note: PocketSmith is giving 5 Wise Bread readers a yearly Premium account. Read on for details.

There are many financial tools and services that help you track your spending and stick to your budgets. But I'm one of those fortunate ones with very few expenses and have learned over the years how to curb my appetite for spending. So I never found use for tools like Mint and Wesabe. I also never liked the idea of entering sensitive financial information for yet another company to keep safe.

In comes PocketSmith, and I can honestly say that when I looked at this product, I thought to myself This is exactly what I want.

While it does track your spending (and you can upload your exported financial accounts), it focuses on forecasting. That means it tells you how much money you should have in 6 months. It also tells you when you will reach your savings goals. For example, you want to know when you'll be able to afford that month-long trip to Europe? PocketSmith will tell you exactly when you'll have the money for it.

The goals feature is a powerful motivator. If you can see how your spending affects your saving goals -- immediately -- you can weigh whether or not it's worth pushing your goals further for whatever it is you want to spend on now. And many times you'll find that your goals are closer than you thought. For example, you might find that if you stopped eating out, you'll have enough for that DSLR after just 2 months. Whereas if you keep spending on eating out the way you currently do, you'd need to wait 4 months before being able to afford it.

It also has easy integration with Google Calendar, iCal, CalDav, and Outlook.

Having launched to the public just a few months ago, it's already getting noteworthy buzz. It was also named one of the top ten startups of 2008 in New Zealand.

I am looking forward to more features added to this service (and current financial tools will no doubt try to add some of their innovative features as well).

They have 3 pricing plans (though the first two is sufficient for most). Additionally, they're giving five Wise Bread readers a yearly Premium PocketSmith account worth USD $60 each.

To enter, leave a comment on what your saving goals are. Drawing closes on 9/10.

And go ahead and sign up for the free account first. If you win, they can upgrade your account.

 

This drawing has closed. The winners will be contacted shortly.