I recently did some exploration on BOA online account and like to share a couple of nice tools built in. And It is very  useful to me, and I'd like to share it with other JM who have similar needs.

1) BOA MY PORTFOLIO

fee: free of charge.

I used to use excel to track all my finances. The big headache is running to different credit card accounts, investment accounts, banking accounts to get all the information I need. Another big headache is that I always use multiple credit cards, and looking into all the tranaction on different cards and add transactions up to see how much I spent on food, clothing, dining is really big hassle. At the end of day, I gave up and had no idea how much I have spent on each category...WIth MY PORTFOLIO, it solved my big headaches and have even benefits on top of that.

MY PORTFOLIO tool is built in BOA online account free of charge. It is really cool in the way that you can consolidate all your finanacial accounts (bank, credit card, investment, mortgage, retirement etc) into one place. It calculates your net worth (assets vs. liability). What is more, It will show up all  the transactions happening in different accounts. It is especially useful if you use multiple credit card, the tool consolidate spendings on different credit cards and generate expense report (such as % spent on clothing, grocery, dining, etc.),  It also has budgeting tool, where you can set a budget and every month, it will keep tracking your spending against your budget goals.  The tool will also generate chart on net worth, expenses, etc. over time. So you can see the change over time.

A lot of other nice features about it as well, you just need to explore it. To me it is more like financial management software quickbook. I just recently found it and highly recommend it.. One login will give a detailed analysis of all the accounts you have whichever way you like (seperately or together). Try it and maybe you will like it also..

2) BOA Privacy Assistant tool

fee: 1st month free, then about $7(?) monthly charge.

I have been looking for a credit monitoring tool for a while. The need arose because of TJMAX fraud last year and as a customer of TJMAX, my personal information has been compromised. I know the big trouble will come if someone started to use my credit card, or even worse, someone started to use my personal information to open new account. I've read some terrible stories about it. In order to be alert to any potential fraudulant activities against my credit card or personal information, I found this tool.  It has unlimited access to credit report (which, you can also get it free elsewhere.). But I care more about my credit score and immediate notification of any suspicious activities. The tool fits this need because I can check my credit score anytime (BTW,mine is 783..). Also I will be immediately notified of any changes by email so that I can be informed of what is really going on...It gave me a peace of mind and I don't have to worry about my information will be misused for a long time without me knowing about it..As you know, immediate action against frauds will save you a lot of trouble. I know many credit agencies or credit card companies also offer similar tools. As far as cost, BOA is comparable, if not cheaper.

Hope these will be useful to JM who have similar needs...Enjoy the fun...