Be money-wise: Track it

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The new generation of online financial sites aims at folks who don't already have years of data invested in those desktop-based programs: Younger spenders who pass their days online and are trying to get a handle on where, exactly, their money goes.

The big three sites are Geezeo.com, Wesabe.com and Mint.com, though others are coming along.

All three offer some version of easy account integration and expense tracking.

That means they can pull data from your banks and credit card issuers, organize it for you, and then let you analyze it. Wesabe and Geezeo also present lots of networking opportunities: Wesabe subscribers share shopping tips and how to get the best deal. Geezeo users trade tips in small interest groups like "starving musicians" and "20-something, money nothing: first house."

Mint offers a different sort of savings advice. It has its own database listing over 3,500 banks, credit unions and credit card issuers. It scans your records and then volunteers offers that can save you money. Paying 15 percent interest every month on your credit card? Try this card instead. It's easy, because you can click through the site to fill out your application.

Geezeo's early advantage is in the breadth of its account coverage. It's the one site of the three that allows free, and seamless, downloading of investment accounts as well as bank and credit card accounts, and lets you download those details to your cell phone.

But, it's a safe bet that all three sites will coalesce on similar features, just like Microsoft Money Plus and Quicken did as they refined their products. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of the new sites.

- Do something. The simple act of tracking your money will make you richer. Really. Just start and see how your behavior and your bank balance starts changing as a result.

- Don't be in a hurry to give up the program you're already using. These sites may be pushing the idea that Quicken and Microsoft Money are last generation programs, but they are both incredibly full featured, and, except for the social networking, do more of what the online sites do. If you do adopt one of these as your home site, push the developers for a fix that will allow you to download the years of data you've already amassed.

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