Mint Users Cutting Spending Sharply Due to Economic News

Contact:
Martha Shaughnessy
AtomicPR for Mint
martha@atomicpr.com
415.402.0230

Average User Spent 4% Less in September versus August

Mountain View, Calif., October 31, 2008 Mountain View, Calif.,Oct 31, 2008 – Mint.com (www.mint.com) the leading online personal finance service, today released an analysis showing a sharp decline in users’ spending in September versus August. While data released last month showed that Mint.com users had been gradually reducing their monthly spending by 2% since January, 2008, this analysis shows a much more drastic cut. Mint.com users shaved an average 4% from their spending, or $200, in just 30 days – as much money as they were able to save over the course of the previous 8 months.*

“We were pleased to learn last month that Mint.com users were taking advantage of our financial management and budgeting software to gradually cut their spending,” said Aaron Patzer, CEO and founder of Mint.com. “But to see how effectively users were able to cut back in response to September’s tumultuous market news is really inspiring. With U.S. consumer confidence dropping to an all-time low this month**, we’re glad to serve as a resource.”

In addition, the number of visitors to Mint.com more than doubled during the month, as more people sought out actionable personal finance and savings tips to help them weather this difficult time.

Where Mint.com Users are Cutting Back

Whether prompted by the month’s dire financial news, or in specific reaction to losses in investment value, Mint.com users reduced daily expenses across eight of nine spending categories:

• Entertainment, Shopping and Travel saw the biggest cuts, each dropping 7%
• Gas/Fuel decreased 6%
• Home spending was down 4%
• Food and Dining spending declined 2%.
• Gifts and Donations decreased another 1%, adding to a full 25% drop from January – August, despite increasing requests from both political campaigns for donations.
• Even spending on Financial Advisors dropped 5% during the month, reversing the upward trend seen in January – August
• Only spending on Utilities increased, by an average of 2%

“It seems clear that Mint users are taking quick action to increase their emergency funds and shore up their retirement savings,” said Patzer. “While current US economic conditions are frightening, we’re happy to see Mint.com achieving what we designed it to do: help people save and do more with their money.”

*Average Mint.com user spending for January – September, 2008 and for specific US cities and regions can be accessed by contacting Martha@atomicpr.com, or by calling 415.402.0230 and asking for a member of the Mint team.

** http://www.conference-board.org/economics/ConsumerConfidence.cfm

About Mint.com (www.mint.com)

Mint.com is the leading online personal finance service, providing more than 500,000 users a fresh, easy and intelligent approach to money management. And it’s free. Mint is tracking $50 billion in transactions, $15 billion in assets and has identified more than $100 million in potential savings for its users. Designed to be effortless, Mint.com takes less than five minutes to set up. Users register anonymously using only a valid email address. Mint then does the rest, securely downloading transaction data from more than 7,000 bank, credit card and investment accounts on a daily basis. Users never need to import or synch their data. Mint applies patent-pending technology and proprietary algorithms to categorize transactions; provide a unified view of all account activity; alert users to low balances, bank fees, upcoming bills, and even potentially suspicious account activity; and give users personalized suggestions for significant savings opportunities. Mint is rated top in its category by PC World and PC Magazine and was named one of the 50 Best Websites of 2008 by Time magazine. The product has received two Webby awards, an American Business Award and accolades from TechCrunch, Lifehacker, the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek since its September, 2007 launch.

Mint’s management team includes experienced executives drawn from the ranks of Charles Schwab & Co., eBay, Expedia, Intuit, PGP and other leaders in the finance, security and software spaces. Investors include top venture capital firms and prominent individuals associated with companies including Blue Nile, Google, Intuit, PassMark Security, PayPal, Yahoo! and others.

For more information on Mint.com’s free online personal finance service, please visit www.mint.com.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.
Aaron Patzer

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=75230

Website: http://www.conference-board.org/economics/ConsumerConfidence.cfm/

Website: http://www.mint.com/