Is anyone else feeling severely punished for using the almost end-of-life budgeting tool, Mint? Welcome to the club! No one wants to be in this club, yet here we are. Unfortunately, to get out, you have some work ahead of you.
I recently went through the headache of migrating to a new, paid budgeting tool and can give you my experience, especially if this is coming up for you. Number one thing you should know...
DO NOT CLICK ANYTHING IN MINT INITIATING A MIGRATION TO CREDIT KARMA
This is where the headache began for me and can mostly be avoided for you. There are a handful of major reasons why should you never click any email or prompts inside Mint to do this Credit Karma migration until you have settled-into a new budgeting tool. First of all, Credit Karma is literally just not a budgeting tool. They didn't migrate the features from Mint to Credit Karma and Credit Karma didn't make their own. Credit Karma is not a budgeting solution. Credit Karma is an interface to advertise to you. I truly cannot find a good thing to say about it. There is almost no view into your transactions and no way to categorize transactions. Credit Karma just gives you a credit score and says "Good credit? Great! Get spending!" and then advertises financial services to you.
There is literally no reason to trigger this migration.
Even the transaction file Mint spits out to you in this migration can be pulled at any time at the bottom of the page of your "Transactions" tab in Mint. Do not trigger this migration!
When you trigger this migration, there is no turning back.
You will not be able to "go back" to Mint. You will just be prompted with a csv file download of your transaction history and a digital wave goodbye. Better than nothing, especially for a free service with no SLAs with its customers. Which brings me to my next point...
As of right now, Mint is going away at the end of March 2024.
This was moved out from the end of December 2023, and this may change yet. Take advantage of these next few months to set up a new budgeting service while still being able to look back at the Mint interface you're used to and match things appropriately.
Will you pay for your new budgeting service with money, time, or data?
I started using Mint back in 2016, when I just graduated college and "free" mattered a lot to me, maybe more than "this thing is definitely harvesting your data in exchange for this free service". My career has kicked off since then and privacy is more of a concern to me now. If you want real privacy, you'll need to pay for it (and "paid-for" STILL might not mean your data is safe) or create something entirely homegrown (I'm talking a literal notebook, or some kid of offline spreadsheet solution). So, I knew I was going to shell out money for this. If you need free for your current position and goals, that's fine, but it's important to understand the trade-off being made.
Find the budgeting solution with the features you need, and then test those features out with a free trial.
As for features, I knew I wanted transactions to be auto-populated; I didn't want to follow and manually-enter each transaction. This was a service of Mint and is a common service of many budgeting solutions. That being said, almost every budgeting service out there offers some amount of time for a free trial. Don't let the free trial burn out assuming everything works! give your software candidates a trial to run make sure their transaction connectors actually work with your financial institutions. I tried using Dave Ramsey's "EveryDollar" and the Discover Bank connector wouldn't work after multiple days and reconfigurations. EveryDollar's solution? Write out and send their IT team a ticket. Instant disqualification.
TL,DR; what am I using now?
I ultimately decided to go with one called YNAB. Their transaction population works across all of my financial institutions, I could easily import my Mint csv file into each one of the accounts (which is a little technical and I could write on this is people have interest, let me know), and it actually functions in a more understandable way to me than Mint did: zero-based budgeting where you allocate all of your net worth monthly. Mint would base each monthly budget purely on that month's income and understanding exactly where all of your money was in a given moment sometimes frustrated me. I tried out manually doing it on paper and in Excel, and then the services EveryDollar and YNAB.
None of this is sponsored content so feel free to look up these services on your own and even explore solutions I didn't mention here. Good luck and stay sane!
FAQs
As of right now, Mint is going away at the end of March 2024. This was moved out from the end of December 2023, and this may change yet. Take advantage of these next few months to set up a new budgeting service while still being able to look back at the Mint interface you're used to and match things appropriately.
What should I use now that Mint is going away? ›
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.
Why is the Mint app going away? ›
Mint recently announced: “Reimagining Mint as part of Intuit Credit Karma will expand our capabilities,” which is them trying to put a positive spin on the fact that they're shutting down their budgeting app capabilities—and Mint budgeters won't be able to access their budgeting accounts or continue budgeting starting ...
