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The Mint app is probably the most popular personal-finance app on the market. We decided to include it in our overdraft apps ranking because good financial behavior can help you avoid bank fees. Mint has been on the market for quite some time, it was launched in 2006 and is now owned by Intuit, the leading personal finance software company. Since its founding Mint has changed a lot. They now let you track your bills and better manage your expenses (and in fact your whole financial life) for free! They do not offer loans, but do offer a great, and free, product.
- Financial Planner app
- Not a cash advance app
- Available to anyone with the app installed
Editor’s Score: Not Bad! 4/5
How It Works
Like most every other financial app, you sign up to Mint by connecting your checking account. Mint will then constantly monitor your income and expenses. They will tell how much you’re spending on food, entertainment etc.. and will predict how much will be leftover at the end of the month. Awareness of your expenditures could be a great way to avoid overdraft fees!
Pricing
Free Score: 5/5
Great news: Mint is free! How do they make money, you might ask? First, your financial data is worth quite a lot of money, they sell that data. They also make money by suggesting/ advertising relevant financial services. Every time you click on their suggestions, or their ads, they earn money. They also make money if you decide to pay your bills through their platform (about a 3% fee on the bill amount).
Features
Nice but could do better. Score: 3.5/5
Mint tracks all your expenses and your income. It gathers and analyzes your financial data at the beginning of each month and tracks all your expenses, such as: Shopping, Food & Dining, Entertainment, Auto & Transportation. The app will tell you if you’re currently spending more than you usually do and will make sure that your expenses stay within your means. Mint also allows you to add specific goals (like saving for a new TV), quite easily. Mint is a great app, we only wish it offered additional features like automatic money saving, automatic money investing, or overdraft loans.
Summary
Mint is the incumbent (it has been on the market for nearly 12 years) personal finance app on the market. While it won’t help if you need cash now, before your next paycheck, it will certainly help you understand intuitively what’s going on in your checking account and financial life. You won’t pay Mint anything except your privacy (does that still exist nowadays?) This app prefers to educate its users rather than provide a concrete solution to the overdraft problems. This app will likely not be sufficient on its own to help you avoid overdraft issues. We recommend you download one of our other reviewed apps such as the Even app, Dave app or Earnin app as well as this app to ensure your financial safety.
WAIT! High overdraft fees aren’t the only way your bank is costing you money.
With inflation overheating, you’ve probably heard that interest rates are climbing sharply. That means that for the first time in years, it’s a great time to shop around for a high interest savings account.
The national average interest rate for savings accounts is currently 0.23% APY – that means that if you have $2,500 in a savings account, you’d earn just $5.76 after one year! Move those hard-earned savings to an FDIC-insured bank paying 3.50% APY and you’d earn $81.73 more!
Don’t let your hard-earned savings sit there doing nothing. Check out the rates that you can earn at other banks:
Mitchel holds a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance from The Goizeta School of Business at Emory University and a Masters of Business Administration from The Haas School of Business at The University of California.
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