Teaching kids about money, like teaching them about anything, isn’t always easy. Raising financially-fit children, however, is one of the key duties of a parent, so any time spent in this area will pay off.

Parents must start teaching their children about money when they’re young. The lessons learned in early childhood will last children through their teenage years and into adulthood It’s more difficult to start giving lessons to teenagers. Therefore, the earlier you start, the more likely the lessons will stick.

With that in mind, here are a few guidelines for teaching kids about money:

Give an Allowance

The allowance is a child’s firs t experience with an income and it teaches many lessons about where money comes from, how it works, and what to do with it when you have it. Even young children can be given small allowances and taught to count out the bills and coins and keep them in a safe place. The allowance is a child’s own money and having his or her own money encourages a sense of responsibility for it.

Encourage Saving

When you do give an allowance, it’s a good idea to encourage, or even require, the child to save a percentage of it. Younger children can do this by putting aside some of the cash in an envelope or box. Older children might put it in a savings account at the bank. Encouraging saving at an early age teaches fiscal responsibility and this lesson can put children ahead of many adults.

Teach Budgeting

All families operate with a budget and it’s helpful for children to understand how budgets work and why it’s important to keep them. Include children in family financial discussions and budgetary planning sessions and explain to them how the budget plays out in everyday life. For instance, if the money for entertainment has been used up for the month, explain to the children why the family will stay in and play board games one night instead of heading out to the movies. Understanding where the family’s money goes, and why, is an important lesson for children to learn. Helping them feel part of the budgeting process also makes them feel like vital members of the family. It models for them good budgeting behavior that they can enact and replicate themselves.

Have Them Keep a Financial Journal

Get a spiral notebook and have the children keep track of their allowances and other income, along with any expenditures that they have. Writing down the figures and keeping track of their money, even in a rudimentary way, can help children to understand where their money goes and how much things cost. It can also help them when they’re saving for a large purchase to keep track of how much money they have to spend.

Participate in Philanthropy

It’s never too early to learn about giving, so it’s a good idea to encourage children to give a portion of their allowance to charity. Charitable contributions might go to a church program in which they’re involved, a local food bank or homeless shelter or a children’s charity. Such contributions teach children that they’re part of a community and their money can help others.

Introduce Them to Stock Investing

You can open custodial accounts for children and help them to follow the process of researching stocks and investing money. Choose stocks that relate to a child’s everyday life, such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s, or Nike. Investing, even at an early age, helps children to understand how the stock market works and its relationship to the products and companies that surround them.

Help Them to Get Work

Part-time employment in high school teaches teenagers about money, time management and responsibility. Assist your children in looking for jobs locally and help them as they go through the application and interview process. Work will also help them as they apply for college, since it demonstrates initiative and professionalism.

We all know that children learn more from what we do than what we say and this holds true for finances, as well. Parents, therefore, must model good financial behavior, creating a budget and sticking to it, avoiding excessive debt, saving money, doing comparison shopping and keeping financial records. More than anything else, such modeling can be a worthwhile investment in both a child’s and a family’s overall financial health.

Vivian Wagner is a freelance writer in New Concord, Ohio. Vivian blogs via Contently.com.

A romantic Valentine’s Day meal may be the fastest way to your sweetie’s heart – and an empty wallet.

The National Retail Federation expects that the 35.6% of people who say they plan to take their significant other out that night will spend a collective $3.5 billion, second only to jewelry in terms of holiday expense. Houston Asset Management, which creates an annual “Cost of Loving Index” for common gifts, says diners can expect to spend 9% more this year, due largely to higher food prices.

Despite these figures, it’s relatively easy to be both frugal and romantic, whether you’re eating out or dining at home:

Grab a voucher

Sites like LivingSocial and Groupon offer a regular rotation of half-off deals to local restaurants. Just make sure your date is OK with it. “I haven’t found it to be tacky in the slightest,” says Washington, D.C., resident Sharon Rosenblatt, who has been on a number of dates where her beau whipped out a voucher. The key: The guys noted in advance that they’d scored a deal, and picked cool places that wouldn’t otherwise be affordable.