Why is Intuit getting rid of Mint? ›
The reason for closing down the Mint app is the supposed consolidation of Intuit's personal finance products and to prioritize their focus on Credit Karma, which has more features and functions than Mint. However, some key features that made Mint what it is are said not to be available in Credit Karma, like budgeting.
What are the disadvantages of Intuit Mint? ›
Disadvantages of Intuit Mint
Mint is a free app, but it makes money by displaying targeted ads for credit cards and other financial products. Unfortunately, there's no option to remove the ads from the web version. You can only pay for an ad-free experience on the Mint mobile apps.
What hates mint? ›
Mint deters white cabbage moths, ants, rodents, flea beetles, fleas, and aphids. It improves the health of cabbage and tomatoes.
What is mint used for today? ›
Toothpaste, mouthwash, breath mints, and chewing gum are all commonly flavored with mint. In addition to freshening breath, mint adds flavor to foods and drinks – everything from ice cream and tarts to lemonade and co*cktails to meat dishes (especially lamb).
Is Mint going away in 2024? ›
Intuit Inc. announced that it will shut down Mint on March 23, 2024. The company's decision to discontinue the popular budgeting app could leave millions of users scrambling to find a replacement. Here's what the news means for consumers and what to consider when choosing a new budgeting service.
Why did Mint fail? ›
The original personal finance dashboard, Mint.com's relatively meager ARPU of $2-$3 proved “they had the wrong business model”, said ex-Mint.com product manager and Monarch Money CEO Val Agostino—giving the product away for free and monetizing off referrals .
Is Mint Intuit safe? ›
Mint is a personal finance app that is safe to use. The company has safety features including multi-factor authentication and security scanning tools to keep your account and personal data safe. Does it cost money to use Mint? Mint is free to use and includes many useful features.
TurboTax maker Intuit barred from advertising 'free' tax services without disclosing who's eligible. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators have barred TurboTax maker Intuit Inc. from advertising its services as “free” unless they are free for all customers, or if eligibility is clearly disclosed.
Is Intuit Mint being discontinued? ›
By Jan. 1, 2024, consumers will no longer be able to use the Mint app. Whether you choose to migrate to Credit Karma or choose a different budgeting platform altogether, the switch is going to take some getting used to.
Will Credit Karma be like Mint? ›
Will Credit Karma have the same budgeting functionality as Mint? Credit Karma does not currently provide budgeting features the same way that Mint has in the past. We know that many Minters love our budgeting features, so we understand this may be disappointing.
Who should not use Mint? ›
Never apply peppermint oil to the face of an infant or small child, as it may cause spasms that inhibit breathing. Peppermint may make gallstones worse. Large doses of peppermint oil can be toxic. Pure menthol is poisonous and should never be taken internally.
What is better than Intuit Mint? ›
We tested half a dozen budgeting apps for you to consider now that Intuit has shut down Mint.
- Quicken Simplifi. The best budgeting app overall. ...
- Monarch Money. The best Mint alternative (runner-up) ...
- Copilot Money. The best up-and-comer. ...
- NerdWallet. The best free budgeting app. ...
- YNAB. Also tested. ...
- PocketGuard. Also tested.
Quicken has much more functionality and can grow with you over time. It's also better than Mint if you're a small business owner or are managing rental properties. Quicken is also better than Mint for tracking investments and planning your retirement.
What can you spray on mint to keep bugs away? ›
To get rid of pests on your mint plant, start by inspecting the leaves for any visible pests like aphids, spider mites, or whiteflies. Use a gentle spray of water to dislodge them from the plant. You can also try applying neem oil or a mixture of dish soap and water as a natural pesticide.
What to do with mint before it goes bad? ›
Or, if you have loose mint leaves, wet a paper towel and then ring it out. Add the leaves to the damp towel and gently fold the sides over the leaves making a small packet. Transfer the packet to a plastic bag or plastic container and close it up. Place it into the fridge and enjoy your mint for 3-5 days.
Where to go after mint reddit? ›
One user recommended Empower. I had used Empower for my 401k for years, but needed to start a personal financial account with them. Super simple. Once set up I added my bank accounts, investment accounts, 401k, mortgages and even Zillow Zestimates to my portfolio.
Does mint keep coming back? ›
Mint is frost tolerant. It usually dies back in the winter but comes back in spring. Because mint tends to take over, many gardeners plant mint in a small pot and then plant that pot in the ground or inside a larger container.
