Text Mint to See if You’ve Been Naughty or Nice

We’re all mothers, fathers, sons and daughters here.  So we know that the upcoming holidays are all about good Communication … and Shopping.  We thought this was a great time to introduce (and remind you of) Mint.com features which help you to manage both.

New!  Text Mint.com to get your Account Balances

Starting today, text BAL or BALANCE to MyMint (696-468) from any checkout line in America and we’ll send you the balances in all of the checking, savings and investment accounts you track in your Mint account.  Just think of it, no more embarrassing “your credit card has been declined” moments.

1. Activate your cell phone for alerts (Overview>Set up Mobile Delivery)
2. Text BAL or BALANCE to MyMint (696-468)
3. You’ll get yesterday’s balances (or balances from your last login, whichever is more recent) sent directly to your phone

Send Mint.com email or SMS alerts to your Significant Other

If you’re lucky enough to share your life (and finances) with another, show them you care by adding their email address or phone number to a Mint account that tracks your joint accounts.

1. Go to Your Profile>Account
2. Enter your loved one’s email address in Also Send Email To

You’ll both receive email and SMS alerts on the big events in your finances:  Bills Due, Approaching Credit Limit, Exceeding Budget for Gifts, and more. Last holiday season, the most frequently cited reason for going over budget was “Failure to Create and Stick to a Joint Budget”.  Use Mint’s dual email feature to keep yourself out of hot water and debt, this season.

Share the Joy of a Balanced Budget with your Accountant

As we approach the end of the year, many of you will soon be receiving plaintive requests from your financial planners, accountants, bookkeepers and other, probably underappreciated, folks in your life who need to know where you spent your money this year.  Mint offers an easy solution in our Export Transactions feature:

1. Go to the bottom of the Transactions page to find or filter the transactions you’d like to share, e.g.  All transactions from your Business Account, or tagged Reimbursable, etc.
2. Scroll to bottom of transactions list to find Export All Transactions button
3. Click to download all these transactions into a neat Excel spreadsheet, ready for emailing to your money guy or gal.

This holiday season it’s more important than ever to stay within your budget, to know where you stand at all times, and to maintain good communication with loved ones and friends (okay, accountants) that are your partners in achieving your long term financial goals.  We’re working hard to make all this easier for you…is it working?  How are you handling your holiday spending differently this year vs. last?  We’d love to hear from you.