Money Matters: The Budget Belle

I don't know about you, ladies & gents, but this time of the year is always one where I want to try and get more fit. Financially fit, that is. A few months ago, we told you about mint.com, a website where you can track all over your saving and spending.With just a few clicks (and complete trust in giving a third party your account information) Mint.com helps you see how much you are spending, how much you are saving (or not), and your current estimated net worth (which was personally all I needed to see to say, yeah, it's time to get serious about saving some funds).

This past Friday, 1/8/10, represented the 1st paycheck of 2010 for many on a bi-weekly pay schedule. I personally took the time to sit down, figure out all of my expenses--from putting gas in the car, to paying for parking for work, to putting money in my ING Saving Account, to my bi-weekly manicures and my tithes for church--and plugged it into their budget creator, along with what my monthly paycheck equates to. Already I see that I have an ATM fetish (I used to hate that I couldn't find a Bank of America. Now that one is one block away? Mercy!)

Of course, if you just take a lump sum of money out of the ATM machine, you will have to take the time to track how the case was spent, which mint.com also allows you to do. But with the accessibility of paying via debit card today just about everywhere you go, it doesn't take much to swipe at the register instead of handing over cash. I'm personally looking forward to seeing how much I have saved at the end of six months, which by my calculations will be right around the time that Full Figured Fashion Week 2010 will be sweeping into New York City. It will definitely be a sweet treat to be able to purchase some great outfits pre and post event!

Is saving one of your top priorities for 2010? If so, would you consider using mint.com to keep track of your finances?