INTERVIEW: Seth Risenmay, Founder of MoneyDesktop.com

I have a real treat today. Seth Risenmay, the founder of MoneyDesktop.com, answered some questions from me and also graciously offered a promo code for a free 3 month trial of his product.

About MoneyDesktop

For anyone unfamiliar with MoneyDesktop, it’s an online tool to track your finances, plan for the future, and most importantly get out of debt. What’s unique about MoneyDesktop in a world of sites like Mint.com of PocketSmith.com is that the software auto-generates a plan using a variety of methods to help you get out of debt the most efficient way.

So for example, the ever-popular debt snowball is built in. Also, the less well known mortgage checking account method is also available. You the user are able to select the method that you are comfortable with, tie it into your overall budgeting and finances, and get out of debt faster.

Essentially, it’s a one stop financial wizard.

The Interview

RabbitFunds: Why did you decide to start MoneyDesktop?

Seth Risenmay: I started MD because I wanted to get America out of debt. We look at debt as THE greatest threat to the future of our country. When you think about it, our country has been able to defeat Nazism, Communism etc… and the one enemy that actually has a shot at bringing down our country is debt.

RF: Where did you come up with the idea for the feature set included in MoneyDesktop?

Seth: We had a database of 39,000 customers that gave us feedback on our product. We asked all of them this question; “What does this product need to be to give you the best chance of success?” From this market research we learned that America needed a product that did not then exist and so we set out to build it. It took 4 years and about $5 million to build but we feel confident that MD is the greatest debt and personal financial management tool in existence.

RF: What is different about MoneyDesktop as compared to Mint or PocketSmith?

Seth: The greatest difference between MoneyDesktop and any of our competitors is that it is first and foremost a debt tool. Other PFM’s are typically tools that help you track where your money went, but if that is all you do that would be like driving your car down the road backwards, you’ve only seen where you’ve been, not where you’re going. Some products and companies help you project the future and your debt payoff but since they don’t track where your money is going the projections are inaccurate. MoneyDesktop is the only company that looks to the past by tracking your spending, to help you project an accurate future for debt elimination, with real time in the present instructions in the form of text messages and emails. We also have systems to help people make decisions with financial intelligence, which no one else has. We also help people increase their discretionary income to help them get out of debt even faster. We do this by actually increasing their cash flow while lowering their bills and payments. All of this is unheard of to most PFM’s. I would say that we are one of, if not the only DPFM (debt and personal financial management).

RF: Are there any plans to make the service free like Mint?

Seth: We have thought a lot about offering our services for free like Mint. The problem is that we have found that if a person is not paying for a service they do not value it enough to actually implement it into their life and become successful. We wanted people to actually commit to their financial wellness. However, we also understand that there are a lot of people who desperately need MoneyDesktop who may need our services for free. Because of this, we have created a promotion called 3 for Free. If a user of MoneyDesktop is willing to help us in our mission to get America out of debt then we feel they have shown the commitment necessary to succeed and deserve to receive our services for free. If they refer 3 other people to MoneyDesktop our system will automatically track that and when 3 others have signed up the referrer will receive MoneyDesktop free for life!

As mentioned above, Seth was kind enough to offer a free 3 month trial to any RabbitFunds readers with a special reduced price of $14.95 afterwards. Just use the promo code “Rabbit” when you sign-up.

RF: What do you hope that users will achieve by using your site?

Seth: Total financial wellness. We want our users to become debt free, achieve financial freedom, gain financial intelligence, and become wise stewards of their money and wealth. And hopefully by using the 3 for Free feature they can help start a community of people committed to getting out of debt which will help strengthen our country and in a lot of preserve what we know as America for generations to come.

RF: How has using the software helped your own family?

Seth: I know where every penny goes, I know when every debt will be eliminated and I have piece of mind knowing that I am being a wise steward of the things I’ve been blessed with. It has helped me eliminate all of my debt with a little left on my home still to go.

RF: What upgrades or changes can users expect to see in the coming 6-12 months?

Seth: With tax season upon us we are adding features that will allow a person to easily organize their finances for tax season with their CPA. We are also adding added benefits of ID protection and Credit Monitoring. Other companies like LifeLock will charge you upwards of $10 per month for each of those services, we are close to having those services provided to our subscribers at no additional fee as an added benefit of using MoneyDesktop. We are also redoing the set up wizard for a more simple and effective setup to get people using it more efficiently.

For More Info

Thank you Seth for your time. If you have any questions or would like to see more then visit MoneyDesktop.com or follow them on Twitter at @MoneyDesktop.