Most successful investors start out as diligent savers. Saving is the tried and true path to reach your financial goals. For young people, the goal may be a car, a trip or an education. As we get older our goals expand to include buying a home, starting a family, paying for a child's education and saving for retirement. Achievement of any savings goal is dependent on your ability and willingness to spend less than you make.

After my first full time job in 1990, I had to take responsibility for managing my own finances. My first budget was quite easy to write since I made very little income and had very few expenses. However, the act of writing down my goals was profound. As life got more complicated I continually searched for easier ways to keep track of my income, expenses and savings goals. Early spreadsheets led to the personal finance software Microsoft Money. Soon, Microsoft and its main rival Quicken dominated the personal finance software market. I spent many hours entering my growing number of transactions. The software became increasingly complex by adding features that I rarely needed or used. Ease of use was not a top priority for either company.

Andaman 

My frustrations were shared by a young engineer from Duke University named Aaron Patzer. In 2005 Patzer was inspired to create Mint.com as an alternative to the frustrating and difficult Quicken product.

http://searchandaman.com/