My main hesitation is that something doesn't sit right with me about paying for a budgeting tool, but I am really curious about the differences between the two platforms. I admit it was a pretty big mind shift to get my head wrapped around the system. Thanks to my friends over at Decluttering the Stuff for suggesting I write this post. Definitely a bit overwhelming with all the options/layout. Mint offers the most general personal finance features of these apps. I’ve never been so in control of my budget and actually stuck with it. A lot of people like it. I’d just set budgets and overspend and look at the red and then so it again. Ruth Lyons July 10, 2020. Thank you for the thoughtful comment. The user interface is lacking. I just hated using mint and didn't realize it. YNAB vs. Other Budgeting Apps . Does YNAB let you track future charges, like lets say if an old gym membership charges you out of the blue? But, they do have a few key differences that you should consider when selecting the right option for you. Mint does have the benefit of being integrated with every single bank account and company … I used Mint for years, was always a little unsatisfied and could never put my finger on why until looking into YNAB. Okay; where are you taking that money from? I never know where it all goes, just that I’m over my Mint budget each month. The amount of people that went from huge debt to debt free and months ahead is massive. So, let's look at Mint vs. YNAB and see if we can determine which will be the better fit for your finances. Press J to jump to the feed. It's much easier to set up and change your budget. YNAB gives me the ability to look at what I want to spend ahead of time, as well as budgeting what I have available prior to my next pay. 2 have had similar results and the third, my sister in law, just paid off a massive credit card debt she had and is about a year away from fully paying off another cc for a total of about 25k in cc debt. I appreciate it! Mint's also less smart at categorizing transfers. I don't look at my account and have to guess at what bills I need to pay before me money comes in. Related to personal finance, budgeting, money and financial matters. Mint vs Simplifi. it’s really similar to how YNAB 4 had a “budget [next month]” category. Way too passive. I’m excited try something other than a static budget, which is all Mint really gives me. Investment Management: Personal Capital is the only app of the three that can manage your investments (for a fee). Going to give the YNAB free trial a shot. The first difference you should know about these companies is that Mint is free, whereas YNAB is going to cost you. Also, they do offer FAQ pages and Help Docs, as well as a community forum, that will help to answer the most basic questions. Or do you have to track that yourself? I’m currently on Mint (free service). A lot of people are mentioning forward planning vs backward tracking, but that wasn't what bothered me. Ynab only lets you budget what you have and forces you to prioritize it in real time. Not all budgeting apps are made equal; it's all about perspective. The truth is, budgeting is the key to unlocking the life you want to live. no comments yet. 4.7 star rating. Financius. Have a glimpse of its pros and cons to take the final decision. Perhaps it only works for people with brains that think in a certain kind of way? So when comparing YNAB vs Mint, which one wins? Much different than Mint, and I’m still trying to switch my understanding to budgeting for the money I have in my account versus future cash flow :)). Go read the ynab subreddit and reviews. They recently switched from Mint to YNAB and can’t help but wonder how much further along they would be financially if they had only found YNAB sooner. With YNAB, you can plan your budget months in advance. It’s making a huge difference. They’re both designed to show you how and where you spend your money, but it’s clear they offer slightly different … What makes YNAB worth the price for you? Feel free to post any news, questions, budget strategies, tips & tricks and advice related to YNAB. Mint is a free app that also offers you access to your credit score. If you decide to go that route, there are some great tutorials to … After watching Millenial Money, I noticed some of their audience heavily praises YNAB. Mint is built upon the old fashioned concept of making a monthly budget, setting goals, and then beating yourself into submission with guilt as you fail every month. There are other great options like Personal Capital , using your own custom spreadsheet or good old fashioned pen and paper – but Mint vs YNAB is one of the biggest rivalries in budgeting. 16 8 minute read. Mint vs. YNAB: Which One is Better For Me? Mint saved me from the budgeting woes of Quicken almost a decade ago. I’ve been customizing and exploring Simplifi for a few weeks now and here are my thoughts. I’ve been reading through this post and looking at some other resources. You can think of YNAB as a personal finance app that specializes in budgeting whereas Mint has a broader suite of tools that include budgeting, bill payments, tax reporting, and investment tracking. When it comes to YNAB vs. Mint, here's our 4 reasons why YNAB is the clear winner. To compare YNAB vs. Mint effectively, you have to break them down by category. It is freaking amazing. It's much easier to enter a transaction manually. Ynab. Lustre recommends the best products at their lowest prices – right on Amazon. The best way to explain it is Mint is more detailed but less hands on while YNAB is more simplistic and more hands-on. I’m not sure. I used to pretty much break even; now I have maxed out retirement contributions and am saving aggressively for 3 separate long term goals (combined over 5 figures in 6-7 months.). I have also used Mint some. I can’t say that Mint is better than YNAB or vice versa. YNAB is older than Mint and aims to create total control of your money. 