Use everyday savings tricks

Restaurant reward programs? Check. Discounts from apps and happy hour deals? Check, check. Plenty of restaurants offer specials on Valentine’s Day to increase traffic, so make sure you peruse the options to find a good deal.

Order delivery

Sites that let you order restaurant food online for home delivery often offer discounts themselves. For example, first-time customers on Delivery.com get 25% off, and Eat24.com lets frequent customers earn VIP rewards, including free dishes. Provide your own candles and wine and, voilà! Instant atmosphere.

Cook together

“[My wife and I] will sometimes buy special ingredients and try something new or a classic favorite of ours,” says Mike Allen, chief executive shopper for Shopping-Bargains.com. “The 
time together and the home ‘dinner and a movie’ approach is lots of fun 
and rather inexpensive.” A few ideas for cheap romantic meals:

Oysters with spicy vinaigrette. A classic and expensive-seeming aphrodisiac, this dish actually clocks in at under $10.

Beef goulash. A steak dinner can cost more than $80 on Valentine’s Day, which is why Isra Hashmi, of “TheFrugalette.com,” says she prefers a slow-cooked version that lets you use a cheaper cut. Her version costs $3.45 per serving, leaving “a lot more leftover for flowers,” she jokes.

To make it, warm two tablespoons vegetable oil over med-high heat. Add two pounds of beef chuck in 1” pieces, turning until brown on all sides. Put in a slow-cooker. Add two chopped onions to pan and fry until soft. Add two cloves chopped garlic, a tablespoon each of paprika and tomato paste and two cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then pour over beef in slow cooker. Add one chopped bell pepper, cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over egg noodles topped with a little sour cream.

Chocolate-covered-cherry cake truffles. Kris Schoels, of “YoungMarriedChic.com,” suggests swapping in this recipe for standard homemade truffles.

Roast Cornish game hens. They’re often more per pound than a roaster chicken, but at a lower weight, still clock in at less than $10 for two. Here’s how Candace Conley, of “TheGirlCanCook.blogspot.com,” prepares them:

Preheat oven to 450. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of canola or grapeseed oil. Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper. Place two lemon wedges and a sprig of rosemary in the cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan with a pound of baby potatoes and two chopped onions scattered around the hens. Roast for 25 minutes, and then reduce oven temperature to 350.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together a third of a cup each of white wine and chicken broth. Add a pound of chopped mushrooms to the roasting pan and pour the wine mixture over the pan contents. Roast another 25 minutes, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes. Once hens are cooked, transfer pan juices to a medium saucepan and boil about 10 minutes, until they reduce to a sauce consistency. Serve the hens split open, with vegetables and sauce.

Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner. Chat with her on Twitter through @MintFoodie.

According to a 2011 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 64% of Americans don’t have enough cash on-hand to handle a $1,000 emergency. If you don’t have money put away for emergencies, you’re walking a financial tightrope.

Building an emergency fund is one of the most important ways to protect yourself against financial disaster. It’s an account with money set aside strictly for emergencies and when bad things happen. Experts say when people fail to have an adequate emergency fund in place they often turn to debt.

Because stuff happens

Bad things can and do happen in life. It doesn’t always have to be something totally catastrophic but if you go long enough, some unexpected surprise, incident or problem will leave you with a large bill. If you’re lucky, the problem is relatively straight forward: Your car could break down, the heater in your house could go out, or you might need a new roof.

Then there are the really bad things. You could lose your job and be out of work for two months or you could need an operation and have to cover a $5,000 insurance deductible.

You can’t anticipate when these things can happen but you can prepared for them financially by having money set aside. William Hammer, Jr., CFP, Vice President of Wealth Management for Vanderbilt Partners, said an emergency fund can prevent an emotional struggle from becoming a financial one.

“It’s not that the odds of something terrible happening are that great. It’s that the hardships could be devastating if you don’t have the money. An emergency fund is a piece of mind,” said Hammer.

Aim to have six months living expenses put away

Most financial advisors recommend you have at least six months worth of living expenses or income in your emergency fund. This should be what you need to cover bare essentials such as the mortgage, utilities, food, insurance premiums, childcare costs and everything you need to keep your life running.

