My Mint Story: I Increased My Net Worth by $5,000 in One Year

Meet Blair:

Blair just started using Mint a year ago. Since then, she has seen her net worth increase by nearly $5,000.

Blair’s story is a reminder that small wins are still big wins– and every little bit counts.

Here’s how Blair makes Mint work for her:

Why I started Using Mint

I have worked for BlueStar Retirement Services, a company that provides administrative and recordkeeping services for 401k plans, for almost two years now.

About six months ago, my supervisor mentioned Mint.com to me as a good way to keep track of all of my financial accounts.

I signed up that night and was immediately hooked by the ease of use and variety of financial tools that the site offers.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Working in the Retirement Planning industry I know how important it is to save for the future.

Not everyone can afford to save huge amounts at a time – I know I can’t! Yet putting away small amounts here and there, adds up big in the long run.

I have an IRA and an investment brokerage account with Vanguard that I use to save money for the future and add to whenever I have a few extra dollars on hand.

Slow and steady wins the race, and I have learned that it is important to do your homework to find investments that fit your needs.

For me that means choosing investments that perhaps swing up and down a bit on the day to day, but long term show steady positive growth.

When I joined Mint last year I linked those accounts along with my home, car, and other investments so I could watch over everything in one place.

I had never been able to really do that before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

To my most pleasant surprise, I discovered that my net worth has increased by nearly $5,000 since joining Mint. That’s not too bad for a twenty-something in today’s world!

Unexpected Benefits

As a young person I know that financial self-sufficiency can be a challenge and finding ways to actually save money every month is even more difficult.

By using the Budgets and Trends functions offered by Mint, I can see in a snapshot exactly where my money is going every month.

Using these tools I have been able to watch the life cycle of my money and figure out where I can afford to cut back and then increase the amount I am able to save each month.

As a result of cultivating more conscientious spending habits, last month I found myself able to afford a 5-day vacation to New York City to visit a friend attending school in Manhattan.

A year ago I would have never thought I would be able to afford something like that on my own!

How I Make Mint Work for Me

I don’t use every function that Mint offers, but I know which tools are helpful for me.

Linking as many of my assets and accounts as I can to the site increases how well it is able to suit my needs, while personalizing each page gives me all of the info that I need at a glance,

Every person’s financial situation is different, and I think the most important thing to do is to check out all of the functions Mint has and see what works best for you.

Thanks for sharing your story, Blair!

Do you have a My Mint story you’d like to share? Head over to the Mint.com Facebook page and let us know!