I use Quicken, which is Mint's big brother, so I can't directly address the Mint experience, but maybe a few thoughts might be helpful:

What's the best exercise routine to follow? What's the best diet for losing weight? What's the best system for budgeting, saving, and bill paying?

Same answer - the best one is the one you like enough to stick with and use consistently.

Bill pay, I use direct charge to my Visa card as much as possible to accumulate rewards and reduce individual tasks and it's paid in full monthly. When I can't do that, I use my bank's bill pay feature to keep it simple. It all gets downloaded to Mint (or Quicken) anyway, so that so long as you're not doing it manually, the data entry task is done for you.

You can do what you're asking about with pencil and paper or a spreadsheet too, but then the work is more of a burden because it's all manual. If using Mint gets you to do it, then that's what you should use. Good luck

It seems this company accesses and stores information for all of your credit card, banking, investment, creditor accounts, etc., etc. I would not want all that information stored with one company, at the mercy of their unknown business practices and system vulnerabilities, especially in today's environment of hackers targeting company databases. That is too much exposure and risk involved for me.

No response, this is a needless smear of a good company and its good products from someone who seems to have no basis in fact to share. It's an example of what's called Unsubstantiated FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.

Do you have first hand experience with the company? I do, lots of it. Maybe you know something that I and other readers would benefit from?. If your view is based on something real that has happened, please let everyone know about it.

Me thinks Elmer does not like being ignored ;-) SOB as they say. Works for me.

I think "unknown business practices" is pretty self explanatory. Unknown is the key word. She said nothing about nefarious business practices or anything but "unknown". Many people, with the rise of hacking into computer systems, feel uncomfortable having all their personal info stored in one place. Some might feel that's a prudent stance. If you don't, then you don't. No sense trying to shame someone who does.

Intuit Corporation was founded in 1983, which makes it old for a tech company. Its well respected products include Quick Books (the most used accounting software for small business), Quicken (the most used financial management software for individuals), Turbo Tax (the most used tax return preparation software), and Mint. Its customers number into the tens of millions, all of whom (and which) entrust their private information to Intuit's protection.

There are people who have never heard of any of this, and that fine. Ignorance of the company and its reputation doesn't make any aspect of its dealings or business practices "Unknown", it makes it "unknown" only for an uninformed person who's in the dark and who is talking about something they know nothing about.

The word ignorant is also self-explanatory.

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Heck, I can't trust Target with a credit card these days. I don't care how well the company is run.

I've used Intuit Quick Books for the last 14 years with no issues at all, but for our small business, not household accounting so I can't speak to two25's original question. I don't know if the same securities are in place for their free program - Quick Books with payroll subscription is definitely not free ;0) Program contains all of our tax information, income, payroll info: SS #s, birthdates etc and annual earnings for employees - and their addresses...

Elmer, I don't understand why you're taking offense by anyone's comments. I think that Snookum's observation or caution about having all of one's personal information stored in one place is very valid. Even some of the most sophisticated companies have been hacked and you really don't know what their practices are. We would like to assume all companies are on the up and up, but history has proven over and over again that this just isn't the case. A couple of weeks ago on 60 Minutes there was a segment where a renowed hacker said that NO ONE is safe from hacking which would mean not even Mint or any other Intuit product. It would be naive to believe otherwise.

I also (personally) would never ever allow any one company to access my account and charge or withdraw funds automatically. I know a lot of people do it, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing to do. When it comes to our finances, I'll stick with taking the time to scrutinize the bills and pay them manually either through my bank account or the website of the company I'm paying. I find too many errors to do otherwise.

BTW, the easiest method (for me) when doing it manually (or semi manually?) Auto deposit for all incoming cash, have auto transfer of specified amount set up to pay savings first.. Then pay each bill as it arrives.. I don't wait; if it's in the mail today, it gets paid today so I don't have to think about it again until next month. Credit cards?. I go online and review the charges and balances of each card once a week. I like to pay the balance reflected weekly. No debt and everything is always current.. The time I spend to do this?. Maybe 5-10 minutes a day, max and that's only if something is received.

lukki, I'll keep it simple. Her comment suggests she doesn't know the product, the field, or have any understanding of what she's talking about. So besides scaring someone by making an ignorant and false insinuation, how useful is her comment?

You've described the work flow that works best for you for paying bills. You've talked about what you know and what choices you've made for yourself. Great! I'm a CPA and have personal familiarity with the company and its products, I've done the same.

Elmer, it's kind of surprising to see you react the way you have, I really don't see that in her comment at all.

ETA: I don't think someone has to be familiar with anyone product to say that it's not safe to have all of your personal information including all of your credit resources stored in one program. Hacking, id theft and all the bad things that can happen electronically these days has everyone at risk regardless of the precautions and products one uses. Unfortunately, consumers are often the victims of data breaches by one well known company after another, even my husband's medical records were breached two years ago (EMR), violating HIPAA and as you probably know, medical EMR programs are supposed to be untouchable. It happens and more times than not, the cause is due to negligence on the companies part (in an effort to save a buck). No one is exempt from the risk, not you, not hospitals and not even the government. Historically, even some of the most famous softwares have had bugs that have made them vulnerable, this is all common knowledge.

I can appreciate that you've had a long history with the product and feel comfortable using it, but being a CPA doesn't necessarily make you more savy about software, malware, bugs, breaches, ID theft and/or how best to protect your personal data. After all, you know what they say about storing all your eggs in one basket. And I'm the first to admit, I'm not an IT professional, my source of information is just my husband, my son in law and my sister all of whom have over 55 years combined experience working in the IT / Networking industry at the senior level.

Wow!

The only thing that comes out of my bank account automatically is the car payment. Everything else I pay either online, or write a check. I don't want auto-pay. I know too many people who's gym membership kept on being deducted after they quit, and cable/telephone companies kept withdrawing after the account was cancelled etc etc.

Thank you for all your thoughts and input. I'm going to keep researching and figure out what is best for us. Thank you again.