[FREE] ONLINE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT RESOURCES

As more and more people are living paycheck to paycheck (over 40% of households at last count!), more and more resources are surfacing to assist consumers with day-to-day money management. Many of these free resources are geared specifically to novice managers; below is only a sampling of the available resources with a few notes about each...

You'll note that the majority of these were not mentioned in my blog a year and a half ago on free budgeting tools. One of the underlying strengths of many of these new systems is their strong support networks - think of them as a Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers for your personal finances.

CLEAR CHECKBOOK.
- Account updating through many mobile services.
- Personalized reminders and alerts.
- Set spending limits.
- Scratch pad for notes, goals, price comparisons, etc.
- Simple editing features.

GEEZEO.
- Geezeo Blog.
- Numerous 'learning' resources.
- Product marketplace - compare various financial offers.
- Provides access/linking to investment accounts as well.
- Social network/financial support group.

I-EXPENSE ONLINE.
- Geared to detail-oriented individuals.
- One-click access to features.
- Test things with a guest account first.
- Tips section can be browsed for budgeting suggestions.
- Weekly progress chart.

MINT.
- Continually offering new and improved features.
- No bookkeeping required.
- Notifies you of account fees and finance charges.
- Provides solutions based upon personal spending patterns.
- Secure - uses same encryption banks use for data protection.

QUICKEN ONLINE.
- Connects to over 5,000 financial institutions.
- Live Community Forum.
- Sends reminders to a cell phone or e-mail (iPhone compatible).
- Transactions for accounts automatically download each night.
- View bills, spending details, account balances and transactions.

WESABE.
- Leverage smart decisions to an entire community.
- Personally targeted money tips.
- Share your money saving tips and goals with others.
- Some of the best user forums on the web.
- Translates "bankspeak" into friendly transaction descriptions.

YODLEE.
- Account sharing (w/ accountant, financial advisor, etc.).
- Connectivity to over 11,000 data sources.
- Consolidated view of all financial accounts.
- Expense, budgeting, and other analytical charts.
- Most comprehensive online solution.