What To Do & Alternatives To Consider – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Mint, a budgeting app acquired by Intuit in 2009, is shutting down as of Saturday, March 23, 2024. Mint shows users an overview of their financial well-being by displaying the current status of multiple linked accounts on one screen. Users can track spending and savings, create customized budgets and keep track of bills. Mint also negotiates better deals on behalf of its customers.

How To Prepare for Life Without Mint

If you use Mint, you’ll need to find a new tool for managing your money. Research the best budgeting apps and then export your data from Mint to a new platform. Some apps will make converting and transferring Mint data easier than others.

Intuit is urging current Mint users to move to Credit Karma—another Intuit-owned tool—because account balances, historical net worths and transactions from the past three years can be migrated. Still, Mint recommends you download your transaction history for your records.

Transferring Data To Credit Karma

If you want to stick with Intuit, the company promises a seamless transition from Mint to Credit Karma. The app will let you know when you can begin moving your financial account data over. Note that once you transfer to Credit Karma, you will no longer be able to access Mint but can still download transactions.

Credit Karma will inherit some of Mint’s most popular features and offer new ones. Members can still monitor their spending and cash flow, and Credit Karma will use customer data to make personal and actionable recommendations, like which credit card to use for rewards or what to do when an account is low on cash. Intuit Assist, an AI-powered financial assistant, has also recently launched to help Credit Karma members with financial questions and decisions.

App users will have access to an overview of their finances, including average spending broken down by category and transactions, cash flow tracking and net worth insights. But unfortunately, many budgeting features in Mint will not be available in Credit Karma.

Tips On Choosing Another Budgeting App

• Free trial. You can often try out paid budgeting apps or paid versions of apps for free before paying a monthly fee. Look for options that offer free trials for new users.
• Monthly subscription fee. If you choose an app that costs money, check out its subscription fees to ensure you can comfortably afford the expense each month.
• Connecting your accounts. Be sure you can connect your bank accounts to a budgeting app for a more accurate depiction of your finances and goals.
• Personalization. See if an app can be personalized to fit your needs. For example, you might be able to name savings goals, track your bills or customize spending categories.
• Safety features. Read through an app’s safety features to make sure your personal and account information would be protected as a user.

Other Alternatives To Consider

If you want to branch out from Intuit, here are other money management apps to consider.

YNAB

You Need A Budget (YNAB) is an app that helps you build a budget. It is built on four rules, which are giving every dollar a job, embracing your true expenses, rolling with the punches and aging your money. After your free trial, YNAB is $14.99 per month or $99 per year.

Pocketguard

Pocketguard is another popular personal finance app that allows you to build a budget and track expenses daily. It also monitors and reminds you about bills, even negotiating better rates for some. Pocketguard offers a free version, but if you want access to premium features, you’ll pay $7.99 a month or $34.99 for the year. You can also pay $79.99 for a lifetime membership.

Oportun

Lastly, Oportun (formerly Digit) is an app designed to help you save money by automatically transferring funds to different savings goals that you set. After linking your bank account, the app will learn your spending habits before making transfers to your different savings goals. Oportun has a free trial, but after it ends, the app is $5 per month.