Use a budgeting app so that you can take control and finally feel empowered to direct the flow of your own money! In today’s post, we are going to be reviewing two different budgeting apps: EveryDollar vs. Mint.
Feeling stressed about money? If you have ever looked at your bank account and wondered where on earth your paycheck has gone to, today’s post is going to be life-changing!
A budgeting app is a simple, convenient way to assign a task to every dollar that passes through your account. It’s not full of hard-to-understand technical jargon and it won’t take too much time to do right away.
Why You Should Use A Budgeting App
It’s so funny how often freedom and security are kept at polar opposites of each other. I haven’t found that to be true at all, at least when it comes to budgeting my money.
I used to be afraid of budgeting because I thought it would take away my freedom. There was a real fear of what budgeting might mean for me, even if it was good to do. I also thought budgeting would be too hard, or too complicated for me to ever get it right.
Who has the time, right?
I’ve seen the financial articles and read all the legal terms. It seems like the more important anything is, the more technical and difficult to read it is. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Besides using budgeting quotes to help keep me motivated, budgeting apps have become a life-changing tool for me and my husband. A budgeting app is a tool designed to fit into your life and reinforce good habits about spending…all at your fingertips!
The Easiest Way To Budget
Originally, I underestimated the value of a budgeting app as a path toward self-improvement.
But, what I (and a lot of other people) have found is that using a budgeting app shows you what you need and keeps you engaged in your own spending patterns. This ultimately can lead to fiscal responsibility so that you can take control and finally feel empowered to direct the flow of your own money!
The Best Budgeting App Choices For Money Management
We recently compared Quicken vs. Mint, but today we are going to compare the Mint app again but with EveryDollar instead!
These are two very good options for budgeting your money on a downloadable app. Ultimately, different apps appeal to different people.
So, let me introduce you to each and the way that they can fold into your daily life and help you budget on your terms.
EveryDollar vs. Mint
Today, we are looking at EveryDollar vs. Mint.
These apps are free to use and both of them are valid and simple ways to help you keep your dollars in focus and control how you spend your money.
EveryDollar and Mint have different ways of offering you the same thing. Each has limitations and advantages that will impact you as a user in different ways.
I’m here to lay out the facts and help you decide if you are team EveryDollar or team Mint.
What Is EveryDollar?
If EveryDollar sounds familiar, that might be because you’ve heard Dave Ramsey recommend it himself.
EveryDollar is now part of the Ramsey+ package which is available for a free trial! However, the app alone is also free.
It’s super easy to sign up and the account helps you track trends in your area using your zip code.
The whole goal and purpose of EveryDollar is to make it easy for you to track every dollar so that you can write a budget that works for you.
The Benefits To Using The EveryDollar App
EveryDollar is an easy-to-use app that is chock full of benefits. It starts with your primary goal. You tell the app what you hope to accomplish financially. This lets the app know how to be the best help.
The best benefit of EveryDollar is that it presents budgeting as simple as it really is. You put in your monthly income by paycheck, then you plan where your payments will go using a customizable template. Finally, EveryDollar helps you track your spending throughout the month.
One of the best benefits is that you can keep up with EveryDollar tracking wherever because you can sync your account to both your phone and laptop.
EveryDollar is a fantastic way to simplify budgeting and make accountability easier. It’s better than pouring over billing statements and trying to fill out a complicated ledger every month. However, the app does have limitations.
Limitations Of The EveryDollar App
One potential issue with using EveryDollar as your budgeting app is that you need to get used to inputting your data on a regular basis.
In order to accurately track your spending against your budget, you need to create new transactions. You can twist this con into a pro by reducing your unplanned spending, which results in you saving more money. But, if this feature is more of an annoyance for you, it could cause you not to use the app as intended.
There is more potential for the app when you upgrade to Ramsey+ which includes a fee. Ramsey+ plans come in 3 month, 6 month, and 1-year intervals.
What Is Mint?
Mint is a money managing software from the company that brought us Turbotax and Quickbooks. This app is meant to give you all the data you need about your financial accounts on one dashboard.
Mint is a free downloadable budgeting app that emphasizes ease of use and access to financial account information rather than a streamlined month-to-month budget tracking system.
The Benefits To Using The Mint App
One of the key benefits of Mint that you will notice almost immediately is that you can see all of your money and spending in one place. You don’t have to start a transaction when you spend outside of your planned expenses.
Mint uses partnerships with Turbotax and Rocket Mortgage to make important financial moves easier.
Mint includes credit monitoring, which is something Dave Ramsey is totally unconcerned with.
Needless to say with all of this account information funneling through this software, Mint is safe and secure to use.
Limitations Of The Mint App
The software is largely automated, which means little personal help if you have issues.
Sometimes the app does not properly classify transactions which can result in duplicates. This means that even if you don’t have to add transactions into the app, you do need to follow up to make sure all the transactions are accurate.
Because Mint is free, expect ads to pop up while you’re inside the app. If this doesn’t bother you, then you’ll be perfectly fine.
EveryDollar vs. Mint: Which is Right for You?
Both of these apps help people budget and track their spending. But, they aren’t necessarily for everybody and they aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Although the apps have apparently the same aim, they are quite different from each other and can benefit you in different ways.
Is EveryDollar A Good Fit?
If you are looking for a straightforward way to track your spending and get used to handling your money more deliberately, EveryDollar is a good fit for you.
It allows you to keep financially minded and change your spending habits so you have a better handle on your finances.
Is Mint A Good Fit?
For those looking to get a wider view of all of their spending in one place, Mint is the right app for you.
Mint allows you to link up all of your financial accounts, which makes tracking your expenses simpler. However, there are more complexities to Mint that you may not be interested in if you are just tracking your budget.
Make The Right Choice For Your Budgeting Needs
The right solution might be both!
Both apps are free to download and each one takes a different approach to help you budget.
- Mint gives you a lot of information in one place.
- EveryDollar lets you control the information that goes in. Both are helpful to have.
- The Mint Dashboard lets you look at everything together, but there is limited guidance about what to do with the information you get.
- EveryDollar on the other hand keeps the focus simple and lets the basic math do the work.
EveryDollar vs. Mint: Final Thoughts
Whatever you choose to do, both EveryDollar and Mint are helpful and have easy-to-use ways of creating and tracking a budget for free on your laptop or mobile device.
You don’t have to worry about percentage rates and advisory fees, or anything like that. There is no complication to these tools. It’s just about following through and following up.
All you need to know in the case of Mint is where your money is and what you spend with. With EveryDollar, there is less emphasis on peripheral accounts because they mean for you to be more deliberate in your spending.
To sum it up, EveryDollar is used to change your habits and know where your money goes. Mint is used to manage your money by viewing multiple synched accounts at once with more focus on credit and lending services you either use or could use.
Let me know what you decide in the comments down below!
