A common realization by users of budgeting websites is how much they spend every month eating out, said Aaron Patzer, Mint’s founder and chief executive. Indeed, in a recent survey of Mint users, 90 percent said they changed their spending habits after using the budgeting software, and 40 percent said they cut back on dining out.
“Having the feedback and the awareness that you went to Starbucks 30 times last month changes peoples’ habits,’’ Patzer said.
Schulthess, the Cambridge resident, said he and his girlfriend started taking cooking classes so they could cut their food budget after Pear Budget showed he was spending $500 a month on dining out. Despite lapses like the iPhone splurge, he said Pear Budget helps him stick to his goal of saving 10 percent of his income. Schulthess said he’s saved about $200 per month on food alone.
“If you get laid off or wanted to change your job, you need financial security to be comfortable,’’ he said.
Budgeting websites are free to users, but some earn revenues each time they successfully direct users to financial products, such as credit cards, offered by advertisers, which some say implicitly encourages the use of credit to someone who may instead need to curb their spending.
The sites also differ in how they collect data. Some sites are automated budget trackers, which require users to provide their bank, credit card, IRA, and other account numbers and their online passwords. The budgeting site then uses this information as permission to receive a download of their spending and income data from the financial institution.
Mint, which extracts the data automatically, has emerged as the giant among the sites. With more than 1 million unique visitors per month, according to Compete.com, a website that tracks Internet traffic, Mint became so successful that it was purchased by financial software maker Intuit in September for $170 million. Intuit plans to replace the online version of its famous Quicken software with Mint’s more modern technology, the companies said. Wesabe, which also extracts data automatically, is the second-most-popular site for individuals, with more than 35,000 unique visitors per month.
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