Money: Friendly Finance

There's a new crop of Web sites for folks who get lonely using Quicken. Social-networking finance sites help members track their money while they kibitz with others to see how they are doing. At wesabe.com (Spanglish for "we know"), financial behavior is shared but identifying details are not. Members can consolidate their financial-account records, chat about shared goals like saving for a car and learn whether they are spending more or less than average on groceries, clothes or beer. At geezeo.com, users can put all their financial info in one place and get it sent to their cell phones, so they can check balances before they shop. Two other sites, buxfer.com and billmonk.com, let social groups track money together. The sites can be used to set up a budget for a shared summer rental or to remind buddies they still owe you for that dinner out last month.

—Linda Stern

© 2007