You don’t need to include retirement contributions, money for fun on the weekends and other discretionary spending. If your mortgage, utilities, food and all the basics add up to $3,000 per month, you’ll want to aim to have $18,000 in your emergency fund.

Mari Adam, Certified Financial Planner and president of Adam Financial Associates, said while six months is ideal, it can be a little out of reach for most people. She said three might suffice for many and if you can’t meet that, then “something” is always better than nothing.

“Even one month is better than nothing. You need to have something put away to handle emergencies. Some people say they can’t save up six months worth, so they get frustrated and quit,” she said.

Adam recommends putting your emergency fund in an online savings account and setting up automatic transfers to slowly build it to the level you need. You also need to be disciplined and not give into temptation to pull money from your emergency fund to take vacations, indulge in splurges or use it for non-emergency expenses.

If you don’t usually invest in a Roth IRA, Adam said another alternative might be to start building an emergency fund in one. While a Roth is a retirement account, you’re allowed to withdraw contributions at any time for any reason. You can typically put up to $5,000 per year in a Roth and your money can grow tax-free and be withdrawn tax-free in retirement.

“Maybe you put it in a Roth and hopefully you don’t need the money. You’ll have some emergency funds in place and you’ll also be building a retirement fund,” said Adam.

Going without an emergency fund is an open door to debt

When you don’t have an adequate emergency fund, you risk having to turn to debt in a time of crisis.

The N.F.C.C. survey found that 17 percent of respondents said they would borrow money from family to cover the emergency. Another 17 percent said they would neglect existing obligations, 12 percent said they would sell or pawn belongings and 9 percent said they would get a loan from a cash advance store. All of these options can lead to snowballing debt and financial problems.

“Most people will turn to credit cards or a home equity line of credit, if they’re lucky enough to have one when you consider where home prices are at,” said Adam Koos, CFP, President and Founder of Libertas Wealth Management.

The problem with relying on debt is you start accruing interest on whatever problem you had. If you’re tapping a credit card with a 20% interest rate to cover that $1,000 car repair and carry that debt for a year, that problem will now cost you $1,200 instead. Koos said you can “be your own credit card” by saving up the money to begin with.

Adam said whereas many people relied on home equity lines of credit to serve as an emergency fund, fewer people have that option nowadays. Plummeting real estate values across the country means that fewer people have home equity to borrow against.

Craig Guillot is a business and personal finance writer from New Orleans. He covers insurance, investing, real estate, retirement and debt. His work has appeared in such publications and web sites as Entrepreneur, CNNMoney.com, CNBC.com, Bankrate.com and Investor’s Business Daily. He is the author of “Stuff About Money: No BS Financial Advice for Regular People.“

Valentine’s Day comes hot on the heels of the holiday gift-giving season. If you’re like most people, you’re sitting around looking at your bills wondering how you’re going to afford another holiday. What people often forget is that Valentine’s Day isn’t about expensive chocolates, flowers or fine dining — it’s about you and the one that you love spending time together. Whether you’re newlyweds or old marrieds, here are some ways you can spend February 14 that will have you remembering the very first time you met.

A Home Cooked Meal

Especially if one of you tends to do most of the cooking, a home cooked meal can be a nice change of pace. Get quality ingredients and make an event out of it. Let the person who normally does the cooking sit back and relax. If you both tend to share cooking responsibilities, you can spend time cooking together. Accomplishing tasks in common together is proven to bring couples closer together.

A Guide to Dining Out

Dining out doesn’t have to be pricy. You can easily feed two people well for under $50, including a desert and have a night to remember. What you want to do is look for an out of the way place that’s a little off the beaten path. Not only will it be cheaper, it will also be quieter. Throw in some inexpensive flowers, gentleman, and your date will be telling everyone just how romantic you are the next day.

Skating

For the person who lives somewhere with an ice skating rink, this can be a great way to get close to one another. Someone without a lot of experience on the rink will be clinging to the person with more experience. Roller rinks are another way to do this for people who live in warmer climates. In both cases, you’re going to go have flashbacks to the more whimsical days of your youth. You won’t spend more than $20 or $30 on a night like this, and it will create memories that will last a life time. You can’t put a price on that.

