The Upwardly Mobile

I’ve mentioned Mint before in my article, 5-Plus Habits That Will Make You Rich, but the application is good enough that it deserves its own post. The free website allows you to easily track your spending and savings by automatically compiling and analyzing data from your credit and debit cards, bank accounts, and investment portfolio. Lifehacker has already posted a comprehensive screenshot tour to Mint’s features and security, so I won’t belabor either of those here; suffice it to say that Mint is about as secure as they come, and it has an excellent set of features to boot. What is amazing, however, is how much you can learn about your spending habits by using Mint. The website has just released a great new feature that allows you to compare your spending and investments with other mint users in your area, your state, or throughout the nation. They’ve also got a great blog that features a wide array of money management tips.

The spending comparison feature produces graphs that illustrate your spending habits and those of average users in the area you specify. You can sort by both location and spending-category, yielding some pretty interesting results. Hopefully, you’ll be spending significantly less than your local counterparts on expenses, and investing significantly more, but either way, Mint’s new (and anonymous) SpendSpace feature should allow you to find out how you’re doing. Considering the average American actually spends more than he earns, it really shouldn’t be a problem to save more than those around you! The feature can provide some positive reinforcement for your investing habits as well.

Mint’s blog isn’t quite as impressive as the actual application, but it’s certainly got a lot of great info! The posts on Cheap Alternatives to the “Must Haves” in Your Life and A Young Professional’s Car Buying Guide are particularly good.