the ultimate budget tool

hubby and i had to pay for a pretty decent chunk of the wedding expenditures. for the past year it's been really hard to save because of that and now that the wedding has come and gone, we've decided to create and stick to a fairly strict household budget.

i exported our checking account data from January - August and analyzed it in excel, created a budget and was so happy with myself! then yesterday, i found mint.com. i'm still really glad i did all of the work because it was eye-opening ($160 on coffee per month!) and educational, but mint.com makes everything sooo simple!

you give mint.com all of your account data and it organizes, analyzes and trends it all for you. at any given point you can log in and see how much you've spent in certain categories. you can either use the budget that mint.com suggests based on your past spending, or create your budget. it's easy to categorize and move things around as needed. because you can see all of your accounts (credit cards, bank accounts, student loans, 401k) in one spot, it's a great way to truly measure net worth and to see the financial "big picture."

trust me, when you see how amazing this site is you will fall in love (again!). it's a great tool for newlyweds that are trying to join finances and really take hold of their future. hubs and i have been living together for four years and sharing accounts for one and mint.com has given us, for the first time, a really clear picture of where we stand. love it!