Is there any alternative to Quicken? Quicken Online does just about everything Geezeo does with one key exception. Quicken charges you money to manage your money!

Why choose Geezeo, the Quicken Online alternative?

Well, for starters we share most of the features Quicken Online offers, but without fees:

A dashboard where you can see all your financial data from a number of different banking institutions.
Budgeting tools to effortlessly see where your money goes
Mobile phone TXT/SMS messaging to track your accounts using your cell phone
Like Quicken we’ve got robust and formidable security and privacy guards. In fact, we use CashEdge, the same security used by top financial institutions worldwide.

But wait — there are more reasons we’re the Quicken alternative.

Here at Geezeo we also have a bunch of cool stuff that Quicken doesn’t:

Money Confessions… where you can take a peek at how others handle their money
Groups… so you can find and connect with other people who share your interests or background. Your money is always private and secure but you can personalize a Geezeo profile to interact with others (here’s an example of my Geezeo profile).
Goals… so you can track your financial goals and be held “accountable” in a supportive environment
Peer Reviews…so you can voice your opinion on every financial product you use
Facebook integration… so you can share your financial and philanthropic goals with others
Or write our resident cranky expert, D.Expert, for personalized Dear Abby-like advice on your specific financial situation (if you’re brave enough!)
Don’t forget to check out the Geezeo buzz, too!

Finally, you’ve also got instant access to our entire team, including the co-founders! You have questions or suggestions? Hit us! (We’re guessing Quicken isn’t too quick to talk directly to you).

Is there a Quicken alternative? Yes — you’ve found it with Geezeo!

Your friends, your money — do they ever mix?

Two sayings pop to mind:

1. Never mix friendship with money. [But, as we all know, this is somewhat impossible].
2. Your financial net worth is roughly equal to the average of your five closest friends. [True?]

Some obvious factors play into it. For instance, your friends tend to share common interests and socio-economic backgrounds. You can’t deny that where you come from (financially-speaking) will tend to influence how you see the world of dollars and cents. We tend to hold a similar outlook on life as our friends. This plays a huge role in terms of subtle positive or negative peer-pressure when it comes to handling money.

So do you have to get new friends to get a new financial life?

Well, I think your REAL friends will be there through thick and thin wallets. But consider how you behave around these friends:

Spendy Friend — This is your friend who shops for recreation. For entertainment. For the latest gadget/fashion/thing-to-own. Hang out with this friend too much and your wallet will suffer.

Impulse Friend — This is your friend who is generally penny-wise but pound-foolish. They are usually great fun. Too much of their company, however, can lead you to owning items you’ll never use again. Inflatable river raft, anyone? (”Dude! We’ll use this all summer!”)

Frugal Friend — Your frugal friend tends to suggest things to do that cost little to nothing. Walks in the park. Outdoor events. Free lectures. This friend is good to have if you’re paying down debt. Just be careful you or your friend don’t cross the line and become the Miserly Friend.

Miserly Friend — This is your friend who too frequently crosses the line of “frugal” into “cheap” territory. Somehow, every time you go out to eat with them there isn’t enough money for a decent tip at the table. Or, they hold grudges that they contributed 25 cents to the parking meter four months ago (even though you drove there!).

Always Broke & Whiny Friend — Avoid these friends. Their focus is always negative and want you to suck, too. You’ll find yourself doing the same to fit in. Life is too short.

As the saying goes: Choose your friends wisely. You’ll end up just like them.

P.S. Who else saw the movie “Friends with Money” — and thought it pretty much sucks?

Since Facebook Apps are all the rage we decided we had to roll one out. We “wanted” to do it right though, so we flushed out about 3-4 different ideas, bounced the concepts by Geezeo’s World famous on-campus brand ambassadors and moved forward with a spin on Geezeo Goals. Well after a few weeks of development we’re pleased to announce the launch of iWant by Geezeo!

iWant is a fun and easy way for facebook users to create and share the “things that they want” or “goals” with their Facebook friends. As Demetri Martin so eloquently stated “I also want…the things that I want.”

Lets say you want to “go on spring break” or “pay off a credit card“, you can add these goals to your user profile for all your friends to see. Even better, your friends will be able to comment on the things you want by giving you a “Boost”. But here’s the real kicker! Your REALLY good friends will even be able to give you cash to help you get the things you want using the “Donate” button on each goal. With PayPal integrated in the iWant app, donations to friends couldn’t be easier.

Since iWant is an extension of Geezeo, the application also allows you to connect your goals to your bank accounts so you can track your progress in real time. For example, lets say you want to “Save for an iPhone” you can link this goal to your savings account so when your account reaches a certain amount you’ll have enough money saved to buy the iPhone.

iWant is a fun way to think about saving and setting goals and is a great extension of Geezeo’s “Goal” to reach college students and young adults and help them better track and manage their finance.