Mellody's Best Financial Web Sites

Aug. 12, 2009 -- Some of the new financial Web sites can be such lifesavers or least money- savers. So what are the best new sites online right now?

Here are some of my favorites:

Mint

Mint is a money Web site that already has over a million users and has been named best online personal finance tool by Money magazine.

Two great features: It's free and it's easy to use.

You start by creating an anonymous account. You then add your bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts by providing a username and password for all the accounts you want the site to track for you.

Mint does the rest, automatically.

It updates your accounts and gives analysis of your spending, budgeting and investing patterns, which are shown in easy to read graphs. The site also uses the information to give personalized advice on how to save money. The site claims it can find $1,000 worth of savings ideas in the first session alone.

By helping you manage your accounts, the site also suggests better banking products to fit your needs. Also, it will send you a text message or e-mail when certain bills are due or if there's any unusual activity on one of your accounts. Worried that putting all this financial information online is risky?

Besides your user name and password for each account, no other information is required. Mint does not store names or personally identifiable information. It has bank-level Internet security and most importantly, you cannot move your money with this tool, you can only view it.

iPhone Apps

IPhones are all the rage right now. The programs that you run on them are called "apps" which is short for applications. They are downloaded from the App store on iTunes. The prices range from free to a few dollars. Here are some some great ideas for helping you with your finances.

The "Loan Shark" app ($5) helps you analyze every aspect of a loan, including amortization schedules, so that you can make the right decision when comparing home or auto loans. Portfolio RT ($9) provides up-to-the-second stock quotes. The Compare Me app ($2) allows you to compare the prices of two retail items of different sizes to see which one is the better deal.