3 years ago I use the old YNAB before the subscription and prefer to keep it that way. I was just about to comment that haha... formulas and all, I use mint to aggregate everything for me them export to excel. I loved your Mint vs. Quicken review. The budgeting tool is so user unfriendly :(( And the categorizing takes forever, I almost always have to do it manually since Mint doesn’t often categorize it correctly. Quicken vs. YNAB: Whom Are They Better For? There is something about paying to save money that always makes me skeptical. Do you have a simpler way to understand it? Then get the Pivot tables set up. When I talk to other users, the features below are what people love about these apps. Mint tracked what I did after the fact, and it was something I'd look at and go "oops went over" while continuing on with overspending. When my wife says, hey I want to spend an extra $1000 on this next vacation, I can just say, “show me what categories it’s coming from.”. Update : Since publishing this Mint vs YNAB comparison, two significant events have occurred. ETA: Used Mint for a decade without any improvement. So the question of which service is better depends on your unique situation. With more than 15,000 users, Mint may be the most popular budgeting app available. What are the main differences you see? Unable to remember category based on merchant. share . Thank you so much for the detailed response! What will you not save for, or give up until next month? It's a bit harder to use than most budgeting apps and that's because most budgeting apps have you budget money you don't have. Mint Bills & Money Built By the Slant team. I used to think I was bad with manual entry, or checking my budget. The one thing I miss about mint is being able to assign money to category groups and not just categories, but that is a small fix in YNAB by just having to do an additional manual step. Personal Capital’s top features Retirement Planner. While this is a manual process and somewhat confusing at first once you get it it will change your life. While Mint and YNAB both offer bill management tools, Personal Capital does not. Thanks for responding :)) Mint feels passive and hasn’t been working for me. While both services can be very helpful in the creation of budgets, they have slightly different approaches. People say this but I found it hard to budget / plan with this. Money expert Clark Howard is a fan of Mint.com and says it’s great for automatically tracking your expenses. And much easier to check your budget on the go before making a purchase. My wife finds it nice for being able to see at a glance all of our accounts, since we have a number of investment accounts in particular that she’s paranoid she will forget somehow. YNAB vs. Quicken: Customer Service. YNAB has you fund these categories as you receive income, all the dollars are allocated somewhere. The question of which service is better depends on your unique situation. Here’s Lindsey’s story in her own words: It’s no secret to my financial coaching clients and blog readers that I am a long-time Mint enthusiast. My favorite thing to do each month. 100% Upvoted. Going to the app, you are bombarded with a bunch of things (not just the ads but other graphs and whatever too) before being able to view your budget categories, Unable to customize budgeting categories, leaving you with a huge list. Ynab and mint aren't even in the same category. Both applications are accessible via the web and on mobile devices, but YNAB will set you back a small monthly fee whereas Mint is 100% free. Exactly what I need right now. I’ve used Mint since 2010 and like how it has evolved to include bill reminders, credit score updates and net worth tracking. Updated July 29, 2020. Conclusion. Home Budgeting Tools: Mint vs. YNAB. save. But I can’t be happier and feel much more in control. I had a really hard time wrapping my brain around YNAB even after trying it and using multiple videos. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Below is a summary of their features to help you make … That’s the whole point. Imports are also easier. Our savings has grown dramatically while simultaneously improving our quality of life. I agree with you! But I was very reluctant to pay for a budgeting app; seemed counterintuitive. Budgeting methods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyZHS63f6HY. YNAB Vs Mint: Overall Comparison. It's not fluff. Thank you! I thought it was insane that people would pay for a program to help them budget... until I tried it. YNAB and Mint are both known for their ability to help users with budgeting, but they have two different ways of doing that. But there's just something about keeping a budget in excel that always does the trick. I have been a Mint user since mid-2017 and quickly jumped on-board when I first heard of Simplifi’s release, hoping to have finally found a paid alternative to Mint. In mo… After switching to YNAB, I realize how un-user friendly the mint app is. It has a cult following for a reason. Mint and You Need a Budget (YNAB) are the two biggest standouts when it comes to managing your finances. In this case, there’s actually a very clear winner. I’m not alone on that either. It's not fluff. YNABs app is a lot more simple and straight to the point yet easier to get a more holistic view on your finances. What makes YNAB worth the price for you? YNAB