Karaoke

Karaoke is a  great date because it gets you to open up and act a little sillier than you might normally. Unless you’re heavy drinkers or live somewhere where drinking out is expensive, you won’t spend a ton of money on this date, but you’ll have a ton of fun. Even if you or your date can’t sing, who cares? Karaoke isn’t about singing. It’s about having fun.

Window Shopping

If you live somewhere with an upscale shopping district, why not take a walk through it with that special someone dreaming of the days after you hit the lottery? Walk around looking at stuff you can’t really afford. Even try some of it on. Note to gentlemen: It’s probably a good idea to spend $50 or so on something small for her so the evening isn’t just a reminder of what you can’t afford. You can always get her a bottle of nice perfume for that price; but the time she has doesn’t have a value.

Hiking or Running

If you and your partner are active, why not have an active night together? A walk in the park can be made into a serious hike. If you prefer running, why not go for a serious five kilometer run together? If you’re used to the run, there’s no reason why you two can’t bond over the run — and you wouldn’t be the first runners who prefer running to just about everything else. A lot of cities even have couples runs.

Crafting Date

For the creative and crafting types, you can spend the evening together crafting. Even if one of you isn’t that into crafting generally, it can be fun to spend time together making something for the other person. When the night is done you will each have a gift that money couldn’t buy, as well as the memory of good time spent together.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Whether it’s the view from Mulholland Drive or just the natural beauty of looking at a majestic mountain out in the sticks, there’s a good chance where you live boasts something of natural or man-made beauty that costs nothing at all. Pack yourself a picnic lunch and head out there for some quiet time together.

Nicholas Pell doesn’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day at press time.

Here’s something you haven’t heard in years: I have good news about your 401(k).

Last week, the Department of Labor published a new regulation requiring 401(k) plans to tell participants (that’s you), on an annual basis, what services they’re charging you for and how much they’re charging. No, this wasn’t already required. The regulation takes effect at the end of August.

“It’s an itemized receipt,” says Dave O’Brien, a certified financial planner in Richmond, VA, who helps businesses develop 401(k) plans. “Back in the 80s, when you bought a car, all you knew was the MSRP on the window. Today, you go to any different website and it tells you what the true cost is.”

O’Brien and other retirement plan experts I spoke to agreed on two things: People aren’t going to read the new disclosures, but it’s great news anyway.

“The new regulations are a huge deal, not necessarily because of what an individual can do with the information, but more about what’s going to happen to the overall marketplace,” says Mike Alfred, cofounder and CEO of Brightscope, which helps people see how their employer’s 401(k) stacks up. “You can already see that happening.”

For example, said Alfred, last month Schwab announced a new 401(k) product based entirely around low-cost index funds.

Let’s take a step back, though, and ask: Why does it matter how much your 401(k) costs? You never get a bill for it, right?

The high cost of 1 percent

In the world of 401(k)s, like the rest of the world, there are haves and have-nots. The haves work at big companies that have the size and power to negotiate with plan providers (the insurance companies and mutual fund companies that implement 401(k) plans for employers) for a 401(k) with great investment options and low fees. Think of these good 401(k)s as Disneyland.

Most people are stuck with crappy 401(k)s, full of expensive funds with extra management fees slapped on top. These are more like your skeezy neighborhood amusement park, lousy with pickpockets and greedy carneys. Or, to go back to Dave O’Brien’s car dealership example, these plans sell you undercoating without telling you.

The price difference between the best and worst 401(k)s is shocking. In 2009, the Government Accountability Office released a report that was mostly about the benefits of automatic enrollment in retirement plans, but also included these gems:

- “[M]ore than 80 percent of 401(k) participants reported in a nationwide survey not knowing how much they pay in fees.”

- And what you don’t know can hurt you: Over a 20-year period, a 1 percentage point increase in fees and expenses would reduce a worker’s ending balance by over 17%. If you have an expensive 401(k), you could literally be retiring years later so your retirement plan provider can get richer. And the difference in cost between the best and worst plans is a lot more than 1 percentage point. I’ve seen plans charging as little as 0.1% and as much as 3%.

“Providers, as you may know, don’t want this regulation, because it’ll make it harder for them to make as much money as they have in the past,” says Brightscope’s Alfred.

