#pocketsmith

When Mint first came out, it was an excellent tool. Pulling data from multiple accounts into one place to track and create a budget. However, with time the tool has been surpassed by many competitors. I recently found myself looking for alternatives to Mint after various frustrations with categorization, scheduling bill pay, and a cumbersome interface.

It is definitely a great tool, especially since it is free, but over time some better Mint alternatives have been developed. If you are looking for a change, you have come to the right place, below you will find some great alternatives to Mint.

For Envelope System Users or Setting Goals: Simple

Cost: Free

Simple is by far my favorite tool in this list. Simple is not simply a tool or an app, it is a bank. Here is the way it works, opening an account opens a checking account with BBVA Compass. However, the interface created by the team at Simple lives on top of the account. No monthly fees or cost, you just use Simple for your banking and you get their interface! There is no better tool when it comes to setting financial goals and understanding how much you need to save over time. Here is a list of features this Mint alternative has to offer:

Goals (work like envelopes)

Emergency Fund

Contribution Schedules (choose when to fund goals)

Auto-spend (allows you to auto spend from goals)

While the feature list may not be extensive, the things Simple does, it does well. Perfect if you are looking for a clean interface and don’t want to be overwhelmed by features. See sample screenshot for goals below.

Personally, my family has found Simple to be a great resource for creating a zero based budget. We track every expense, sinking fund, and investment in Simple. Then as you create an activity it can be deducted from goals you set. There are other tools that do this, but the interface Simple uses is excellent and always being improved, I highly recommend checking it out. When looking at simplicity and a great interface, this is easily one of the best alternatives to Mint.

If you use the link HERE to setup your account, you will receive $20 when you make your first purchase.

Mac OS Only: Banktivity

Cost: $65 (30 day free trial)

Banktivity, is a tool made specifically for Mac OS and iOS costing $65, but offers a free 30 day trial. This tool shines when it comes to having a high level view of all of your accounts OR running detailed reports. Here are some of the things you can do:

view a summary of your entire net worth

set budgets

categorize transactions

run reports based on transaction categories

view your investment portfolio

track credit card balance

track mortgages and loans

online bill pay

See the gallery of Banktivity screenshots below!

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If you are looking for a power house software to manage your finances, this is it. Banktivity offers functionality of many other tools you will read about, all in one package, making it one of the best alternatives to Mint. For all of you huge financial nerds out there, if you have an Apple ecosystem, it is definitely for you.

Check out Banktivity HERE!

Envelope System: Mvelopes

Cost: $4/month for Basic, $19/month for Plus, $59/month for Complete (more info here)

Mvelopes allows you to connect your bank, credit card, and other financial accounts to their app with their basic plan. You will also be able to use unlimited envelopes for your budgets, see below.

The expensive plans come with other extensive soft features like:

debt assessment

debt reduction center

financial coaching

personalized financial plan

If you are interested in using an envelope style system, but also want some of these other soft features, Mvelopes is probably for you. I personally have not used this tool, but I have had it recommended to me. Anyone looking to connect all of their accounts to one app AND create an envelope system budget should give this Mint alternative a peek. You can find more information HERE.

If You Like Banktivity, but Don’t have a Mac: Moneydance

Cost: $49.99

Moneydance seems to have a very similar look to Banktivity. Moneydance also offers a lot of the same features as Banktivity, but includes Windows and Linux users! Here are a few of the tricks that Moneydance has in store for you:

Automatic categorization

Online banking

Summaries

Graphs and Reports

Account Registers

Reminders

Investment tracking

Refer to the gallery below for screenshots of all the neat stuff Moneydance can do.

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I don’t think the interface here is quite as clean as Banktivity. For Mac OS users I would definitely lean more toward Banktivity. However, if you are looking for these features and have Windows or Linux, Moneydance is an excellent choice. Learn more HERE.