is completely different, took a little getting used to and I was very hesitant to pay the $84. The answer depends on your own financial situation and what you need the budgeting app to do. If you feel like Mint is more of a tool for looking at data and graphs than tool for helping you spend your money more wisely, than YNAB might be worth a try. Be the first to share what you think! You and to overspend? Study: Best Budgeting Software - Quicken vs Mint vs YNAB If you want to get ahead in life, you're going to have to make a budget and stick to it. Before choosing the best budgeting and personal finance app for your needs, … It's a web-based app but also available for mobile devices, where you can link your bank accounts, credit cards, brokerage accounts, loans and credit cards. When looking at any money management app, it's a good idea to take some time to think about what you want to accomplish and what you need in your finances. General. I used mint for a bit alongside a spreadsheet. Published on September 16, 2016 January 2, 2020 by MinimalMelody. Both Mint and YNAB provide a user-friendly tool to improve your money management skills—and financial future —by helping you budget effectively. Thanks for the insight! I’m currently on Mint (free service). I personally like mint as an overall financial tracking tool. It's basically the bank integration that Mint and YNAB have, but instead of being forced to use their interface it backs out the data into an Excel/Google spreadsheet that you can build your own system on top of. Mint vs YNAB: Which app should you choose? YNAB vs Mint. For those looking for a simple quick-start tool to help them get a handle on their money and make better budgeting decisions, YNAB is likely to be the better choice. YNAB, all the way. Thank you for the recommendation (and warning). Press J to jump to the feed. It doesn’t prevent you from reallocation, but does make you do it with intention when you do. I had watched multiple videos. It's a bit harder to use than most budgeting apps and that's because most budgeting apps have you budget money you don't have. then when the new month rolls around, i move the money from that category to TBB. I’ve used Mint and Every Dollar and they didn’t work for me. It’s been life changing for my personal financial health and confidence. If you set up all your accounts, and get an email at the end of the month full of pie charts showing that you spent an obscene amount of money in restaurants—you still spent an obscene amount of money in restaurants. In fact, all the months are intricately linked. In this video, I'm going to do an overview of the three most popular budgeting apps: Mint, YNAB, and EveryDollar.Please subscribe and leave comments below! A lot of folks (including myself) had budgets in Mint, but never really used it to actively manage our daily spending and prioritization. After having experience with all three of these money tools, I’ve noticed some standout features with each. Personally went from debt after a divorce to two solid months ahead and zero debt except my mortgage. If anyone's interested in learning it happy to help. Mint is simply a tracker. hide. Unable to get a fuller view of accounts + transactions , and which transactions appear in which account, and what the balances on the accounts are. YNAB is built on getting one month ahead with your finances. Edit: Thank you for all the feedback, kind comments, and resources posted. Thank you! Unless they added a bunch of stuff. And it can be argued thatYNAB shines here because helping you budget is its stated mission and gets greater emphasis. Sold on starting with YNAB, and transitioning out of using Mint for budgeting. Forward planning. There is a 34-day free trial, and then you can be billed monthly at $11.99/month or pay for a full year at $84. Get it here ... YNAB. The amount of people that went from huge debt to debt free and months ahead is massive. In July, I decided to take a break from old-school budgeting (via an Excel spreadsheet) and join the 21st Century. Mint vs YNAB. YNAB is much better at budgeting. Question: is there a way to auto-fill updates from your accounts into Excel? Since you’ve made it this far, it should be clear Mint and YNAB offer slightly different services. I would have to do a bunch of calculations and projections each time to make sure I had everything covered. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. Mint vs YNAB: Which One Is Better? If you’re looking for a free app that can gather all your financial data in one place while monitoring your credit score and net worth, Mint is an easy choice to make. In this YNAB vs Mint comparison, we’ll break down the ins and outs of both apps to help you see which one can help you budget better and save more money. Categorizing stuff was always a headache for me because I never remember what I mean to categorize it to. This is why you’ve never heard anyone say that Mint changed their lives. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. You get a month free see what you think! mint vs ynab Two of the biggest budgeting apps out there are Mint by Intuit (the creators of Quicken) and YNAB , short for “You Need a Budget”. Mint Basics. Both the Mint app and the YNAB app are full feature budgeting apps that can help you manage your money and understand your true expenses each month. This point combined with 2 is the main reason it's such a pain. I seriously can't say enough good things about it. About Mint Mint may be one of the oldest budgeting apps out there, but it hasn't lost its popularity. Yeah, I agree. There are plenty of these discussions if you search, but the short answer you'll hear most often is that Mint can feel more backward-looking and passive, whereas YNAB forces you to be more forward-looking and active. while not as native as YNAB 4, it’s the same concept. It is more safe and secure budgeting application. Alternatively, you can contact them via email. In my personal experience — I used mint for 12 years and it’s so PASSIVE. 