I have used mint.com as friends and I discussed how it changes personal finance to be free and based in the cloud.

Now, I admit to being a bit biased to investigate this as I have friends who work at Intuit. Well this morning, Intuit announced its $170 million acquisition of Mint, so now it is all one company.

Intuit to swallow Mint for $170 million

by Don Reisinger

Financial software maker Intuit has signed an agreement to acquire personal finance service Mint.com for $170 million.

"With this transaction, Intuit will gain another fast-growing consumer brand and a highly successful Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that helps people save and make money," Intuit CEO Brad Smith said in a statement Monday. "This move will enhance Intuit's position as a leading provider of consumer SaaS offerings that connect customers across desktop, online and mobile."

TechCrunch reported the deal Sunday night, citing unnamed sources.

Mint, a start-up launched two years ago that tracks personal finance data, became a CNET Webware 100 winner in 2008 and again in 2009. It was also the 2007 winner of the TechCrunch50, which kicks off once again Monday in San Francisco.

It was a smart move for Intuit to acquire another brand that was completely cloud based personal finance services. One of the interesting differences is the demographics of Quicken vs. Mint.

Mint's features have apparently helped it attract a younger, more diverse demographic than Intuit's Quicken Online. Mint founder and CEO Aaron Patzer told CNET News last year that 40 percent of his company's users are women. He claimed Quicken's demographic was still "85 percent men." Assuming that's true, it would appear that Intuit can significantly expand its base with the Mint acquisition.