Looking to use online tools to save? There are several with which you might click

Technology has revolutionized the way many Americans manage money. With a click of a mouse or right from our smartphones, we can get a complete picture of our finances and recommendations for our money.

The sheer multitude of choices, however, can be overwhelming. I did a Google search for “personal finance software’’ and got 25 million results; for personal finance blogs, 50 million.

And no software, no matter how sophisticated, is a substitute for a qualified professional adviser. Fraud and incompetence lurk online, and many “educational’’ sites are simply trying to sell you something.

With those caveats in mind, it can be fun and enlightening to search for innovative financial websites and tools.

Worthy of note is www.mint.com, a free and secure site where you can set up an anonymous virtual account by entering brief information about your bank, investment, and credit card accounts, plus any home loans.

The site can be quite useful to people who are technology-oriented and have little time or disposition to keep track of their money.

Mint.com connects with more than 7,000 financial institutions, so chances are it includes yours. It can pull up your complete financial information in one place. You get weekly e-mails summarizing your spending, savings, and investments, plus alerts if, for example, a credit card bill is due or your bank balance is low.

A survey found 90 percent of Mint.com users have changed their spending patterns based on something they learned from the site.

Also highly useful is www.MoneyAisle.com, another free, automated site where more than 100 federally insured banks compete for your money. You enter the amount you have available for a certificate of deposit or high-yield savings account, and banks bid to offer the highest interest rate. You are not obligated to accept any bid.

Another site that helps people save and earn competitive rates is www.SmartyPig.com, which I can describe as a combined piggy bank/federally insured high-yielding online savings account. When you open an account, you establish a personal savings goal. You say how much money you want to save by when, and SmartyPig suggests an amount to deposit each month, automatically deducted from a checking or other account. To keep your SmartyPig account open, you must make this monthly contribution until you reach your goal.

You can make additional contributions at any time and invite family and friends to help you save by going online and adding to your account gifts for birthdays or other occasions. And you can place your SmartyPig widget on your Facebook or MySpace page to give all friends the opportunity to cheer you on toward your goal - and to contribute.

Source: boston.com