0 comments. I’ve been using it since 2011 and I don’t have the same anxiety about money anymore. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services . After watching Millenial Money, I noticed some of their audience heavily praises YNAB. best. You Need A Budget. Me too. I've used both tools and still use Mint for simplicity. This category is where Mint and YNAB begin to differentiate themselves. Don't know why people keep making this comparison. I've gotten three people to try it. This past year I didn’t reach my savings goals... despite working from home and not spending money traveling/restaurants/coffee/transit etc. With both services, you can create budgets, and track your expenses from the credit card and bank accounts you have linked. That money is long gone. But in five months, it has absolutely changed everything. Advertising Disclosure This article/post contains references to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. Discuss and ask questions about personal finances, budgeting, income, retirement plans, insurance, investing, and frugality. All my accounts in one place sort of thing. I’m saving an insane amount of money toward multiple long-term goals, putting aside money monthly toward periodic expenses ranging from biannual bills to Christmas and birthday gifts... It’s so much more than I would have expected it to be. I appreciate your comment! We've also taken a closer look at Mint vs. YNAB. Unique Features Features Unique to Mint . For example, when my wife would say, “can we afford this vacation?” I would look at my balance and think, well, there’s enough in there, but what other short and long term commitments do I need to cover with this money? Mint vs. YNAB – Which Budgeting App Is Better? Go read the ynab subreddit and reviews. report. in YNAB, i handle it by creating a category called “budget next month.” all my current month’s income goes into that category. Find the best product instantly. YNAB Summary. Everyone justifies the cost because it's gotten them out of massive debt but I just see it as an expense. I'm genuinely curious because I've been using Mint for a couple years now, but have heard great things about YNAB. It has a cult following for a reason. A discussion subreddit for popular budgeting software You Need A Budget. Reading the subreddit as I researched different products actually made me doubt if it is right for me since I don't have any debt and am already saving a large part of my income. I definitely have picked up some tricks from learning about the software (like sinking funds and a wish farm) that I use without YNAB. That makes Mint part of the same family of software as popular small business accounting app QuickBooks and tax prep program TurboTax. YNAB forces you to make decisions. Regardless I’m a bit sour that they started charging as much as they do for what was Essen the same product as before. YNAB vs. Mint: Which Budgeting App Is Best? The founders built CountAbout to be a Quicken alternative. Personal Capital vs. YNAB vs. Mint – Where each app shines. Sooo much YNAB. YNAB is here to help anyone get started with … . Founded in 2006, the company was acquired by Intuit in 2009. What do you mean by this? bit.ly/2jYB7sH Join my top rated program Source: https://millennialmoneyman.com/ynab-vs-mint-which-budgeting-app-is-best/ (It costs money, but after what happened to Mint I consider "sustainable business model that doesn't involve selling your data" a feature for this sort of service.) I’ll most likely keep both, for the same reasons you listed above. Add to Chrome Add to Edge Add to Firefox Add to Opera Add to Brave Add to Safari. I actually love YNAB. Sort by. Fair warning: switching to the YNAB method takes some adjustment to the way you think about budgeting, so go at it with an open mind and really use the YNAB resources and also Nick True's YNAB videos on YouTube to familiarize yourself with the new system. Update Officially started YNAB today. A lot of people steer clear from budgeting because they think budgets are going to hold them back. There is no direct phone or email contact available. First, YNAB … I like excel because i can look around my budgeting sheet at work and it looks like I'm being productive, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the FinancialPlanning community. With YNAB, when you need (or want) to spend more than you've budgeted, YNAB's method encourages you to adjust your plan rather than keep it as is to acknowledge that the money for that extra spending has to come from somewhere. Both Mint and YNAB were designed to help you create a budget and analyze your spending patterns so you can make the modifications necessary to reach your financial goals. The biggest difference for me comes when looking at my bank balance and knowing what all the dollars have commitments for. Will bookmark this YouTube channel and use it as a reference. Switching to YNAB vs. Mint – where each app shines that always makes me skeptical ; seemed counterintuitive company! Not as native as YNAB 4 had a “ budget [ next ]. Financial health and confidence because i 've been using it since 2011 and i was very reluctant to the... Ynab only lets you budget effectively never put my finger on why until looking into YNAB insane. 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