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I guess you and I have differing opinions on what "real problems" are. Personal finance, yup. Facebook feed, not so much. Out of people who use Mint and who u

by modoc 17y ago

I guess you and I have differing opinions on what "real problems" are. Personal finance, yup. Facebook feed, not so much. Out of people who use Mint and who use YouTube, I'd bet many would pick Mint over YouTube if they had to pick one. Honestly, if youtube or facebook vanished, and in this magical world, no one propped up a replacement. People would moan for a week, and then they'd go back to the same things they did before YouTube existed, with no change to anything practical in their life. People wouldn't go insane, they'd simple find other ways to waste time.

axod 17y ago
Perhaps some of it is the fact that in the US you have to file your own taxes, so there's much greater emphasis on accounting. Maybe that's why it's valued more there :/ (In the UK I'm not sure most people would see the value in it). Facebook+youtube aren't just about wasting time. They're about communication and sharing information, which as social beings, is pretty important to most of us.
zaidf 17y ago
Out of people who use Mint and who use YouTube What if you ask 1000 random people between YouTube and Mint?
krschultz 17y ago
Exactly. Vimeo & Hulu replace all the value of YouTube. It is commodity free video hosting, there is no community at YouTube. Facebook is useful for me, but I wouldn't pay for it if I had to. I'd gladly pay for Mint. Mint has nothing to do with taxes like axod says. It is about budgeting and tracking expenditures. I used to get a statement in the mail each month from 4 different institutions related to bank accounts, credit cards, and investments. (Or check online at 4 different places). Then I would reconcile them with my checkbook / some pile of receipts to double check. Now I go to one place 1-2 times a week and check against my receipts right away. It never builds up and takes significantly less time. It also helps budget and gives you data to figure out where you are spending your money. If you are not one of those people who has money to keep track of or you don't balance your checkbook, then sure the value is hard to see. But if you actually take care of your money it is immensely helpful and saves me time and money.
- axod 17y ago
  >> "Mint has nothing to do with taxes like axod says." >> "If you are not one of those people who has money to keep track of or you don't balance your checkbook, then sure the value is hard to see." I was really trying to work out why Mint seems to be valued highly in the US. I can see some of the differences now. The idea of having a 'checkbook' is incredibly quaint to most people in the UK. No one uses checks anymore here, not for 10-20 years, we're used to free banking, online account management, direct debits/transfers, etc. The majority of people have direct debits (Automated bill payments) setup for all their bills. They have their pay paid automatically into their bank by transfer (All free of course). Banks provide all the tools we need to manage our money for free generally. Some online banking tools even allow you to access other banks that you may have accounts with (With your approval), so you can see all your accounts from one interface, and get a better picture. I still think the added burden of having to file your own taxes would make you more likely to need something like mint, but it's probably more the extreme differences in consumer banking that's the bigger reason. If I had to pay my bills by check, I'd go insane.
  - psyklic 17y ago
    What you describe sounds like the US as well ... the power of Mint is in consolidating all of your accounts.
  - krschultz 17y ago
    I don't write checks either. I've written 2 checks in the last 12 months. One for a used car and one for a bike. Both from private sellers so they didn't take debit cards. I use my debit and credit cards all day. I never even use cash, primarily so that it all gets categorized automatically by Mint and I'm too lazy to do it for cash by hand. But in my mind a debit card is the same as checks. Of course I pay my bills online and have bank access online (you must to use Mint). The difference I guess is that I'm using multiple companies. Why load up Bank of America, Vanguard, WSFS, Wachovia, Capitol One and Fidelity's websites and use 6 different interfaces on 6 different websites when I can use one unified one? You seem to have an anti-US bias that you think we are stupid or something. It is a question of how you treat your money, not the tools available. And you are horribly mistaken on the "burden of filing your own taxes", which again, has nothing to do with Mint. 99% of the work for taxes is done by the HR department at your office and by a tax accountant. I just hand the appropriate papers to the right people, and sign it at the end. Total timer per year: an hour at most. Maybe you shouldn't comment on things you obviously have no knowledge of.
psyklic 17y ago
Finance is important, but Facebook is such an essential networking tool, professionally and personally, that I completely disagree with you. Facebook solves a multitude of "real problems" -- just because some people "waste time" on it does not mean it isn't a serious tool. Without Facebook, for instance, I simply would not know nearly as much about the lives of my old friends and professional acquaintances -- this alone makes it very practical. Not only this, but Facebook helps me organize the many people I meet each day, lets me easily keep in touch with people I care about, lets me know who is in each city I visit so I can arrange meetups, facilitates much of my social life (invites/mixers/who's going to what), provides introductions, etc. Mint did not even exist two years ago, and people dealt with their finances then just fine. The difference between using Mint and not (in finance) is the same as the difference in using Facebook or not (in networking), in my opinion.

