Everydollar vs Mint

For a long time, Mint was the top choice when it came to budgeting, tracking, and managing finances. But in the past decade, personal budget management has evolved. Now, two prominent web-based budgeting tools have entered the scene: Mint and EveryDollar. While neither is a one-size-fits-all solution, both have unique features that set them apart.

“So which one is the best?”

Well, to be honest, it depends on what you need from a budget planner. If month-to-month budgeting is a priority, EveryDollar’s simplicity is the way to go. If you want an affordable option for yearly financial tracking, both present and past, then Mint is your best bet. These are just a few differences between the two.

Now, let’s dive into what each product is about, how to get started, the features they offer, and a final summary, starting with EveryDollar.

What Is EveryDollar?

EveryDollar is a relatively new budgeting app created by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey in 2015. Its purpose is to streamline the budgeting process and help users achieve financial freedom. EveryDollar follows the principles of zero-based budgeting, which means allocating all income toward monthly expenses. This approach ensures that no money is left unaccounted for, and you start fresh with a new budget each month.

You can choose between a free version and a paid version with a 15-day free trial. The paid version requires a $99 annual subscription fee.

According to EveryDollar’s website:

“EveryDollar helps you create a monthly budget so you can achieve your money goals. Say goodbye to money stress and hello to confidence in your financial future.”

EveryDollar is solely focused on being a budgeting software, offering a simple and user-friendly application.

How Does It Work?

To get started, you need to create an account on the official EveryDollar website.

1. Fill in your full name, email address, password, current country of residence, state, and ZIP code. Note that EveryDollar is currently only available to residents of the US and Canada.
2. Click the “Create My Account” button at the bottom of the form.
3. You will receive a confirmation email. Click the link in the email to confirm your credentials.
4. Once confirmed, you’re ready to use EveryDollar and start working on your budget.

You’ll have eight spending categories to start with, but you can create your own customized categories. EveryDollar also allows you to set up savings accounts, called “Funds,” to track your savings goals.

In each category, you can enter your planned budget and track your transactions. The “Planned” box shows your initial budget, while the “Remaining” box indicates the remaining balance. You can toggle to the “Spent” setting to see how much of your budget you’ve already used.

If you opt for EveryDollar Plus (the paid version), you can sync your categories with your bank accounts for automatic updates. The free version requires manual updating. EveryDollar provides graphical displays to help you track your spending and saving trends.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps

Once your income and expenses are set up, you can turn to Dave Ramsey’s “7 Baby Steps” as a guide to manage your budget. These steps help you get out of debt and build wealth:

1. Save an emergency fund of $1000.
2. Utilize the Snowball Method to pay off all debts, starting with the smallest ones.
3. Focus on saving to cover 3-6 months of living expenses.
4. Allocate 15% of your income towards retirement savings.
5. Start a college fund for your children.
6. Pay off your mortgage or purchase a home.
7. Use your financial freedom to build wealth and give back.

These steps provide a step-by-step plan to guide you in changing your financial behavior and addressing your money challenges.

What Is Mint?

Mint.com is a user-friendly web-based personal finance program with over 15 million users. It’s 100% free and allows you to create a new account quickly. Mint.com provides all-in-one access to your financial accounts, can be accessed through a mobile app, and helps you create budgets, set goals, and track expenses.

Mint.com was acquired by Intuit, the creators of Quicken, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016. Your financial data is automatically updated each time you visit the site. The dashboard provides a summary of your finances, and Mint presents information in an easy-to-use web interface with helpful graphs.

While Mint may lack some features, it excels in budgeting, expense tracking, and consolidating finances in one place.

How Does It Work?

Like EveryDollar, you need to visit the official Mint.com website to create an account:

1. Scroll down on the main page and click the “SIGN UP FOR FREE” button.
2. Provide your preferred email address, phone number (recommended), and a secure password. Mint is only available to residents of the US and Canada.
3. Click the “Create Account” button and fill in your country and ZIP code on the next page.

With a single Mint account, you can use Mint, TurboTax, and QuickBooks.

You’ll be prompted to provide more financial information, starting with syncing your bank accounts. Mint can sync with almost every financial institution, making setup easy. You can also add credit cards, student loans, investments, and more to get a comprehensive view of your finances.

Mint provides a sample budget based on your spending history. To create your own budgets, head to the “Budgets” tab and select “Create a Budget.” Choose categories and subcategories for your income and expenses, set the amount for each category, and save it.

You can continue adding categories like groceries, rent, utilities, and entertainment until your budget is complete.

Using The Mint Apps

Mint offers two apps: Mint QuickView for Apple’s OS X operating system and the Mint.com app for iOS and Android. Mint QuickView provides a quick overview of your finances without accessing the website, while the Mint.com app offers enhanced security and features like badge notifications for alerts.

To use Mint QuickView, download it from the Apple App Store and sync it with your Mint.com account. The app will run in the background and notify you of any changes in your finances.

The Mint.com app can be downloaded on iOS and Android devices. It offers two-factor authorization and Touch ID sensor (for iOS) for enhanced security. You can sign up to receive alerts via email or directly to your smartphone for various financial events.

Mint offers all its services for free. It generates revenue through referral fees from recommending financial services, offering ways to save or earn additional income, ad banners, premium credit report access, and selling aggregate financial data.

EveryDollar’s Features

Let’s break down the pros and cons:

Pros

• Focuses solely on budgeting, allowing you to know exactly what to expect from the service.
• Includes Dave Ramsey’s “7 Baby Steps” approach to debt recovery and wealth management.
• Offers excellent support, connecting you with local experts for financial advice.
• Provides an ad-free experience without overwhelming you with ads or recommendations.
• The free version has a visually appealing interface and is user-friendly.
• The premium version allows for automatic transaction entries.
• Multi-Transaction Drop feature simplifies categorizing multiple transactions at once.
• Allows you to split transactions into separate categories.
• EveryDollar Plus automatically organizes your debts using the Snowball Method.

Cons

• The free version has limitations, requiring manual transaction tracking or an upgrade to the premium version.
• The free version doesn’t sync with bank accounts or credit cards.
• The premium version comes with a relatively high price tag of $99 per year.

Mint’s Features

Let’s break down the pros and cons:

Pros

• It’s 100% free.
• Automatically imports financial data.
• Excellent at tracking expenses.
• Strong reporting features provide detailed expense history.
• Allows easy goal setting and management.
• Provides weekly summaries via email.
• Offers alerts for pending bills or rate changes.
• Presents your financial information in easy-to-understand graphs.
• Monitors your credit, account usage, payment history, and errors for free.
• Ensures security with two-factor authorization and Touch ID sensor.
• Allows importing/exporting of transaction data with QuickBooks.

Cons

• Creating budgets can be time-consuming due to auto-categorization.
• May experience syncing issues and bugs.
• Investment features are limited.
• Inability to reconcile monthly bank statements.
• Bill Pay feature was discontinued.

The Verdict

The free version of EveryDollar is an excellent product, offering user-friendly budgeting features. Its simplicity makes it ideal for first-time budgeters. The premium version, EveryDollar Plus, provides additional features but comes at a cost.

Mint is recommended for basic budgeting, goal tracking, and credit score management. It offers a comprehensive view of your finances for free. Mint provides a more detailed financial picture, although creating budgets may take longer than with other tools. The auto-transaction feature is exclusive to EveryDollar Plus, which can be a deciding factor depending on your time and income constraints.

In the end, the choice between EveryDollar and Mint depends on your specific needs and preferences for a budgeting tool. Consider your budgeting style, desired features, and financial goals to make the right choice for you.