Envelope Budgeting

[pgogineni]

What could really set Mint apart from other aggregation sites is to implement some sort of envelope budgeting. As someone who is interested in budgeting, i've looked around online and seen many people who are searching high and low for a good envelope budgeting program. Currently online, only mvelopes offers this, but with not nearly the number of banks mint supports.

Maybe as soon as mint recognizes a deposit(ie it recognizes a paycheck) it could allocate the money in ways predetermined by the user. Then as new expenses start rolling in these are automatically removed from the relevant envelope. I am sure there is a way to work with tags to do this as long as we are allowed to decide how much we want to spend on each tag per cycle.

[Damon]

Interesting suggestion! Thanks! Tagging for my feedback report.

[mlebarron]

I guess I've never understood why this is different than setting a budget, and having it track the categories and how much you've spent in each category so far.

Can someone explain this to me?

[pgogineni]

honestly I don't think there is a difference. But I think the problem is,for example, many quicken users who use only categories and use the program to track where they have spent the money(ie after the fact).
The budgeting portion of the software which works the way you describe feels like it was added as an afterthought.

I just mentioned the envelope system because I think many users would be attracted by the idea, even it is just allocating funds into categories.

If Mint can encourage people to set envelopes(limits on each category) early on then I think it becomes really useful.
Maybe the best way to set it up is have people start using it and then after a month when I login it would automatically say its time to make a budget and use the prior month expenses as a starting off point (tell me an incoming check into my account looks like a salary and give me the option to allocate the money into different categories, which also show approx how much I spent over the last month). Then maybe if it notices that over the next few months i am off by more than a certain amount in a few categories, it can ask me if I want to reallocate, so basically fine tuning my budget. I think this would really get people into the good habits of budgeting ahead of the fact and letting the computer do the work of looking for bad trends.

Anyway just a few of my ideas.


I guess I've never understood why this is different than setting a budget, and having it track the categories and how much you've spent in each category so far.

Can someone explain this to me?

[mlebarron]

Oh okay, well if there's no real difference then I get it now :) I was always racking my brain trying to figure out the difference and couldn't come up with it.

It sounds like what you want is a more fine tuned and extended version of the Spending Trends feature

[pgogineni]

Well I think just extending spending trends would still encourage people to spend all they want and not worry about it until after its done and shows up on Mint. Also by allocating funds beforehand it encourages consumers to think about where the money is coming from(checking versus credit card)

I guess that might be where the limits of categories would be. Even if my paycheck is only a certain amt every month I could set categories to any limit I want thereby letting me live beyond my means using a credit card. If I have to allocate from a paycheck then I am forced to use only money coming in to pay my bills including paying off those cards and saving.

To really enforce this when I have spent more than I have allocated let say on eating out, Mint can ask me which other envelope do I want to sacrifice money from.

Oh okay, well if there's no real difference then I get it now :) I was always racking my brain trying to figure out the difference and couldn't come up with it.

It sounds like what you want is a more fine tuned and extended version of the Spending Trends feature

[tlatkins]

Envelope budgeting does work differently. Instead of having limits you accumulate toward for a given period (e.g., monthly), you have "envelopes", which in essence are like categories that function as mini accounts. The difference is that they are categories that carry a balance. You accumulate into them as you are paid and deplete them as you spend money. When you deplete one completely you are supposed to stop spending money in that area. However, if you carry a balance into the next period, such as from one month to the next, you have that much more available to spend (or you can move that money to another category or envelope). With this kind of budgeting, occasional or yearly expenses are easy to save towards as you accumulate each month to the category and pay out less often. This is harder to do with other budgeting methods.

If Mint did implement this as a feature it would be a differentiator and I would very likely use it.

[mkbrandt]

This would be a *killer* feature for me - it would really set Mint apart from other similar services. For me personally, it would completely tip the balance in Mint's favor (I'm trying out several budgeting methods right now with different programs, and will commit to one by the end of Jan. - it's a New Year's resolution of mine).

[mintfeedback]

I would also comment that envelope budgeting is different, and that by allocating a paycheck when you get it rather than guessing your income for the future is a big help with variable incomes. I would use Mint if it supported this.