by modoc 17y ago

axod 17y ago

Perhaps some of it is the fact that in the US you have to file your own taxes, so there's much greater emphasis on accounting. Maybe that's why it's valued more there :/ (In the UK I'm not sure most people would see the value in it). Facebook+youtube aren't just about wasting time. They're about communication and sharing information, which as social beings, is pretty important to most of us.

zaidf 17y ago

Out of people who use Mint and who use YouTube What if you ask 1000 random people between YouTube and Mint?

krschultz 17y ago

Exactly. Vimeo & Hulu replace all the value of YouTube. It is commodity free video hosting, there is no community at YouTube. Facebook is useful for me, but I wouldn't pay for it if I had to. I'd gladly pay for Mint. Mint has nothing to do with taxes like axod says. It is about budgeting and tracking expenditures. I used to get a statement in the mail each month from 4 different institutions related to bank accounts, credit cards, and investments. (Or check online at 4 different places). Then I would reconcile them with my checkbook / some pile of receipts to double check. Now I go to one place 1-2 times a week and check against my receipts right away. It never builds up and takes significantly less time. It also helps budget and gives you data to figure out where you are spending your money. If you are not one of those people who has money to keep track of or you don't balance your checkbook, then sure the value is hard to see. But if you actually take care of your money it is immensely helpful and saves me time and money.

axod 17y ago
>> "Mint has nothing to do with taxes like axod says." >> "If you are not one of those people who has money to keep track of or you don't balance your checkbook, then sure the value is hard to see." I was really trying to work out why Mint seems to be valued highly in the US. I can see some of the differences now. The idea of having a 'checkbook' is incredibly quaint to most people in the UK. No one uses checks anymore here, not for 10-20 years, we're used to free banking, online account management, direct debits/transfers, etc. The majority of people have direct debits (Automated bill payments) setup for all their bills. They have their pay paid automatically into their bank by transfer (All free of course). Banks provide all the tools we need to manage our money for free generally. Some online banking tools even allow you to access other banks that you may have accounts with (With your approval), so you can see all your accounts from one interface, and get a better picture. I still think the added burden of having to file your own taxes would make you more likely to need something like mint, but it's probably more the extreme differences in consumer banking that's the bigger reason. If I had to pay my bills by check, I'd go insane.
- psyklic 17y ago
  What you describe sounds like the US as well ... the power of Mint is in consolidating all of your accounts.
- krschultz 17y ago
  I don't write checks either. I've written 2 checks in the last 12 months. One for a used car and one for a bike. Both from private sellers so they didn't take debit cards. I use my debit and credit cards all day. I never even use cash, primarily so that it all gets categorized automatically by Mint and I'm too lazy to do it for cash by hand. But in my mind a debit card is the same as checks. Of course I pay my bills online and have bank access online (you must to use Mint). The difference I guess is that I'm using multiple companies. Why load up Bank of America, Vanguard, WSFS, Wachovia, Capitol One and Fidelity's websites and use 6 different interfaces on 6 different websites when I can use one unified one? You seem to have an anti-US bias that you think we are stupid or something. It is a question of how you treat your money, not the tools available. And you are horribly mistaken on the "burden of filing your own taxes", which again, has nothing to do with Mint. 99% of the work for taxes is done by the HR department at your office and by a tax accountant. I just hand the appropriate papers to the right people, and sign it at the end. Total timer per year: an hour at most. Maybe you shouldn't comment on things you obviously have no knowledge of.

psyklic 17y ago

Finance is important, but Facebook is such an essential networking tool, professionally and personally, that I completely disagree with you. Facebook solves a multitude of "real problems" -- just because some people "waste time" on it does not mean it isn't a serious tool. Without Facebook, for instance, I simply would not know nearly as much about the lives of my old friends and professional acquaintances -- this alone makes it very practical. Not only this, but Facebook helps me organize the many people I meet each day, lets me easily keep in touch with people I care about, lets me know who is in each city I visit so I can arrange meetups, facilitates much of my social life (invites/mixers/who's going to what), provides introductions, etc. Mint did not even exist two years ago, and people dealt with their finances then just fine. The difference between using Mint and not (in finance) is the same as the difference in using Facebook or not (in networking), in my opinion.