Let ’em have it

If you’re stuck with a 401(k) run by carneys, it’s probably not because you work for an evil company; it’s because your company is just as confused by this stuff as you are. The new regulations can help there, too, because they require itemized disclosures from plan providers (Schwab, Nationwide, Merrill Lynch, and so on) to plan sponsors (your boss).

Even though the regulations don’t go into effect for another six months, it’s worth trying to figure out what your 401(k) is charging you now. Nobody (other than weird personal finance writers) enjoys talking to their benefits department, but it wouldn’t hurt to let them know that you understand there are new rules coming soon and you’d like to get that information as soon as possible. My fantasy is millions of employees waving their annual fee disclosure forms and descending on their benefits offices in droves, but I’m a weird personal finance writer.

If we’re going to ask workers to manage their own retirement savings, the least we can do is give them an honest, accurate bill. “The spirit of this is, you should know what you pay for,” says O’Brien.

That’s a good start. Now I’m going to go into fantasy mode. You know the sticker on your water heater that shows you how energy-efficient it is compared to the competition? Wouldn’t it be great if your 401(k)’s annual report had to put your expenses in context?

This is, not coincidentally, a lot like what Brightscope shows you on their website, but a federal mandate would make the information more specific and more widely available. If you’re paying 1.1% for the same fund that charges 0.5% in the 401(k) of the company next door (and this happens all the time), wouldn’t you like to know?

Oh, one more thing: I’d like to apologize to carneys for comparing them to financial services industry professionals.

Matthew Amster-Burton is a personal finance columnist at Mint.com. Find him on Twitter @Mint_Mamster

Have you ever wished you could just quit your job and follow your dream? While reality gets in the way for many, there are some who have taken the chance and ditched their steady paychecks in order to turn their business ideas into reality.

Success is by no means guaranteed, but for the lucky ones the decision to say “I quit” has been handsomely rewarded. With hard work and determination, they’ve been able to turn their ideas into booming businesses.

Here are 10 people who quit their jobs and went on to make millions, whether it was creating personal wealth or revenue for their company.

You might have experience booking hotels, planning rental car pick-ups and purchasing the cheapest flights within the United States, but when you travel abroad, you have many more things to take into consideration, especially when you’re budgeting. The main concern: Currency exchange. If you’re going to a country that uses another currency, it’s important to know the best ways to exchange without getting hit with fees or losing a ton of value in the process. Here are all the ways to exchange currency while abroad and the details of why you should.

ATMS

Avoid or Use: Use

Why: Debit cards often get you the best deals when used at ATMs and when you withdraw via a debit card, you are able to take out a high quantity of money, which lowers your rate and allows you to pay fewer transaction costs, according to MSNBC.

What to be aware of: MSNBC also advises you to let your bank(s) know you’ll be abroad. If you don’t, they might assume the card has been stolen and freeze your account. Also, Rick Steves says in his European money travel tips to avoid ATMs that aren’t bank ATMs, as any other type will most likely charge extremely high fees.

FOREIGN BANKS

Avoid or Use: Use (sometimes)

Why: Exchanging at foreign banks is better than exchanging at airports or train stations (as explained below), but there are sometimes better options (like using an ATM or even sometimes checking out currency exchange businesses).

What to be aware of: USA Today says the fees that come along with in-person bank transactions are generally more than at currency exchange businesses, so check those out first and scope out the area for any bank ATMs nearby before you head into the bank. However, The New York Times quoted Tom Meyers, the editor of eurocheapo.com, who said, “European banks’ rates are generally lower than other commercial exchanges.” It seems this advice may differ according to what country you’re in.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE BUSINESSES

Avoid or Use: It depends on the following factors.

Why: USA Today also mentioned that currency exchange businesses compete with each other when they’re in busy tourist areas, so negotiating a better rate or lower fees is usually possible.

What to be aware of: That said, it might not always be that easy to make a deal in areas that aren’t major cities, so it’s always best to know the exchange rate before comparing the businesses’ offerings and those of local banks, hotels, etc., so that you know where to get the best deal and can avoid getting ripped off.

