Check Out Mint Answers

Introducing Mint Answers, from the creators of Mint, the free personal finance budgeting software.  Mint Answers is a virtual think tank where people can come and ask their finance related questions.  The questions are then answered by users in the community.  Like with any other system that allows answers from unvalidated sources, you have to proceed with caution.  I’d imagine like Wikipedia or Yahoo Answers, the community will moderate itself.  The system is currently Beta, so I’m sure there will be some changes overtime.

The process to ask a question:

When you go to Mint Answers you’ll see a very well laid out interface.  It’s welcoming and user friendly.  The default is to list the latest questions asked.  If you would like to ask your own question you can type it in the ask a question box prominently displayed above the fold.  It has an orange submit button that draws your eye without being obnoxious.  In Twitter-like format, you are limited to 140 characters.

Actually, what you are typing here is your question headline.  Once you hit submit, you’ll be able to further elaborate using a rich text editor (bold, italics, links).  This isn’t immediately clear that you’ll be able to elaborate from the front page, though when you hit submit, you can edit your question.

You have 3 fields:

• Question:  This is the 140 character question you typed in
• Ask a Question:  This is your text box where you can elaborate (heading is a little redundant)
• Category:  You pick a category from a drop down list.  Currently there are only 6:  saving, taxes, goals, budgeting, debt management, and investing.  We’re going to need more categories than that, so I hope they’ll add an “other” or allow users to suggest categories and add them as the need arises.  Personally, I’d like to see banking, software, and real estate categories.

When you submit your question, you’ll be prompted to log in or sign up if you have not done so already.  It is a quick and easy process:  username, email, and password.  But the password isn’t masked – yikes! Also, this authentication is separate from your Mint.com credentials, so even if you are a Mint user, you’ll need to create an account.

Your question  goes into moderation.  So far, I’ve submitted 2 questions, I have not received an email receipt, nor is there any sign of them pending under “questions asked” in my profile.  I’ll update this post if they appear.

The process to answer a question:

Answering a question is simple.  Scroll through the list of questions by categories, latest asked, or search for unanswered questions.  If you find one you can provide an answer for, simply click on the question headline.  Below the headline will be a text area for you to provide an answer.

There is a user ranking system in place, so don’t think you can leave a bunch of affiliate and self promotion links.  The user community will rank your answer with a +/- system.  This can be a good place for PF writers to help a community.

Edit your profile:

You are allow to create a profile with your name, bio link, website and twitter ID.  As you ask and answer questions you increase in rank and points.  The site is still very new, I hope in the future to be able to add my own headshot or link to my gravatar or Twitter icon.

Who should use this site?

Anyone with a finance related question of course!  Also PF bloggers can expand their reach by providing relevant answers to users questions.

Overall, I am very impressed with the site!  It’s only in Beta and I see great potential.

Layout:  10/10
Usability:  8/10
- User friendly / easy to ask question
- Not immediately clear from front page 140 char question is only headline

I know it’s only Beta, but here are some other improvements I’d like to see:

• Credentials linked to Mint.com
• A receipt or pending status after question submitted
• When you ask a question, it queries the database and presents you with similar questions to see if your question has already been asked before submitting
• More categories
• Ability to edit avatar

What about you?  What do you think of Mint Answers?  What improvements (if any) would you like to see?  Do you see yourself using it?  If you have a profile, let me know in the comments below!

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