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Funny you should mention credit card surcharges. Those are on the way after a long court battle, and a federal judge has already declared it unconstitutional for states to block it.

Don't use Mint on Mint.

It would have been better if they had taken the opt-in approach like Mint does.

Compare T-Mobile value plans and buy your phone directly instead of through the provider. Saves a chunk of change ($20/mo * 24mo per phone, really). Unlimited data on T-Mobile is $30/mo, but profile your actual data use. For my single line use, I get $10/mo 2GB plan (overflows into unlimited free low-speed Edge data) and don't use nearly that; I also noticed the Facebook app eats bandwidth (it eats battery faster than the charger supplies it, too), so I use the Facebook Messenger app but not the full Facebook app.

It may be worth the switch, but it also may be doable to switch away from unlimited data and into something cheaper. Currently I've used 103MB this cycle (since Sep 21), 64.26MB of that is Mint.com (which is heavy), 15MB is Web browser (Facebook, including uploads), 13MB is Google Play Store (app updates), 5.56MB is Gmail, 1.12MB is news and weather.

Notably, when I am home I'm connected to Wifi, so I don't use data between 9pm and 7am. In total roughly 50% of my bandwidth is through Wifi, more if you bulk-load Kindle or bring down from Amazon Cloud Player to the device itself when around Wifi (apparently Amazon MP3 now stores in Cloud Player but lets you copy from Cloud Player to the current device without DRM, instead of being an either-or solution). I'll bring an album or a single book down on 4G LTE, but if I'm syncing my library or several albums of music I'll do that at home ahead of time.

There are no shortage of smaller developers creating Quicken alternatives for Mac. iBank, Cashculator, and CheckBook Pro for example. I've settled on Mint.com myself after using GNUCase, Microsoft Money, Quicken, and iBank. Mint.com isn't for everyone, but after changing how I was managing money I feel it works better than other products for me. Bank Simple also looks interesting for anyone who is currently not satisfied with their bank.

It's meaningless to say "80% of millionares are first-generation" because $1M in 1980 is equivalent to $2.6M now. If you start retirement with $1M in the bank right now and a 3.5% withdrawl rate (which is reasonable), you'll only be taking out $35K/year to live on!

Runaway wealth accrual is not caused by people who have accumulated $1M during a career; we're talking about people who get ten times that much every year even when the business fails. The lowest of the top 5 hedge fund managers in 2010 made $1.4 billion, which is obviously 1,400 times as much, in a single year, as the entrepreneurs and professional to which you refer accumulated over the course of a career. Doing the math, that's the same as equating somebody who makes $100,000 per year with somebody else who has a net worth of $71. Are the people I'm talking about really thousands of times more productive than the people you're talking about?

For a nice visual, try

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/china-vs-united-states-a-visual-comparison/

As you can see, China is bigger with manufacturing, US is bigger with services; China doesn't have the debt, or the excesses in the stock market. China has cash, and gold reserves. China doesn't have external debt. China exports more than it imports.

About the ONLY metric that China falls behind in is GDP -- which, from the other indicators is simply being propped up by... China.

(Oh, and the US has more energy reserves).

Have fun with the easy graphics. The GP was right -- China pretty much owns the US.

but the weak evidence is good enough to say Jesus (no christ) msot likely existed.

Since there are zero eyewitness accounts, the weak evidence is just that: weak. If Jesus had done all that stuff then one of the several historians operating at the time would have noticed at least some of it and gone to see if this guy was real.

Your "citation" about who gives is a gigantic failure. They get the data from http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/site/charity_who_cares/ which gets the "data" (an infographic) from http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CharityWhoCares-3.jpg. Mint.com is the bitch of a specific set of vulture capitalists with their own agendas and I elect not to trust anything they say without seeing more details. But if you have a USEFUL citation for your assertion I'm interested in seeing it.

I think we all knew this.

Seriously. What retard thought this was news when the infographic describing the HDMI rip-off has been out for over a year?

I am not able to understand this. They already own USA. Then why are they stealing from something they already own? Well, chalk it up to yet another thing of deep eastern mysticism unfathomable by the shallow western philosophical materialists.

The biggest owners of the US Debt are US Citizens and companies.
http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/who-owns-the-u-s-debt-07152010/?display=wide

China only owns ~25% of the foreign holdings, which is only 23% of the debt, so basically they own ~6% of our debt.

In the infographic, the "Federal Reserve and US Intragovernmental holdings" is mostly money lent out to print money and Social Security accounts.
So the government for the past 30+ years has been spending like a drunk sailor (on wars, and corporate welfare) using YOUR social security deposits, and now wants to cut your benefits to "settle the balance". How nice of them.

