The How-to Guide to Wesabe
We tested out Knight's website for ourselves and were pretty impressed.
Here's a step-by-step look at how it works.

The hardest part of getting started on Wesabe is digging up all your online account passwords. But after that, you just follow the step-by-step instructions to upload your bank and credit card accounts.

Next, tag your transactions with keywords. For this you'll have to decipher what CEO Jason Knight calls "bank puke," the gibberish banks use to describe individual transactions (CHECK CRD 02/05 P&R CIT - huh?). Wesabe was able to translate some of my transactions because other members had translated their own deals with the same merchant.

Now, here comes the fun: your tips. They're directly related to your spending habits and choice of retailers. I got advice for using a cell phone abroad on the cheap, for negotiating a less-expensive cable bill, and for filing for a telephone excise-tax refund. I got so excited about that last one, I immediately e-mailed it to my husband, the family tax man. (Some of the tips are less helpful, even strange - e.g., don't drain your bath until the water's cold because the hot water will help heat the room - but you can exclude those by making a favorites list. That way, you can go back to only the ones you like.) 

Then, set some goals - here you'll get even more advice, from other people with similar aims - and keep track of your progress using your transaction tags.

Also, all of your information is private. You share your goals and tips, but no one sees your account information but you. So, you benefit from the crowd without inviting them into your bankbook.

Knight promises more new features, about two or three every month, and, eventually, Wesabe will offer a feature-rich premium membership level for a monthly fee. Until then, it's all free. Check it out at www.wesabe.com.