[boyd1080]

If mint had this feature, that would lock me into using them long term for sure!!!

As a high school (soon to be college) student, I have a slightly inconsistent income. I would love to be able to set aside for a "Car Fund" and whenever I get a paycheck, it would automatically allocate certain customizable percentages of the income into each "envelope." So, even when my income isn't consistent, I can still dip into my allocated savings to make select purchases, or choose to move money from one envelope to another. This way if I was making a large investment, like a car or a computer, I could move some of the allocated money around to purchase it without going "Over Budget." Currently, if I have a small "technology" budget and go to buy a laptop, it will say I went WAY over my usual budget, even though I have been spending considerably less in that category for several previous months in an attempt to save up for it -- it would allow you to see how much you have available to spend in each category. Like, I would know that I can go ahead and buy that $10 CD because I have enough money in my other envelopes to meet any upcoming money needs.

basically it would allow me specifically to save for short periods of time for mid-to-large investments without breaking my budget.

This is a must have feature.

[jam851]

Agreed. Right now I'm using a local envelope system on my computer, but it doesn't download my transactions.

I use MINT to download my transactions and type them in to the other system (and add a tag on MINT to know that I've recorded that one). After pulling my transactions over, I close out of mint and use my envelope program. If MINT would provide this feature then I would actually use them for more than just a middle-man

[SpringKS]

This is the type of feature I've been looking for. I want to be able to plan ahead for occasional spending and purchases.

[julietgl@gmail.com]

I guess I've never understood why this is different than setting a budget, and having it track the categories and how much you've spent in each category so far.

Can someone explain this to me?

Envelopes keep you out of debt.

Basically, normal budgeting is planning what you will do with your money once you have it. Envelope budgeting is what you are doing with the money you now have.

When I had a normal job, I was paid the same amount every month. I used normal budgeting and planned how I would spend the money I knew I would have.

Now that I'm a consultant, I get checks of widely varying amounts every few days or every few weeks or every few months. So when the money comes in, I allocate to my various "envelopes". Generally, I put 30% in my "Mortgage" envelope, 25% in my "Taxes" envelope, and 10% in my "Car" envelope. Then I take the rest and divvy it up. Some goes in "Vacation", some goes in "Clothes", and if I don't have money in that envelope, I can't spend money on that category.

Envelopes keep you out of debt.

[shinyobject]

I was reading Popular Science today and they had a link to Mint.com. I've been a member for awhile, so I was glad to see it. In the next sentence they mentioned mvelopes.com which is like Mint.com but built around envelopes for budgeting.

I really like Mint, but I would consider leaving to get the envelope budgeting. I'm not good about keeping track of the total amount of money I have coming in. I end up spending when I shouldn't. I have wanted (for sooooo long) a way to do envelope budgeting. I just didn't know it was called that.

For instance, I want to make sure I have enough money for Christmas, so I'll start saving now. Or, I'd like to buy a new car, pay down debt, save for a vacation, etc. I can create envelopes for each of those activities and then build balances towards a goal.

Maybe this method doesn't resonate with many people, but it is the way I think. I really hope that Mint adds this feature.

Pete

[mjsmith]

I think Mint can do better than just an envelope budgeting tool. There are many different budgeting tools and ideas out there. If I worked at Mint it would be my goal to first educate the user on the different ways to budget and to provide to tools to help them succeed. I'll be the first to say that I am not an expert in money management but I am always looking for new ideas and ways to make my money grow!

[Suzie]

Has there been any progress to developing an envelope budgeting feature into Mint yet? This is what's keeping me from using as my ONLY daily financial management tool.

[ttingey]

I agree with the merits of envelope saving as already mentioned and feel that any "budgeting" tool is only of value if it can help you meet your financial goals by providing timely information. Simple budgeting software that doesn't let you allocate funds toward a purpose/goal are only informative, but, not proactive. I like what Mint.com has so far, but, I second the pleas for a good envelope system to supplement the current features. If not, I'll be forced to write one myself ;)

Good work... but, I'd love it if you could add an envelope system.

For more on the envelope system, see: http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=3461

[mintfeedback]

This is basically reverse budgeting... I don't know ANYTHING about programing, but it seems like you'd just have to switch some coding around.

