November 20th, 2009
LearnVest Website Review
LearnVest stylishly fills a niche in the world of online personal finance management as a money management and financial education tool tailored for women. With a mission statement that claims, “Personal finance doesn’t have to be boring!,” LearnVest is a free, fresh start-up that is worth a visit for anyone interested in a new way to get involved with their finances.
The easy-to-use and simple-to-understand platform, financial calculators and advice, and the goal-oriented task organizer in LearnVest aims to guide specifically women to becoming savvy and empowered about their finances. LearnVest’s focuses on educating users with sound information and advice, and then presenting interactive action plans to walk users through key financial decisions—such as paying off student loans, paying off credit card debt, or getting ready to buy a home.
How LearnVest Works
When users first sign up and log-in, the site prompts them with a brief questionnaire (shown below) on their financial health (such as your current credit card debt), life stages (do you plan to have a family?), and financial education level (do you know your credit score?). These questions will help LearnVest assess the user’s current financial life to better help them meet their personal finance needs.
Using the site is simple, self-navigating, and surprisingly fun. Based on a user’s answers on the initial questionnaire, LearnVest gives them a personalized action plan complete with tailored checklists, articles, and tools to reach their goals. Users can also explore a wealth of financial topics ranging from Checking Credit Report and Score (shown below) to I Want To Budget For A Vacation, which provides customizable checklists that track users’ progress to direct them to take the necessary steps to take control of that aspect of their financial life.
Extra Features and A Suggestion
Below is a screenshot of my personal account on LearnVest, which tracks my site activity and action plan progress so LearnVest can continuously customize my profile to recommend relevant articles, checklists, and tips to keep me on my financial track. One unique feature of this site is the rewards system, in which users earn points for every completed task on their checklists which can shows the LearnVest community what they have accomplished and can also later be traded for rewards. Other features are the LearnVest Blog, with extra tidbits on how to save money and budget, and the LV Daily,which e-mails short daily newsletters with bite-sized personal finance advice and good-to-know information. Even if you don’t want to sign up for LearnVest, you can subscribe to this newsletter separately.
While LearnVest excels on the educational aspect of personal finance management websites, it is however lacking in one feature many personal finance management websites offer, which is the ability to link and access personal bank accounts and credit cards via the site. Adding this feature would put this site on par with competitors like Quicken and MoneyStrands to make it a more comprehensive way to manage your finances. But if you are looking for financial guidance through tips and advice without the extra capability of accessing and organizing your bank account, this could be the site for you.
Conclusion
Part social community, personal financial advisor, and educational game with points up for grabs, LearnVest is a valuable resource for women. Maybe there is a female friend, sister, or daughter who needs that extra help or encouragement when it comes to learning how to handle money—or, men, feel free to use it too. It’s one small step for your current financial situation, but one large leap towards having a bright financial future.
At Credit Karma Blog, what goes around comes around… So what do you think about this post? Agree, disagree, or have something more to say? We’d love to hear your reactions!
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What a great review. Thanks so much Credit Karma! Stay tuned for LearnVest Bootcamp. We’re going to whip your finances in shape. Coming soon!
-Alexa von Tobel
Founder/ CEO LearnVest.com