As Mint Prepares to Shut Down, Redditors Are Hyping up a Competitor Built by the Same Guy

Our experts answer readers’ investing questions and write unbiased product reviews (here’s how we assess investing products). Paid non-client promotion: In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners. Our opinions are always our own.With Mint shutting down in 2024, now might be the time to switch to a different budgeting app. One of the most hyped-up Mint alternatives among Reddit users is the budgeting app Monarch Money.Find out why some Mint users are switching to Monarch Money and decide whether it’s a good option for you.One of the primary reasons Mint users may switch to Monarch Money is that Mint is set to be unavailable as of March 23, 2024, so they’ll no longer have access to a budgeting tool.Intuit is asking users to switch to Credit Karma, another one of the business-software company’s platforms. Credit Karma still shows your transaction history across linked financial accounts and analyzes spending trends. It doesn’t provide budgeting features, though. Mint users are trying out alternative budgeting apps to still have access to these features.Monarch Money is among the most popular options because of its budgeting and savings tools. Val Agostino, a cofounder of Monarch Money, was a product manager at Mint.Monarch Money may be a good option if you want a budgeting app that helps you establish savings goals. The app lets you create an unlimited number of financial goals. You can customize each goal with a photo and name, then organize them by order of importance.Monarch Money also makes it easy to link your bank accounts to your goals. This may be helpful if you want to implement the pay-yourself-first method, which is a budget system that prioritizes your savings.You may also consider Monarch Money if you’re interested in using a zero-based budget method. With this method, you’ll create a budget by assigning a purpose to every dollar. In the budget section of Monarch Money, you’ll see how much money you have to spend for the month. You may create custom categories and make a budget to limit your spending in different areas.You may prefer other options if you’d rather open a free budgeting app. Monarch Money regularly has a seven-day free trial, and then costs either $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year (the monthly fee is reduced to $8.33 when billed annually).In comparison, some of the best budgeting apps do not charge any subscription fees. For example, Rocket Money and Honeydue have free plans. Monarch Money has a special offer for Mint users and new customers, though. You can get a 30-day free trial and 50% off your first year if you fulfill certain criteria. To get an extended free trial and a discount on your first year with Monarch Money, use the promo code “MINT50” when signing up. You’ll need to enroll through the Monarch Money website — you can’t get the offer through the mobile app. The last day to get the offer is January 31, 2024, although the company may choose to extend the offer.While this offer is appealing for Mint users, it isn’t exclusively for them. This promotion is open to all new customers and anyone who is in the middle of a free trial with Monarch Money.You’ll still be eligible for the deal if you’ve completed a trial with Monarch Money before. Current Monarch Money subscribers aren’t eligible for the promotion, though. You also won’t be able to apply multiple promo codes at once. For example, if you are using another promotion code to get an extended 30-day trial, you cannot apply the “MINT50” code to get a 60-day free trial and 50% off the first year. Coming from Mint? Import your history and get 50% OFF with MINT50.Premium Plan with a 7-day free-trial, then $14.99 per month or $99.99 annuallyMonarch Money is an overall solid option if you prioritize creating monthly budgets and saving for individual savings goals. The main downside of the app is that it doesn’t offer a free plan. You’ll have to a monthly or annual subscription fee.Val Agostino, Jon Sutherland, and Ozzie Osman are the co-founders of Monarch Money.Yes, Monarch Money is a legitimate budgeting app. Monarch Money uses Plaid and Finicity, which are financial service companies that connect bank accounts to the budgeting app. These services use multiple levels of authentication, so your information is secure.Monarch Money allows you to create a budget, set savings goals, track your net worth, and analyze your cash flow. It’s a budgeting platform you can use through a mobile app and website.Monarch Money might be worth the money if you want to use a zero-based budget or prioritize savings goals. However, other budgeting platforms are less expensive — Monarch Money regularly costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year. In contrast, Qapital is a banking and budgeting platform that’s focused on savings goals, too, and you can choose between $3, $6, and $12 monthly plans.

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