I'd prefer they pay back Social Security by running a damn surplus for a few years. Start by stripping the corporate welfare and "loosened tax rates" for billionaires and other tax cheats.

I don't understand how the entire country can be having this conversation about reducing spending without any mention of the defense budget. Last time I checked it was nearly twice all other federal discretionary spending combined, without even counting the wars. And it's still massively disproportionate to the rest of the world. Seriously. No mention of it, at all, on news, radio, or paper? Not even NPR? I don't get it.

Silverpop provides Mint.com with e-mail services, too.

Remember this e-mail SNAFU from not too long ago?

Related?

63% Military / National Security vs 37%
http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DAT2010mint.jpg

--
"You actually have to PAY to live on the planet you were born on?!?!"

Compare how much money is wasted on the "War on Terror" (The US is fighting an inanimate object?!?!)

US Federal Budget

2010 Version
http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DAT2010mint.jpg

Previously posted 2009 version...
http://stepsandleaps.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/wallstatsdatlarge.jpg

2008 Version (sorry for long link, 2008 is hard to find)
https://o4eiha.bay.livefilestore.com/y1mFOjJMJ73p0LF5FzjuTQ-LENPDEtZo73oI4MS13TyLQD177PI7QT0YtsgYXm63SSiBJHSHlHDG_GVDdK2XNrSAX61-FklbOWvyKyKpoo2k6ckqSCJR7g2a_CkGv4HQcb2uZSqYL7SJDbSsZkfuRur2Q/wallstatsdatlarge_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg

Other interesting break-down...

Auto Industry Breakdown
http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/AutoIndustryFinal3.jpg

Compare how much money is wasted on the "War on Terror" (The US is fighting an inanimate object?!?!)

US Federal Budget

2010 Version
http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DAT2010mint.jpg

Previously posted 2009 version...
http://stepsandleaps.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/wallstatsdatlarge.jpg

2008 Version (sorry for long link, 2008 is hard to find)
https://o4eiha.bay.livefilestore.com/y1mFOjJMJ73p0LF5FzjuTQ-LENPDEtZo73oI4MS13TyLQD177PI7QT0YtsgYXm63SSiBJHSHlHDG_GVDdK2XNrSAX61-FklbOWvyKyKpoo2k6ckqSCJR7g2a_CkGv4HQcb2uZSqYL7SJDbSsZkfuRur2Q/wallstatsdatlarge_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg

Other interesting break-down...

Auto Industry Breakdown
http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/AutoIndustryFinal3.jpg

Yeah +1 for mint.com

I use it in conjunction with both US bank, and my local Credit Union

Mint.com is pretty great for connecting to whatever bank you have and it'll download your reports and also automatic categorization. I have almost 2 years of data in it, and they let you download it all CSV. It also has me in the habit of checking all of my accounts once a week, by just logging onto one website. Nice way to be on top of anything that might be fraudulent.

What about the privacy issues of a public web site that tracks a household's entire financial profile? Intuit's claim:

"We make money only when you do - We give you personalized ideas on how to save money by presenting the greatest savings from among thousands of financial products. If you decide to make a change that saves you some cash, we sometimes earn a small fee from the bank or company you switch to. You save a lot; we make a little."

And in the Privacy and Security Policy: "Simply put, we do not and will not sell or rent your personal information to anyone, for any reason, at any time."

But they DO seem to sell your information, as long as the data format can be construed as "anonymous" (before being combined with whatever other datasets the buyer might have):

"Intuit may make anonymous or aggregate personal information and disclose such data only in a non-personally identifiable manner to:

• Advertisers and other third parties for their marketing and promotional purposes, such as the number of users who applied for a credit card or how many users clicked on a particular Intuit Offer;
• Organizations approved by Intuit that conduct research into consumer spending; [...]

I'd be willing to bet they make a lot from these sales. "You save a lot; we make a little" indeed. Even if Intuit's current intentions are 100% honorable, let's not overlook the ubiquitous "we can change what you agreed to without your consent" clause in the Terms Of Service:

"Intuit may modify this Agreement from time to time. Any and all changes to this Agreement will be posted on the Mint.com site. In addition, the Agreement will always indicate the date it was last revised. You are deemed to accept and agree to be bound by any changes to the Agreement when you use the Service after those changes are posted."

This practice is where all the privacy trouble started with FaceBook. I have no idea how it's legally enforceable, but somehow it is, and in fact it's standard boilerplate for TOS contracts everywhere. :-)

Mint.com is pretty great for connecting to whatever bank you have and it'll download your reports and also automatic categorization. I have almost 2 years of data in it, and they let you download it all CSV. It also has me in the habit of checking all of my accounts once a week, by just logging onto one website. Nice way to be on top of anything that might be fraudulent.

