🖥️ Mint is gone. Here’s the best budgeting tools for 2024.
Mint, the personal finance budgeting site used by millions, shut down after 17 years on Dec 31st of 2023.
So this blog is for:
The folks who must leave Mint.
The people who have never tracked their spending.
The Russian bots who visit my website. To whom I say привет!
Track my spending?! Dylan, I don't want to hear that noise. I don't like budgeting, and I also don't like the city Denver.
Wow. Hot takes. I don't know why anyone would hate Denver, but I get your feelings about budgeting. The word "budgeting" feels restrictive like the Uniqlo socks I still wear from 2012. Not comfortable, my toes can't move.
Here's something you may not think:
Tracking your spending is actually about feeling great about spending.
Let's say I love restaurants because the food is great and cooking makes me anxious. I once cooked fish for dinner, and my partner's review was simply, "This tastes like a cookie." And so now I like restaurants.
I want to spend money on restaurants, so I budget myself the money I want to spend. Conversely, this month I may not value shopping (I actually love these socks), so I'll keep that budget lower. I am making a choice that my spending aligned with my values.
Here's how it looks in my spending app Monarch Money (more info on the app below).
Now, every restaurant visit feels great and not "Oh God, can I afford this!?" It's in the budget for the month, so yes, I can. (As you can see I was over budget last month on restaurants, and in a future email I'll tell you why that's totally okay.)
So now that Mint is going the way of Vine, Oldsmobile, and McDonald's McHot Dog, where do you go to manage your spending?
I use Monarch Money personally and with my clients. It was built by the folks who first developed Mint, and it's a much better product.
Why I use Monarch Money:
It's visually pleasing. Working on money can be stressful, and it's intuitive. They use emojis in a very fun way.
It works every single time I open the app. Mint was buggy and confusing.
Clients continue to use it even after they graduate from Dylan Teaches Finance.
Monarch Money isn't the only tool out there. I know people who love YNAB, and Allo Finance is new and very interesting. So go out and give spending tracking a try this year. I'm look at you Russian bots.