From Quicken to Mint
After 20 years of using Quicken to manage his personal finances, Jorge is ready to “move on” to Mint. Quicken’s new annual subscription model forced Jorge to look at other options. Without tie-ins to Quickbooks and TurboTax, Quicken’s new owner needs to get revenue from Quicken and started with the subscription model. Will Quicken be able to move it’s superior functionality online or increase revenue with ties to Intuit’s Turbotax competitors (CreditKarma, H&R Block, OLT, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer)? But back to Jorge…
How does Mint compare with Quicken and other alternatives for personal financial management and budgeting?
Pros
- Automatic synchronizing of transactions: your financial picture is always current.
- Mobile access: you can synchronize Quicken with a mobile app, but it’s instantly outdated.
- Notifications: weekly summaries by email and bill notifications by text or email (but notifications from your credit card company are better).
Cons
- No reconciliation: Mint.com shows “5 Ways Balancing Your Checking Account Everyday Helps Keep Your Finances on Track.” But it doesn’t show how to accomplish this with Mint, because you can’t.
- No running register: this is important because transactions take time to clear.
- Limited investing features: Quicken and Personal Capital have significant investment capabilities.
- Privacy: Displays ads and aggregates personal information for sale to advertisers.
Other reviews are generally favorable. The Inventor Junkie likes Mint for basic budgeting, goals and credit score checking. But Credit Karma offers free credit scores from 2 credit agencies and free tax filing. That’s nice if you don’t want to pay for a TurboTax subscription, but there are many Free Credit Score providers. Online options aren’t for everyone. The Simple Dollar compares online, desktop and offline systems like Dave Ramsey’s Envelopes in Choosing a Budgeting System That’s Right for You.
Other Budgeting Options
- CountAbout ($40/year) addresses Mint’s limitations and allows importing from Quicken and Mint (couldn’t find any other options that do this).
- Dave Ramsey’s EveryDollar.com ($99/year) offers a strong alternative for budgeting.
- Personal Capital has significant investment functions, but limited budgeting and no reconciliation.
- YNAB (You Need A Budget) ($6.99/month) is software with web integration and synchronization.
If you choose Mint and have questions or issues using it, Abacus helps with Five Mint.com Problems and Their Solutions.