If Still Want to Use Mint: Countabout

Cost: Basic $9.99/year, Premium $39.99/year (15 day free trial)

Countabout is similar to a lot of different tools in this list. It is an app that can import data from Quicken, Mint, or thousands of financial institutions. Once the data is imported it has an extensive list of features.

Imports data from Quicken and Mint

Thousands of financial institutions

Multi-factor login protection

Android and iOS apps

Category customization (add, delete, rename)

Tags (add, delete, rename)

Account balances Reporting

Reporting for Category activity

Tag activity Reporting

Report exporting

Individual Account QIF importing

Budgeting

Running register balances

Account reconciliation

Graphs for Income & Spending

Recurring transactions

Investment balances by Institution

Memorized transactions

Split transactions

Description renaming

This list is pretty good considering the price of the app. However, looking at the screenshot below, the interface does seem a little bit dated.

If you are interested, it cannot hurt to try out the 15 day free trial. You can find it HERE.

For Peer Comparisons: Status Money

Cost: Free

Status Money actually looks pretty neat. I have not yet tried it, but after seeing all it has to offer I think I may need to do a review. This app allows you to compare your finances to your financial peers. In their interface Status Money allows you to view graphs that compare your finances to peers and the national average. (see below)

Not only that, but it will also give you suggestions on how to improve your finances. Here are insights this web based tool might show you:

Your credit cards to not have competitive interest rates (comparing you with people who have similar credit scores)

Projected expenses are higher than your income

Spending at restaurants (or other places) is higher than your peers

Status Money noticed your credit card debt is greater than your peers

Net worth is growing, but is still lower than your peers

The only negative with this tool is, your information is probably being sold to make it free. A tool like Status Money cannot remain free easily, especially considering all the obvious work put into it. Understand that if you use this tool, there is a high likelihood that your financial status is being sold to market research companies anonymously. If that does not bother you, this tool looks fantastic! Learn more about Status Money HERE to compete with your peers!

For Projections: Pocketsmith

Cost: Basic is Free, Premium $9.95/month, Super $19.95/month

Pocketsmith is a lot like some of the other apps we have covered, but it has a few pretty neat features that make it unique. Here is a list of features:

Budgets

Cash Projections

Budget Calendar

Net Worth Tracking

Reporting

Cash Flow Statements

What-if Scenarios

Send expenses to Xero

At first glance Pocketsmith will seem a lot like other apps. However, after looking a bit deeper the features of what-if scenarios, cash projections, and exporting expenses make it stand out.

What-if scenarios allow you to view financial outcomes before committing to a financial change. Cash projections allow you to make projections for your bank statements up to 30 years in the future. Last, exporting expenses to Xero would be helpful if you use Xero’s accounting software. You can then export business expenses to Xero.

As a user of Simple I hate to say it, but this tool seems to offer some huge advantages. ESPECIALLY, for anyone who spends a lot of time planning for the future. You can learn more about Pocketsmith HERE.

For Debt Free Screamers: Every Dollar Plus

Cost: Basic is Free, Plus $99/year

Every Dollar Plus is an excellent tool made by the team at Ramsey Solutions. It is intended to be used ONLY as a zero based budget where you categorize every single transaction. In Everydollar transactions appear as little circles that you drag and drop to various budgets that were previously setup. See screenshot below.

Drag and Drop Transactions

  The interface is simple and easy to use. Unfortunately, it does not seem to offer the multitude of features that other apps do. You can plan on doing the following:

Connect to your bank

Create budgets

Drag and drop transactions to budgets

See all of your planned expenses

Track your baby steps (Dave Ramsey’s steps to financial freedom)

That’s about it. Every Dollar Plus does not under deliver on any promises and what it does do, it does well. That being said, this tool is perfect for strict Dave Ramsey followers or the minimalist. Learn more HERE.

That’s It!

If you don’t want to scroll back up to the top, here is a list of all the tools in order! Just click on the name to be linked to each tools website! Be on the lookout for detailed reviews!

