I’m helping a friend set up an account with Mint to help organize their finances. They want to get started with a debt snowball and also wanted to keep an eye out on their spending. They have tried Microsoft Money and Quicken, but they want something automatic. They are also switching over from a national bank to a local credit union with better rates, lower fees, and a great reputation for customer service. 

In case, you haven’t tried it, Mint allows you to quickly set up on financial accounts and organize them in one central location. I personally use it for snapshots of our spending habits and found the email alerts to be very helpful. 

Photo Credit: peasap

Personal Finance Carnivals

• Carnival of Personal Finance #194 was at Free Money Finance.  My post on cutting our car insurance in half was picked a editor’s choice!
• Festival of Frugality#167 Dr. House Edition was here on Green Panda Treehouse
• Carnival of Debt Reduction #180 was by Living Almost Large. My post on paid Off Our Car Loan was included.
• Carnival of Money Hacks: Hope Edition is up at The Penny Daily

Personal Finance News:

•  Cash Money Life is giving away a copy of YNAB Pro budgeting software.
•  Consumerism Commentary is giving away a copy of Quicken Home and Business 2009.

Top Personal Finance Posts This Week

• How I Paid Over $120,000 in Debt in 52 Months
• Tip: The Credit Card Companies Are Not Your Friend, They Just Want Your Money 
• Budget Categories – Less is more
• The Easiest Way To Save: What We Learned From College Students
• Why Automatic Bill Payments Aren’t Always Automatic 
• It’s that time of year again: Gardening Season
• Tax Tips for 18-25 Year-Olds
• Life Is NOT All About Saving Money
• The Cost Of Watching Television
• How to Avoid Identity Theft

• Weekly Round-Up: Chat on Twitter Edition I just wanted to remind you that if you're looking for a way to contact me with a queston or idea for the blog, please send me an email or message me on Twitter.  I usually chat in the evening with other personal finance bloggers. If you were following me this weekend, I......
• Weekly Round Up: September 29 I can’t believe that October is 2 days away already! A lot of this week’s posts were interesting and I continue to like the variety that these bloggers offer. Free Money Finance has an article on how to save money while traveling. We’re going on vacation in November, so......

• Sunday Money Madness - Happy New Year! Happy New Year Everybody! Let's kick off the first of this year's roundup with a bang! Credit and Debt No Debt Does Not Mean Good Credit says Credit Karma. All Financial Matters posts Bureaus Roll Out New Credit Score Formula for 2009. Finance for a Freelance Life asks Got Gift......
• The carnival for this week is up at Finance is Personal! Finance is Personal, aka Getting Green, has posted this week's Carnival of Debt Reduction.  Matthew, the author of the hosting blog, discloses that it was just over a year ago that he paid off his debts!One of the articles that caught my eye (besides my own) was No Credit Needed's......