Has Anyone Signed Up On Personal Capital?

I don't trust any app/site that tells me to "link my accounts". They ask for your accounts' information including passwords, otherwise how would they know what you have in those accounts?

I keep track of my finances myself and might be considered one who micro-manages my finances. I create spreadsheets on which I list my upcoming expenses for the quarter(s) on top and what I have in my accounts at the end of each month on the bottom. Then I use the Vertex Family Budget Planner to keep track of my actual spending each month.

The FBP comes in real handy when I'm doing my taxes. I downloaded the sheet that can be opened in my Google account. It couldn't be easier. Just about every category of spending is listed already and one just has to input the figures. The spreadsheet self tallies giving cumulative tallies for each month and for the year.
https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/family-budget-planner.html
 
It's quite common to link accounts these days, the majority big websites allow other sites to get user information with the consent of their users. I've just gone through these with Facebook/Google on the health forum.

If you are interested, here is how it works technically.

If we change the forum software to xenForo, Facebook or Google users can register/login very quickly. This is one of the motivations to migrate to xenForo. Imagine you go to a forum and read an interesting discussion, you can voice your opinion without going though the troublesome registration.

1. I register a developer account at FB, created an app for seniorforums.com.

2. A FB user comes to SF and registers/logins (or link) with her FB account directly, this forum send her to her FB login page.

Note: this is important, the sign-in happens on facebook.com, when you link your bank account, make sure the sign-in happens on your bank website.

FB receives the request from SF, verify the account, then tell SF "this is a valid FB user, and her email is xxx@xxx.com". The information is quiet basic, but enough for forum registration, SF only needs her email address.

For an active FB user, she is always signed-in, this step is just one mouse click.

3. The FB user can extend her account to a full forum account later, or just login with FB account every time. It's up to her.

If you have a FB or Google account, you can try it on the health forum.

The finance site you mentioned works very similarly, your bank shares more information such as balance, transactions, etc, the finance site can do all those fancy things by analyzing these data.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I don't trust any app/site that tells me to "link my accounts". They ask for your accounts' information including passwords, otherwise how would they know what you have in those accounts?

I keep track of my finances myself and might be considered one who micro-manages my finances. I create spreadsheets on which I list my upcoming expenses for the quarter(s) on top and what I have in my accounts at the end of each month on the bottom. Then I use the Vertex Family Budget Planner to keep track of my actual spending each month.

The FBP comes in real handy when I'm doing my taxes. I downloaded the sheet that can be opened in my Google account. It couldn't be easier. Just about every category of spending is listed already and one just has to input the figures. The spreadsheet self tallies giving cumulative tallies for each month and for the year.
https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/family-budget-planner.html
Click to expand...


the reality is you are more at risk from your own garbage pail . i have been using fidelity full view since it originated with all accounts linked with never an issue . the only issues i have were from outside ... i find it excellent for seeing where we stand spending wise each year with no input from me at all ... there is nothing i have to do to see totals ... it knows every penny coming in and going out automatically. last think i want to do is start tracking my own spending and entering data in spread sheets . no way .
 
The question is really, what exactly are you looking for, and what will the cost be for Personal Capital to do it for you? Also, what is their track record, what are their references, and how good is their customer service?

We use an independent CFP firm (plus I've worked for another, before retiring) and finding a good adviser is not for the careless or impatient. Really good advisers almost never advertise; 90+% of their business should come from personal or professional referrals.
 
mathjak107 said:
the reality is you are more at risk from your own garbage pail . i have been using fidelity full view since it originated with all accounts linked with never an issue . the only issues i have were from outside ... i find it excellent for seeing where we stand spending wise each year with no input from me at all ... there is nothing i have to do to see totals ... it knows every penny coming in and going out automatically. last think i want to do is start tracking my own spending and entering data in spread sheets . no way .
Click to expand...

Schwab has a method by which you can add your accounts but they don't need your account numbers, just the ticker symbols and how many shares you have of each investment. There's also a place to add your total cash investments. I update quarterly. Yahoo Finance is another site with the same requirements and allows me to see my net worth without logging in each time, using their app. I actually enjoy keeping my spreadsheets and everything is color coded. I've kept track of my finances so long that it's become habit. Believe it or not, it's one of the ways I de-stress sometimes. Before 1998 (when I got my first computer) I did it in a notebook, all by hand. I'm hoping my VPN and Malware apps give me a bit of protection MJ.
 

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