you got to show off your awesome cooking skills!!!

I think it’s better to put effort and time into something you give than taking the easy way out in buying a prepackaged product. It’s much more appreciated and you feel better about giving it as well.

Spottt.com Beta Link Exchange by AdBrite.com Founder

This is the 9malls.com Spottt

Do you have a web site or blog? I have a free way for you to generate quality traffic. I just signed up for Spottt.com a new banner exchange program from AdBrite. All the beta testers today where given 10,000 free banner impression credits! Just sign up (takes seconds), upload a 125x125 banner, give Spottt your link, and post the HTML code on your web site. This is all it takes for free traffic to whatever you want including web sites, blogs, FaceBook, MySpace, or whatever else you can think of.

The Only Way to Bank is Online, Nickel and Dimed No More

Are you still banking at your local brick and mortar bank? STOP!!! You’re missing out on the opportunity to make 4%+ on your money doing absolutely nothing. While doing my research the online bank I like the most is eTrade.com. One their savings account you get a generous 4.10% and on their checking 3.25%. I plan on going with the checking account because you can make unlimited free deposits and withdrawals. Here’s what I liked the most about eTrade: eTrade.com will reimburse you on the biggest banking crime out there, ATM fees. Bank of America in efforts to raise their falling stock price raised their ATM fees to $3 for non customers. That used to be a the cost of a
whole Extra Value Meal at McDonald's (Not anymore, thanks inflation). eTrade will reimburse you this cost no matter how many withdrawals you make as an outside customer from Bank of America. eTrade will send you free checks and debit card when you open up an account, it’s FDIC insured up to $100,000, and they even have a local eTrade bank here in Seattle! You can treat eTrade bank just like any other bank accept they aren’t ripping off the customer like the majority of national chain banks. I think banks have really lost sight of what being a bank means. The goal of the bank is having a safe place to keep your money and watch it grow. The goal of a bank is not to design elaborate schemes to nickel and dime you until you go broke. I really get worked up about this issue. If there is one thing that pisses me off it’s the way most banks do business. Thank you to outside competition like eTrade. Now do your part send a message to the national banks and switch.

Why Buy a House When You Can By a Duplex?

Example of a Duplex

While the housing market is in a slump rental rates are now at an all time high. Anyone thinking of buying a new house should find one that has an attached rental unit or make plans to create one. Find a house with a rental unit, duplex, or triplex. Live in one unit and rent out the rest of the space. This way your renters are paying off your mortgage and you will be able to afford more property. Since the gain on a $500,000 house will be more than a $300,000 home you will end up making more money when you sell. Also, property that is able to be rented out is more valuable especially in a down market. This is a no brainier easy money solution to maximizing your wealth generating potential on a less than millionaire salary.

Secret to Making Money... Passive Income

This is My Actual InBoxDollars Check

Yes, one of the secrets to making lots of money in life is finding ways to get passive income. Rich Dad Poor Dad said it, now it’s my turn. Instead of rental properties which is what Robert T. Kiyosaki vouched for I would rather go in a more high tech direction. The goal is everyday find programs like the one I’m going to tell you about and eventually you will be wealthy. The web site is called www.InBoxDollars.com. In Box Dollars is a real, legitimate, professionally run company that pays free subscribers to read e-mail advertisements. InBoxDollars sends about 2-3 emails per day at an average of $0.03 per e-mail. Do the math this comes out to $32.85/year. Doesn’t sound like much, but do this for 10 years that’s $328.50 extra found money! Still doesn’t sound like much? Well sign up with multiple paid to read companies and get that number up to an extra $500 or $1000. That’s just you reading e-mail. If you want to make even more than refer your friends and get paid when they read their e-mail. You get the point. All I’m saying is instead of looking at everything as a whole start looking at your life in parts. Make a little here, save a little here and you will be surprised how much it ads up. The site once again is InBoxDollars.com. I’ve been a member for about 3 years.

No Matter What Age You Are Read This Book!

I just read the book after seeing the author on CNBC’s The Big Idea: Donny Deutsch. His name is Alan Corey and the book is called “A Million Bucks by 30.” Here’s a guy that started out making only $40,000 a year and with a few lifestyle changes and smart investment strategies easily became a millionaire by the age 30. All it took was a willingness to live below his means and passive income through real estate. Alan Corey is just a regular guy that uses his extremely disciplined mind to become rich. One of his extreme cheapskate strategies was to reuse the popcorn bags you get at movie theaters because they will refill them for free. I highly recommend the book for his humor, motivation to save, and simple but effective investment ideas.


Buy this book through Buy.com

XY7.com Affiliate Network Under Dog Takes on the Titans of Affiliate Marketing

So if you don’t know affiliate marketing it’s how my site 9malls.com makes money. Basically you put a simple HTML code on your web site or blog and when someone makes a purchase though that link you get a commission. This put very simply is what’s known as affiliate marketing.

Sign up with XY7.com

If you are already into affiliate marketing you know some of the big companies include Linkshare, Commission Junction, and Performics. What you may not know is in effort for smaller affiliate networks to complete with the big ones they are offering you higher commission rates. One of the companies that I work with and have found consistently offer higher commission rates is XY7.com. I met the people that work for this company at Affiliate Summit Las Vegas and can’t say enough good things about them. If you haven’t already signed up with them you’re doing yourself a disservice because you are not getting the highest possible commission amount from a given company. Just a quick example lets say you have a movie blog and want to make some extra cash. NetFlix.com on Linkshare.com pays you $18, but on XY7.com they pay you $21.00 a lead. Trust me this may not sound like much by on 100 leads this is an extra $300 in your pocket. It’s worth the effort to switch out your links!

Sign up with XY7.com

February Means American Express Rebates

I couldn't wait for my annual cash rebate from American Express. Finally it's here! If you are a member of the Costco American Express Cash Rebate Card than you know February is cash rebate time. I just got mine in the mail and cashed it tonight. One thing that I love about the Costco American Express Rebate Card is that there is no annual fee, no limit to how much money you can make, and you save more money percentage wise when you shop at Costco. I buy all my groceries and gas at Costco for this reason. In my opinion there really isn’t any reason why you shouldn't carry around some form of cash back credit card. It’s found money that you didn’t even have to work for. Think of it as a up to 2% raise in yearly income. My suggestion is put everything on it. If you have a business put your business expenses on it, mortgage, apartment rent, gas, clothes, everything. It add up fast! Go down to your local Costco to get the rebate card or click on banner to sign up for the none Costco branded equivalent credit card.