Thrive lets you add all of your financial accounts such as checking, savings, and investments. You then share how much you make and enter information regarding your spending habits so that Thrive can analyze your expenses. The site understands that visuals appeal a great deal to this generation, so everything is presented in an easy to view manner.
The consequences of each expenditure are presented in an easy to understand format. For example, they show that spending $4.45 a day at Starbucks adds up to $89 a month and over $1,000 per year! Even the least financially savvy person can grasp that.
The timing is perfect for this type of service considering the country's economic status. There are, however, a wealth (no pun intended) of other free financial management services available such as Mint, Wesabe, and newcomer Rudder.
The truth is that any of these services can help the young demographic that Thrive is targeting. However, the fact that Thrive is clearly focused on this group should make it more appealing. All of the services and features are customized for younger investors with a focus on their retirement plan and long-term financial forecast. The other services offer broader more generic features because they have to appeal to a wide range of age groups, not just twenty and thirty-somethings.
