Mint is a personal finance budgeting app that’s simple to use and automatically connects to your bank accounts, credit card accounts, and investment accounts. It’s free to use and also offers credit score information at no charge. The online tool has become so popular that over 300 million people are now using it.
Mint’s mission is to take the guesswork and stress out of budgeting and saving, allowing consumers to keep tabs on their hard-earned money and make it easy to manage finances all in one convenient place. After inputting all your info, Mint will offer suggestions based on your spending habits to help keep you focused on your goals. You can customize a budget tailored especially for you that takes all of your activity and current finances into account.
Let’s take a closer look at Mint to help you decide if this is an app worth downloading and using to help you manage your personal finances.
How Does Mint Work?
The goal of the Mint app is to help you see all your finances and spending in one place. This will help you get a better picture of your current financial status and help you see where you may need to tweak certain things in your financial life. Everything is brought together, including all your bank account balances, credit card balances, bills, credit score, and more.
The app will automatically update and categorize your personal finance information, then make real-time calculations as they happen to keep you up-to-speed. Not only can you easily manage your money with Mint, the app will also help identify ways in which you can save. Thousands of different offers will be looked at, and those that the app thinks might be good for you will be recommended.
It should only take a few minutes to add new accounts to the app, after which Mint will quickly download your financial data. Whenever you open the app, your financial information will be automatically updated. The data will be presented in an easy-to-understand and clear format, including graphs and lists to help make it easier for you to see where things stand. You’ll also be given a summary of your finances.
Who Is The Mint App Best Suited For?
The Mint app is perfect for those who want the following:
- A visually-detailed app that’s easy to understand at a glance
- A simplified layout of your finances
- An effective way to achieve your savings goals faster
- An easy budgeting tool for beginners
- A mobile-accessible way to budget
- A way to check your credit score for free
How Much Does The Mint App Cost?
The Mint app is free to download and use, and there are no hidden fees to worry about. Mint makes its money on referral fees should you decide to take them up on their recommendations for certain financial services, or there may be some banner ads on the app. Further, there is a premium access option to your credit report for a small fee.
Pros And Cons Of Mint
Pros
- Free to use. Unless you use the premium credit score features, there is no cost to use the Mint app.
- See all your accounts in one place. One of the best things about Mint is the fact that it pulls all your financial information and lays it out neatly in one spot for you to look at. This gives you a greater sense of the overall picture of your finances, making it easier to understand.
- Sync everything automatically. You don’t have to manually drag your banking information to the app. Instead, Mint does that all automatically for you. Just choose your account provider and sign in to Mint’s online website or mobile app. The service will then pull in all your account information automatically.
- Create a budget. Quickly and easily create a budget tailored specifically to you so that you can see how much you actually bring in every month, how much you spend, and where some changes might need to be made to help you achieve your financial goals faster.
- See how your investments are doing. Mint will generate a snapshot of your investment portfolio to show you how your investment accounts are performing.
- Free credit score. Knowing what your credit score is at any given time is important, as it paints the picture of your strength as a consumer and a potential loan applicant. You can find out your score quickly and for free with the Mint app.
- Get alerts. As soon as you go over your budget, Mint will automatically send you an alert to notify you of this activity. This will help you stay in-the-know and on track with your budget. Alerts will also be sent when suspicious activity is taking place in your accounts.
- Easy interface. The Mint website and app are both user-friendly and display all information in a clear and easy-to-understand way.
- Two-factor authentication. Your personal information is protected under an additional layer of security with the 2-factor authentication.
Cons
- Lots of advertisements
- Investing features could be more in-depth
- No bill pay option
How Do You Create An Account With Mint?
Opening an account with Mint is easy. Simply enter your email address, choose a password, and input where you live. You should then have access quickly for free.
Once you’ve created an account, you can connect and sync the accounts you want to be included, create a budget, and start tracking your income and expenditures to help you stay on budget.
Overview Of Features
| Fee | Free |
| Track spending | Yes |
| Sync bank accounts | Yes |
| Platform | Website browser or mobile |
| Compatibility | iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Amazon |
| Bill Tracking | Yes |
| Credit Score | Yes (free) |
| Personal Support | Email or chat |
| Bill Payment | No |
| Investment Tracking | Yes |
| Manual Entries | Yes |
| Tax Reporting | Yes |
| Locations Available | Canada and US |
Is The App Safe?
Yes, using Mint is safe. It takes the security of your personal and financial information seriously by offering two-factor authentication for an added layer of login protection, and a Touch ID sensor for iOS operating systems.
What Support Is Available With The Mint App?
Mint offers two ways to get in touch with them if you need any support: via email or live chat.
The app also offers many educational resources, such as articles, online training videos, and tutorials that may help to answer some or all of your questions while educating you along the way.
Should You Get The Mint App?
Mint might be a great online tool for you to use if you:
- Are looking for a way to come up with a budget quickly and easily
- Need to get control over your spending habits
- Want a quick and easy way to glance over all your finances
- Are comfortable with mobile apps for financial purposes
- Want something that won’t cost you anything to use
Final Thoughts
Mint is a great tool you can access to get a clear visual of how and where your money is being spent relative to how much you earn. It’s user-friendly and provides easy-to-understand images of your finances. Mint is designed to help you budget more effectively and improve your money management skills. The fact that this tool is free to use also makes it an attractive budgeting option.
