money

First there was Personal Capital, the "Mint for rich people" that gives users a clear look at their financial information, and, for those who invest $100,000 or more, access to financial advice and trading.

Then there was Wealthfront, which also gives people a dashboard for their investments and which will manage the money you put in, as long as you put in more than $5,000.

And now there's FutureAdvisor, which uses the same Modern Portfolio Theory that most advisers and algorithms use to pick investment vehicles. You tell it about your accounts, your age, your … Read more

"Don't let your experience be your enemy."

--Bill Harris, founder, Personal Capital

Bill Harris is the CEO of Personal Capital, an online money management service. Anyone can get his company's tracking and stats on existing financial accounts for free. But to step up to the company's full financial management services, there's a $100,000 buy-in.

Personal Capital is a freemium play with cajones.

(My original review, if you're interested: Mint for rich people. The new iPad app is coming out today. I tried it. It's very good.)

Bill has been CEO of … Read more

With Greece teetering on the brink of post-history and Italy constantly attempting to out-buffoon itself, the concept of "nation" is under a little pressure.

Then along comes Apple, hurtling toward style domination, and suddenly it seems to have a market valuation greater than some world economies.

One headline this week, though, crowed slightly beyond reason. "Apple is now worth more than Poland," it read.

It was the use of the word "worth" that caused my cabbage pierogi to resist their final resting place.

Is Apple really "worth" more than Poland? I know … Read more

Aunt Jill won't be here for our 1000th episode this Friday because she only works out of the CNET office on Wednesdays, so we're popping bottles prematurely because hey, it's the 90s.

Along with a light wine tasting, Jill also gives a quick duster on the state of the Greek debt crisis and the Dow cracking 13000 after almost four years. In return, we'll tell Jill about the wonders of Instagram and Kim Dotcom's release from the New Zealand prison system.… Read more

If your tax situation is simple (no children, don't own a home, income under $100K, and so on), then you are likely filing a 1040EZ this April. If that's the case, then you may want to think about filing your taxes right from your mobile device.

With the TurboTax SnapTax app, you can fill out your 1040EZ tax form right on your phone or tablet. The app can even enter income information using your device's camera.

Before getting started, SnapTax asks if you'd like to create an account. You can work without one, which is nice, … Read more

Intuit's TaxCaster app can quickly estimate your federal tax refund based on just a few bits of personal information. Even for the most inexperienced taxpayer, it's incredibly simple to understand and use.

At the top of the screen is a meter that displays your estimated tax refund. As you make your way through the app, it considers your answers and recalculates its estimate accordingly. And of course, the more answers you provide, the more accurate its estimate gets.

Three main tabs sit just below the meter, each housing a different category of questions: About You; Total Income; and … Read more

The second show for the year has its share of bumps, but CNET's Bridget Carey and CBS MoneyWatch's Jill Schlesinger come to save the day, while offering their insights on toys and finances.

In this 404 episode, Jill tells us how she gets fans from The 404 calling into her financial advice show, and that has her producers bewildered by the number of 20-somethings interested in some money-saving tips for things like getting married. One thing that doesn't save a lot of money is having kids. That's got Jeff excited. And it reminds Wilson that kids these days are spoiled. They want iPhones and iPads for Christmas. We remember growing up and thinking a Transformers action figure was good enough.… Read more

Mint is the iOS mobile companion to Mint.com, the popular financial services site that helps you track all of your accounts and budgets.

You have to set up an account with Mint.com to use the app (which involves giving Mint.com access to your bank, credit card, and investment accounts), then you can monitor your accounts, budget, and cash flow from the site or the app. The passcode-protected app presents your finances in summary form, with the capability to drill down to the item level of a purchase. Follow the trail to the end to edit an item'… Read more

Boom isn't your everyday mobile banking service.

While much of the attention in mobile payments has focused on affluent smartphone-wielding consumers and their top-tier banks, m-Via has gone the opposite route. The company has built Boom as a service almost entirely devoted to the migrant worker population in the U.S., allowing them to easily set up a bank account they can access on their phone, and use the account to send money back home.

M-Via is tapping into a largely unnoticed, but extremely large segment of the population with its Boom service. The company charges a flat $25 … Read more