Simple

Banktivity

Mvelopes

Moneydance

Countabout

Status Money

Pocket Smith

Every Dollar Plus

Hope you enjoyed! Be sure to comment with any great tools I missed!

Have you ever found yourself wanting a product to make your life truly easier, searching on the Internet and finding many products that are close but do not offer the full feature set you want. This was true for me with personal finance software over the last couple years. I stumbled across the product that served every purpose I needed and then some. Enter: PocketSmith.

Competition

Before I get…

What's so sad about a predicament like mine is that I am being penalized for not doing anything wrong. I just haven't done anything right (which translates to that I haven't owed anyone any real money...doesn't that sound weird?). So for someone like me, it's a Catch 22 situation where I can't get the benefit of the doubt from banks who want absolute assurance (with good reason) that I can pay off my debts and I can't get anything else done (like renting an apartment or even getting cable) without credit. 

Haha...

Luckily, I managed to pay a visit to a Radioshack near my neighborhood and realized that the best first step of getting some credit? is paying off your own cellphone bill. LOL, I know a few people who, if they heard me, would faint at such a suggestion. I am the opposite: I am a relatively light cellphone user and even though I have an iPhone now that I pay some big bucks on for the plan, I never really go overboard. Perhaps it's because I don't have enough friends (or any? Just kidding) or I am simply a strategic smartphone user. That basically means I have downloaded the Free Wifi Finder app and always use the Wifi at work, at school, and at home to counter all the times alongside my Google Voice account to really manage. Anyway, once I realized that cellphone providers reported the credit to the credit bureaus, I rushed to the opportunity. The entrance is always small for a big house: think of a door and how big it is and then think of a house (regardless of what kind, the door will always be smaller, don't argue with me on this one). I definitely needed an entry and alas, I went.

A key point on keeping good credit is PAYING YOUR BILLS. That one got you didn't it? It seems weird to me that most Americans don't quite understand that concept? and treat credit cards (or even their debit cards) like they are magic. Sorry kiddos, but magic doesn't exist. I just got my first cellphone bill and, despite of the large number I am getting for the sake of a smartphone (I just do talk and data, a lot of my texting goes through Google Voice via data/wifi), I am really excited to finally get out of the paradox of my personal credit crisis. 

What are my next steps? Well saving up enough to secure a limited credit card at $500 (with a good enough APY for my own sake) and continue afford to pay off my now 2 year contract bill. I don't really need to cry over it since the last time I called Verizon customer service convinced me well enough that it was worthwhile to stay with the carrier (my last carrier was pink and not at all great at giving me a service).  After I get that, I can finally charge my monthly unlimited subway card as well as my cellphone bill and gather more credit. Yay!

I recommend that everyone start using the online resources we have at our disposal to manage their money. I have been using Mint.com, a free personal money management site that I saw on moneyisnotimportant's blog. Although I can't say it's NOT confusing initially, the overall idea and the app have been helping me keep track of my money much better than I would have done so on my own. 

Advice as to best use that site? I might post an entry about that soon. I will spare everyone' the two weeks that it took me to really get how to use the budgeting option (although I think that has to do more with me refusing to read directions than the site itself). 

A more intuitive site alternative, I would say, would be Pocketsmith. It has a calendar and a great bank statement syncing option but you have to pay a monthly subscription to gain all the benefits of the site. If you are someone with heaving financing and am more visual about your data, then definitely try it out. 

I also forgot to say that it is very important for myself (and you if you want) to keep a personal track record of each transcript I make. I haven't really been doing that (lol, maybe that's why everyone refuses to give college students the benefit of the doubt when it comes to money) but I believe having a handy app like Expensify or Shoeboxed should make it a lot easier for me to appreciate my self accounting. The reason why it is always good to have a manual financial organizer is so that you can always check if a bank or Mint.com made a mistake.

Money is precious and if you think about minimum wage and how hard you personally try to earn a few bucks of cash, I would say that a few seconds of pausing and taking a picture of a receipt would be definitely worth it.