What about the privacy issues of a public web site that tracks a household's entire financial profile? Intuit's claim:

"We make money only when you do - We give you personalized ideas on how to save money by presenting the greatest savings from among thousands of financial products. If you decide to make a change that saves you some cash, we sometimes earn a small fee from the bank or company you switch to. You save a lot; we make a little."

And in the Privacy and Security Policy: "Simply put, we do not and will not sell or rent your personal information to anyone, for any reason, at any time."

But they DO seem to sell your information, as long as the data format can be construed as "anonymous" (before being combined with whatever other datasets the buyer might have):

"Intuit may make anonymous or aggregate personal information and disclose such data only in a non-personally identifiable manner to:

• Advertisers and other third parties for their marketing and promotional purposes, such as the number of users who applied for a credit card or how many users clicked on a particular Intuit Offer;
• Organizations approved by Intuit that conduct research into consumer spending; [...]

I'd be willing to bet they make a lot from these sales. "You save a lot; we make a little" indeed. Even if Intuit's current intentions are 100% honorable, let's not overlook the ubiquitous "we can change what you agreed to without your consent" clause in the Terms Of Service:

"Intuit may modify this Agreement from time to time. Any and all changes to this Agreement will be posted on the Mint.com site. In addition, the Agreement will always indicate the date it was last revised. You are deemed to accept and agree to be bound by any changes to the Agreement when you use the Service after those changes are posted."

This practice is where all the privacy trouble started with FaceBook. I have no idea how it's legally enforceable, but somehow it is, and in fact it's standard boilerplate for TOS contracts everywhere. :-)

Simple. Joe Biden signed up for an account at Mint.Com. Our financial problems are over!

(Serious aside: The Fed could/should employ a team of designers and information experts (a la Edward Tufte or this guy) to help improve the transparency and operational efficiency of the government. Mint.com has some great examples of boring/old data presented in a fresh, informative, and visually-attractive manner. There's plenty of scientific evidence showing that aesthetics can improve cognition. The Obama administration have done an admirable job on this front compared to their predecessors, but there's still more to be done, particularly at the congressional level)

(Second aside: Mint.com were purchased by Intuit yesterday. Ew.)

I know most of the readership here are coders and the like, and so a lot of the questions are from that perspective, but since so many of us interview with pre-IPO or venture capital funded companies its important to find out if the company is doing well or has a future, especially if you are looking at stock options as part of your compensation (or as a lottery ticket...) I found this blog entry useful.- http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/guy-kawasaki-startup-tips/ You may not want to go into this level of detail but it gives you a sense of the kinds of questions that are fair game. These may not be first interview questions (as commented elsewhere first interviews are just to make the short list), however its reasonable for you to inquire about a private company's finances if you are throwing your lot in with them.

Yeah, some people might get hurt in the process, but if we continue going like we currently are, we are hurting future generations. People are already getting hurt, we shouldn't be passing that crap on to our children.

John Maynard Keyes would like to have a word with you.

Its a good computer replacement except....

A) Can't edit documents

iPhones can edit Word documents.

B) No Flash

Flash does run on iPhones.

F) Little to no software or abilities to do some basic financial things (e-file taxes, etc)

Here are 10 iPhone Finance Apps That Count for iPhones and iPods.

Falcon

Capitalism would let ALL of these companies fail. If you can't make a product that people want or need at an affordable price, then it's a product that should NOT BE MADE.

The problem is that unfettered capitalism historically always results in a panic which results in deflationary situation which itself will eventually resolve itself but you'll have about 10 years of "suckage" (at best you'll have high unemployment and economic stagnation and at worst you'll have the great depression).

There is no if's ands or buts about this because it has been historically observed that this is the natural cycle of hands off free market capitalism. (mostly during the long depressions of the 1870s and 1900's)

So in that regard, yes it would fix itself eventually, but do you want to live through 10 years of economic stagnation?

Most average citizens don't so they usually vote in people that interfere with the economy. Simple as that and no amount of arguing to them will change their minds because they want their jobs now and not 10 years from it.

What needs to happen to GM is a very structured bankruptcy in which they are phased out and not all at once. Otherwise you get large group of unemployed people all at once that amplifies a deflationary death spin cycle which was the root cause of the great depression.

Quicken-everything is pretty awful (and that's before business tactics). Alas, their competition is all deficient as well -- though that's changing. Hopefully sites like Mint will give them a run for their money, and they'll have to make a decent product again.