I'm a pretty lazy guy, and I don't like balancing checkbooks, writing down all my purchases, or really anything that feels like make-work. But, I know its important to track your spending, and to try and maintain a budget. One tool that makes this much easier is Mint.
Before I get into describing all the great things mint does for you, let me address one big issue with using Mint, or any website like Mint. You will have to enter your usernames and passwords for all of your bank accounts, in order to really track your spending on Mint. I'm not too excited about the idea of spreading my passwords around, but, in case my passwords are compromised, I do know that I can dispute any fraudulent charges. Also, I'm pretty good about watching my accounts, so I should catch any issues pretty quickly.
The really advantageous thing about Mint is that it categorizes all your spending for you. So, you can see how much your spending on groceries vs. eating out vs. utilities, etc. I like to look at these categories, and figure out, if there's anything we could spend less on. Also, this is good information to have when talking about your family budget with your spouse. Even if you decide that you must spend $2000 on groceries each month, at least you are now aware of what your spending habits are, and you're talking openly about them.
Mint also allows you to set up allowances for each of your spending categories. When you go over your spending limit, Mint sends you an email, letting you know.
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