AIRPORT EXCHANGES

Avoid or Use: Avoid

Why: Airport currency exchanges have high fees, according to bankrate.com. The same goes for train stations and probably any other major transportation destinations where people can be entering a country.

What to be aware of: Bankrate suggests looking around for an ATM before settling for the airport’s currency exchange. They can come in handy, though, for small amounts of exchanges so that you can get by in the first few hours.

HOTEL EXCHANGES

Avoid or Use: Depends

Why: Sources don’t always match up about this topic, potentially because the hotel currency exchanges vary too much from hotel to hotel and from country to country. The MSNBC information previously mentioned in this piece says that hotels and banks tend to offer better prices than local exchange booths, so opinions differ. Your hotel might actually have a good rate comparatively.

What to be aware of: The same NYT article previously mentioned has Meyers’ opinion on hotel exchanges, as well, and he says they tend to have bad rates and high fees. The important thing to keep in mind is that every area will be different, so compare rates and choose what’s best.

CONCLUSION

While there are some general rules of thumb when it comes to choosing a currency exchange location, it’s always best to do research and look into the area you’ll be staying at. If you trade Forex online, then you may have some knowledge on exchanging currency.  Compare the rates when you arrive at your destination, especially when it comes to the differences between hotel exchanges and general exchange businesses. Regardless of where you get the money, it’s advisable to withdraw or exchange a decent amount so that you can minimize the number of fees you have to pay.

“The Best Ways to Exchange Currency Abroad” was written by Kelsey Libert on behalf of UFXMarkets.

John Ulzheimer, a MintLife personal finance expert, is answering questions straight from fans of the Mint.com Facebook page. Here’s what he has to say about short sales and credit scores:

Q1: How exactly does short selling your home impact your credit and for how long?

A short sale is a more recently popular way to dispose of an underwater mortgage, which is a mortgage where you owe more than the home is worth. According to some sources, about 30% of mortgages are currently in this situation, including the mortgage belonging to yours truly, a humbled credit expert.

A short sale occurs when a buyer makes an offer on your home but that offer doesn’t cover the amount of loans taken against the house. So, if you owe $250,000 but are offered only $200,000, then you’ve been made a short offer. If your lender agrees to accept the offer to dispose of the home, then the home has been sold short. The good news is you’re out of the loan and don’t owe that $50,000 deficiency balance.

The news isn’t all good. Short sales are reported to the credit reporting agencies as a settlement, which is an accurate depiction of the loan. The lender settled for less than your really owe, hence the settlement credit reporting. And, yes, settlements are considered to be derogatory by credit scoring systems.

Don’t believe the marketing by real estate agents that short sales are better for your credit than foreclosures. That’s not true. Settlements will remain on your credit reports as long as foreclosures do and they have the same impact to your credit scores. The only difference is if the lender doesn’t report the deficiency balance along with your settlement. If that’s the case, then the impact to your credit scores isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure.

Q2: Why does not paying our bills drop our credit, but paying them does nothing? I shouldn’t have to have debt to get credit, it seems stupid and backwards!

I appreciate your frustration when it comes to credit ratings/scores. They are maddening if you expect them to function like common sense suggests. This isn’t going to change your mind but credit scores are completely driven based on what’s predictive of your risk as a borrower. Some things matter and some things don’t.

Now, having said that, your comment about having debt being necessary to get credit is absolutely incorrect. In fact, not having debt is much better because of the infamous “DTI” ratio. DTI, or debt-to-income, is the amount you pay each month to satisfy debts, relative to your income. The fewer debts you have, the better your debt-to-income percentage and the more likely you are to be approved for large loans, like mortgages.

Additionally, I can assure you as someone who spent seven years with his hands deep inside the FICO scoring system, that paying your bills is handsomely rewarded by FICO. The most important factor in your FICO score is your payment history. The absence of negative information, which means you always pay your bills on time, is worth 35% of the points in your scores.

The issue of having debt in order to have a good credit score or get more credit is widely misreported, mostly by people who simply don’t understand credit scoring. You don’t have to have one penny of debt (or ever had one penny of debt) to have FICO scores well into the 800s. FICO scoring has no memory, so they don’t know what your debt was yesterday, the day before, or 5 years before.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: When you apply for credit you’re getting into debt. That’s incorrect. Every single credit card you have ever opened starts off with a $0 balance. And, if you pay your bill in full each month, then you never have credit card debt.