I would definitely be interested in trying out this feature.

[davegod75]

just checked out http://www.mvelopes.com/.

Adding a feature like this to mint.com would be really sweet.

[rhenrikson]

I would also be very interested in having this type of envelope budgeting. This is on the top of my wish list, along with adding the ability to track loans.

[Lightbygrace]

Agreed that this would be really fabulous. I just signed up with Mint last night and already like its potential...But I'll still need to use my Excel program for my budgeting...If there was a budget tool within Mint I would wear a mint T-shirt, hat, sunglasses, bandana and whatever other ad-wear they had! :)

[mkbrandt]

I LOVE the changes made with the last update to the site. At this point, the only thing I'm dissatisfied with is the lack of envelope budgeting - it's a hugely powerful tool (or it can be, anyway), and I would be very very happy to be able to use it here, rather than having to copy numbers out of mint into my home-grown budget spreadsheet. Everything else about the site is so slick now, this last step feels really lame. ;-)

[Dugas]

+1 for envelope budgeting... A must! Any update from Mint?

[alassiter]

I'm actually trying to figure out how to use Mint to budget and it's not set up the way I work, so i'm still budgeting using a different system. I think an envelope style of budgeting with control over categories would be great.

-Anthony

[ifedeli]

I just want to say I also would really support the inclusion of an envelopes budgeting system in Mint. I think it would be best if it was an optional system, because it might be too much for some to handle right off the bat.

I am currently looking for some sort of envelopes budgeting software to supplement Mint, and I'm considering writing it myself (I'm a software developer). It would be far superior, however, to have a system integrated into Mint.

I won't rehash the benefits of envelopes except to say that it is a responsible way to manage long term financial goals and responsibilities that would fit right into Mint's goal of minimal-effort money management.

[pgogineni]

I don't know if the mint team has looked at pearbudget.com, but including something like this for planning and budgeting would be awesome. The problem with pearbudget is that it doesn't download transactions like mint does. I combination of the strengths of these two sites could really help.

[jedmb]

Another lover of envelope budgeting here. I use YNAB, and download transactions from Yodlee (mint's backend) into it.

Mint People: Adding envelope budgeting would NOT ONLY make Mint the killer app in online money management, it would educate users on a method of budgeting that encourages saving and reduction of debt. This is good for our economy as a whole!

[rhenrikson]

I think envelope budgeting would be extremely useful. Additionally, I ran into this site called Smarty Pig that allows you to save up for a specific goal through their site. You enter in how much you want to save and by when, and it tells you what monthly contribution to make to your savings account (in their case they offer an account at 4.30% APY).

I think it would be cool if mint could incorporate some of those features to recommend savings plans (and to even facilitate them through directing you to relevant savings accounts). It would be especially useful if you could somehow incorporate collaboration, like having a 'public' page where friends/family can view progress towards the goal, and even contribute.

[the7trumpets]

I am actually a current subscriber at mvelopes. I would switch to mint in a heartbeat if it had good envelope budgeting. Why? Because it looks good, and it's not a butt-slow flash app.

I do recognize, however, that this is a major undertaking. I still think it would be worth doing, just know that I will be that much more appreciative once it is included in mint :)

Seriously though, until an envelope budgeting system is included in mint, I simply can't use it.

[pooksat]

I have been an Mvelopes subscriber for two years now. I love Mint's interface and tracking tools. Also, given that it's free, I would switch to Mint if it offered the same flexibility and envelope budgeting that Mvelopes does.

[ufpspock]

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a financial genius, nor do I have a terribly complicated financial system. What I don't understand is why everyone else is waiting for a "program" to do this for you!

Now, my way is simple, but it's very effective for me. I have several different accounts at one bank. I have my paycheck direct deposited in pre-determined allocation to the several accounts.
One account is just for fixed bills. I know exactly how much and when I need to pay the car loan, insurance, rent, etc.
Another is an estimate for varying but required expenses - gas, food, electric bill, phone bill.
A third is for my "daily" expenses - I have a certain amount I plan on for, say, eating out at lunch or buying gifts or other "optional" expenses. If I don't spend it all, it is there from month to month. If I spend it all, that's it, no more eating out until payday.

