The service is very appealing, but the idea of handing over all my financial information to 1 entity scares the crap out of me. I read about their internal security procedure with their server building, but it doesn't change the fact that some audacious group my attempt a heist and those 10 million people get their bank accounts drained.
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Mint.com
- Thread starter smoledman
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Millions of people have used it. I've used it for what, 3 years now? It's an incredibly handy service. Even if you don't use it to set a strict budget to follow, it's good to track where things are going and over time. It's not the only service of its type - there's a bunch others that are similar or related, like SaveUp.com
Many financial institutions have even added an extra layer of security to link accounts to Mint. For instance, besides having to enter in my ING account #, security questions, and PIN, ING added a code on top of all that which is mandatory to link to financial tracking sites like Mint.
I'm sure others might use a different free or paid system, but Mint works well enough for me. I used to just do Excel spreadsheets of budgets and projections, but we all know that things come up and it just became easier to track with Mint.
Many financial institutions have even added an extra layer of security to link accounts to Mint. For instance, besides having to enter in my ING account #, security questions, and PIN, ING added a code on top of all that which is mandatory to link to financial tracking sites like Mint.
I'm sure others might use a different free or paid system, but Mint works well enough for me. I used to just do Excel spreadsheets of budgets and projections, but we all know that things come up and it just became easier to track with Mint.
I'm familiar with Mint, since a few friends use it.
That said I'd never, ever be interested in a service like that. My finances are far too important to me.
Managing my own is just part of my life. I've got a very efficient system that only myself & my wife can access. That's the way I like it.
Yet I'm not saying the service is bad. It's all personal preference.
Oh, I do use Linux Mint, it's terrific...
http://linuxmint.com/
That said I'd never, ever be interested in a service like that. My finances are far too important to me.
Managing my own is just part of my life. I've got a very efficient system that only myself & my wife can access. That's the way I like it.
Yet I'm not saying the service is bad. It's all personal preference.
Oh, I do use Linux Mint, it's terrific...
http://linuxmint.com/
I'm familiar with Mint, since a few friends use it.
That said I'd never, ever be interested in a service like that. My finances are far too important to me.
Managing my own is just part of my life. I've got a very efficient system that only myself & my wife can access. That's the way I like it.
Yet I'm not saying the service is bad. It's all personal preference.
Oh, I do use Linux Mint, it's terrific...
http://linuxmint.com/
I agree. It's one thing if you only have a few thousand on your account it's probably worth doing. But for those us with a lot to lose, it's just comes down to the old adage - "don't put all your eggs in one basket". I don't care how ultra-secure Mint's server building is, it can be hacked and/or broken into. If enterprising hackers can get into any hotmail account they want, why not this?
Mint was disingenuous about how they were handling passwords when I looked at them a few years ago, that ruined all possibility of trust from that point on.
"Mint never stores your passwords" eventually was found out to be true, but all it meant was that they were having a third party store your account information - as if somehow that was better.
Having said that, if someone would come up with an actual software program that I could buy and control (e.g., no disclosure of passwords to anyone), I'd almost certainly go after it.
As it stands now, Mint and similar offerings represent risk with very little gain.
"Mint never stores your passwords" eventually was found out to be true, but all it meant was that they were having a third party store your account information - as if somehow that was better.
Having said that, if someone would come up with an actual software program that I could buy and control (e.g., no disclosure of passwords to anyone), I'd almost certainly go after it.
As it stands now, Mint and similar offerings represent risk with very little gain.
My fiance goes over budget on clothing and I know immediately. Thank you mint.
Just keep the electronics budget on the dl though.
Just keep the electronics budget on the dl though.
They're owned by Intuit, who also own Quicken, Turbo Tax, etc. I'm guessing they have tens of millions of customers. I'd say it's pretty safe. All of the data that they store is encrypted with the same level of encryption that the banks use. I wouldn't be any more worried about mint than your bank's online banking website.
