Mint.com (for iPhone)

Will it be a sirloin steak or $0.99 pizza for dinner tonight? To answer this, you need to know what you can afford, and for this purpose, Mint.com's iPhone app can't be beat.

Mint.com for iOS gives you a quick and dirty look at all your account balances updated in real-time, for as long as you're connected to the Internet. It automatically categorizes your transactions, alerts you when you've gone over budget, and lets you opt-into push notifications about bills.

Although it lacks many of the features of its Web application sibling, the?Editors' Choice-winning Mint.com, namely the ability to transfer money between accounts or set new budget limits,?I prefer it that way for the sake of the iPhone?s 3.5-inch screen and limited processing power?and for security reasons, frankly.?

The latest revamp, version 2.0, was released right after iOS 5?came out.?The new version adds features to 2008?s version 1.0, like being able to?manually enter and categorize cash transactions, use Google Places to tag locations to your transactions, and view pending transactions.?The software update adds much more to its new iPad app, like creating spending charts and graphs, but, as I mentioned, I like that Mint is keeping its iPhone app simple.?

Other financial management apps that perform similar functions will either cost you, like the $1.99 BillTracker or the $4.99 iXpensit (which has a free Lite version, though it's limited to only 100 expense records). Most banks now have mobile apps as well, many of which even let you transfer between accounts, but they don't let you sync accounts outside their bank.

Super-fast setup

Getting started took me no more than a couple minutes. This is a 10.3MB download that requires iOS 5.0 and above. After opening a free Mint.com account with an email address, zip code, and login, I synced my various financial accounts. Mint recognizes most U.S. financial institutions, like Citi, Chase, Fidelity Investments, and Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, if you can't find yours, it can take months for Mint to add the institution, according to complaints on?Mint's blog.?

In my testing, I found the providers of all my accounts, including obscure ones like First Premier Bankcard and Public Bank. I was also prepared to hunt around for my account numbers, but all I needed to do was enter my bank's login info. Within minutes, the app imported all my account info.

Setup is pain-free; the tough part is facing your account balances every time you open the app. Once you do, you're served with three numbers that are updated in real-time as long as you're connected to the Internet: how much cash you have, how much credit card debt you owe, and your cash flow for the month. Tap on a figure to see a nicely-organized balance sheet that beats anything coming from your bank. Merchants are automatically categorized into areas like "shopping" and "food and dining." There are 12 categories in all. ?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/hfoYnlwbwLQ/0,2817,2396928,00.asp

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