There aren't any fees for having a free checking account with Chase bank if you have direct deposit. I'm sure there are lots of banks with free accounts. If you're worried about not getting interest on your money, you probably have enough "on hand" to put some directly in a savings or money market account - DWSScudder has a really nice and easy interface to their money market that lets you (almost instantly) transfer money to and from your bank account (and paper checks for large purchases like downpayments).

True, it means that my money is physically in different accounts, but since they're all at Chase I can go online and transfer instantly between accounts whenever I need to. If I am in danger of not having enough money in the "varying expenses" account, I can transfer some from the "daily" account with no trouble.

Mint tracks my actual spending, so I can see where the money *went*. Chase has it divvied up for me, so I know where it's supposed to *go*.

Am I missing some great thing about envelope budgets? This system seems to work well for me, and I never have to worry about if I can buy this new game or if I need the money for rent.

[duckpuppy]

ufpspock, my wife and I use that method of budgeting as well - but it falls flat with the sheer number of "envelopes" that you can have. It starts to get confusing when you throw in two people, each with a "food" envelope (for eating out at lunch or breakfast at work, not communally), a "dinner/weekend" envolope for groceries/eating out together (unless one of us spends from our own food envolope, which we have done), gas for each (can be a single envelope, for us it is), discretionary funds for each (I'm a gamer, and I have an envelope for games - my wife does jewelry, and she has an envelope for supplies), etc. Open an account for each of those? I named 6 envelopes right there, and that's not even getting into bills/rent/emergencies. Right now we have multiple checking accounts and savings accounts, each with a different rough purpose (household savings, personal spending money, emergency funds, fun money, etc), but juggling more than we have would be ludicrous. I have a spending checking account which houses my food and discretionary money - I use envelope budgeting to manage that single account for food, weekly hobby expenditures, and savings for things like upcoming game releases, computer upgrades, etc. I'd love to be able to use Mint for these. One thing I'd love to see here is the ability to limit the budget to a single or small subset of accounts - all money coming into my envelopes is from periodic transfers from another account, and that's all I want to split into my envelopes.

[stephen.polizzi@gmail.com]

Just wanted to add my name to really wanting this feature (envelope budgeting). Mint, you'll have a customer for life if you can get this added.

[dracoaffectus]

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a financial genius, nor do I have a terribly complicated financial system. What I don't understand is why everyone else is waiting for a "program" to do this for you!

Now, my way is simple, but it's very effective for me. I have several different accounts at one bank. I have my paycheck direct deposited in pre-determined allocation to the several accounts.
One account is just for fixed bills. I know exactly how much and when I need to pay the car loan, insurance, rent, etc.
Another is an estimate for varying but required expenses - gas, food, electric bill, phone bill.
A third is for my "daily" expenses - I have a certain amount I plan on for, say, eating out at lunch or buying gifts or other "optional" expenses. If I don't spend it all, it is there from month to month. If I spend it all, that's it, no more eating out until payday.

There aren't any fees for having a free checking account with Chase bank if you have direct deposit. I'm sure there are lots of banks with free accounts. If you're worried about not getting interest on your money, you probably have enough "on hand" to put some directly in a savings or money market account - DWSScudder has a really nice and easy interface to their money market that lets you (almost instantly) transfer money to and from your bank account (and paper checks for large purchases like downpayments).

True, it means that my money is physically in different accounts, but since they're all at Chase I can go online and transfer instantly between accounts whenever I need to. If I am in danger of not having enough money in the "varying expenses" account, I can transfer some from the "daily" account with no trouble.

Mint tracks my actual spending, so I can see where the money *went*. Chase has it divvied up for me, so I know where it's supposed to *go*.

Am I missing some great thing about envelope budgets? This system seems to work well for me, and I never have to worry about if I can buy this new game or if I need the money for rent.


Brilliant idea, you're basically using your different accounts as your "envelopes". Last year I opened a second savings account for saving up for taxes with the same thinking in mind. Seems like a good idea for anyone who wants envelope budgeting.

[gravescp]

Just another mvelopes user that would love to see envelope budgeting in mint. It is a feature that I would actually pay for to have mint do.