Taking out loans, such as mortgages, auto loans, student loans or personal loans, certainly does mean you’re getting into debt. However, this is certainly considered a very different type of debt than that vile credit card debt, which, incidentally, is much less as a country than our student loan debt. And, FICO weighs that installment form of debt very differently than it weighs credit card debt. It’s quite easy to have great FICO scores even with large amounts of installment debt.

John Ulzheimer is the President of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com, the credit blogger for Mint.com, and a contributor for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.  He is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. The opinions expressed in his articles are his and not of Mint.com or Intuit. Follow John on Twitter.

The new Mint.com app for Android has just been released, and it’s everything you’d expect from the team that brought the intuitive navigation and easily-understandable visuals of Mint to the web. The new app is easy—easy to learn and easy to use!

And to prove it, they tested it on me—a 20-something writer that’s techie enough to have customized an old PC but luddite enough to have never used one of those new-fangled Android tablets.

And I have to say that I’m impressed! The new app brings all the power of Mint.com to the Android tablet, allowing you to quickly understand the story of your finances without wasting your time. This is tops for me, because I need to take charge of my finances but I don’t want to spend more time doing it – especially in front of my old PC.

The Overview Screen – Everything You Need to See at Once

Mint built its app around an easy-to-access overview screen that shows you everything you’d immediately want to see in order to understand where you’ve been spending and where you need to save in order to maintain your budget. Most of the time, all I needed to do was glance at it quickly. Two seconds in and I knew exactly what I wanted to know.

Of course, the main screen features Mint’s signature “wheel,” that great multi-colored pie chart that shows how much money’s going to gasoline (too much), to alcohol (too much) and to groceries (Eh…). Tap on the wheel once to enlarge it, hold a finger down on it, and you can spin it around. Stop the wheel and a smart little window displays how much you’ve spent in that category in the last month or takes you to a list of your transactions. It’s pretty fun and definitely easy.

If “Wheel of Fortune” is not your style, a side-flick replaces the spending-by-category wheel with a bar graph that shows spending over time. Thus, I quickly saw I spent way more money last-minute shopping around Christmas than in all of November, reminding me once again that I need to just bake pies for my family next year!

The Budget Bar

One of the most important features on the overview screen turned out to be the budget bar because it shows how much I have already spent against my budget. Another tap pulls up other budget bars for each of my spending categories. Now, I have an easy way to see when I need to slow down my spending. I like to think of it like a breathalyzer for my wallet!

However, it’s the bottom of the main screen that actually contains the Holy Grail—the streaming feed that warns of due bills, suspicious activity and low balances and offers advice on how to save money. This feature may not be news to regular to Mint users, but for you newbies out there, Mint both watches your back and shows you great deals from partners.

The benefits of warnings on due bills, suspicious activity and low balances are pretty obvious, so I’m glad that Mint included this feature from the website to the app. But I’m really glad that Mint also included the partner offers. I never seem to make the time to search for better interest rates at other banks or insurance companies, so I love that Mint finds these money savers and money makers for me! At the end of the day, these recommendations are still the main reasons why I share Mint with my friends.

An App Wizard in Five Minutes or Less

In summary, the new app basically lets you use enjoy all the benefits of Mint but from the convenience of an Android tablet. As a bonus, it’s a snap to learn. If you’re already familiar with the features of Mint.com, you’ll know what to look for and you’ll know what to expect. If you’re new to Mint, I guarantee you’ll figure out everything you need to know about the app in five minutes or less, because it’s pretty easy to tap your way around.

“Mint’s New Android App: A User Reivew” was written by Sydney Jarod.

A recent study by Experian breaks down how much discretionary income Americans have and what exactly they are doing with it. All in all, Americans spend an estimated $1.47 trillion annually on discretionary goods and services. For most, the money after taxes, bills, and basic needs are covered is hard to come by, which means that a select few are spending some major bucks. Click on “Launch Infographic” to find out where Americans are spending their discretionary dough.