[jlowry]

The "envelope" system would be awesome! Please add!!

[mutex0]

I am an Mvelopes user too, I would switch in a heartbeat. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add envelope budgeting :D

[kolya3]

One more vote for this feature. If Mint had this I think that would complete my budgeting needs.

[MRP717]

This feature, along with customizable budget categories, would guarantee my continued use of Mint.com for all of my financial tracking. Please get this feature up ASAP!

[vitopn@yahoo.com]

Wanted to cast my vote. Currently I am using MVelopes a competitor that is not free. If Mint added envelope budgeting I would switch to Mint.

Cheers,
-Vito

[devitor1]

Sorry guys and girls, but I must respectfully disagree about envelopes -- I think bolting that "feature" onto Mint would destroy the application and negate the whole point of its existence. The reason? Mint is full-auto. Envelopes by definition are completely manual.

The envelope system is fine for those who deal mostly in paper checks and actual cash. For those of us who use Direct Deposit and ACH transfers, the envelope system quickly becomes cumbersome and labor intensive.

I get paid $x each pay period via Direct Deposit. My main and second mortgage, and all fixed expenses are ACH'd out of my account. I go online and manually bill-pay the variable stuff, only because I operate the checking account close to the wire. I write maybe, one or two checks per month. Mint polls all the accounts, updates the balance, pulls the transactions, categorizes them (and those that are mis-categorized can be easily fixed), and builds the budget based on that. I go into Mint and immediately know where my money is going and from whence it came. I know that I get paid $x, my mortgages are $y, and so on.

Why on earth do I need to create a stack of "envelopes" to "fund" and then have to sit and reconcile against the actual accounts? I see envelopes as doing nothing more than adding work, another layer of complexity and confusion.

As for "envelopes keep you out of debt," I think that's complete hogwash. You keep yourself out of debt, get yourself into or out of debt as the case may be by your spending behaviors and the lifestyle you seek to maintain. I've been in and out of debt -- now starting to work on getting out -- hopefully for the last time. "Debt snowballing" got me out the last time -- not creating and feeding envelopes.

Further, for those of you who are fans of envelope budgeting, there are two online apps that are premised on it: My Spending Plan, which is free, and Mvelopes (paid -- I just dumped it yesterday). The My Spending Plan product doesn't poll your accounts -- it's completely manual, but it's something you can use in conjunction with Mint...you can pull your data automatically in Mint and compare that to the envelopes you set up in My Spending Plan. There's no law against using both products -- they're both free.

I think Mint should remain full-auto -- and just make sure it works with as many institutions as possible, and fix the connections known to be broken.

[pbolesh]

I would very much like to see envelope budgeting on here, too.

and for those like devitor1 who see no purpose in it and want things more automatic, it's simple: just don't use it.

Or, deal with the initial set up of the envelope budgeting and then it, too will be automatic - categories x, y, and z in one envelope, a, b, and c in another. Mint auto-categorizes things; with this, it will automatically subtract from the right envelope. seems pretty automatic to me.

[Highlancer]

I am having a real struggle with trying to move completely over the Mint.com, I have been using Mvelopes for awhile and while I am very disappointed with technical aspects of the product (have to authenicate with my bank every time) it does provide one key feature that Mint does not. Mvelopes allows you to track monies that we NOT spent and carry them over to the following month, i.e. I budget $50/month for gifts, but I don’t buy gifts every month, I want to be able to see what I have SAVED towards gifts when I need to purchase one. This is the ONLY reason I have not been able to switch completely over to Mint.com.

Otherwise Mint is great!

[prana]

Yes, this is a killer feature.

[msugrad_99]

I just signed up for Mint today - and I see it has a lot of good options. But I have a few concerns: being able to name your own categories and budgeting for future expenses (envelope system).

It concerns me that the administrators never comment and say if it will be an option or not - maybe I'm looking in the wrong thread?

[jms1222]

I ABSOLUTELY 100% agree with everyone on here who suggests Mint adopt an automated envelope budgeting system. My wife and I left Mint for a while to try Mvelopes, but had a horrible experience (i.e., not as user friendly, written in all Flash, steep learning curve). I know with the vision and philosophy of Mint they could knock this out of the park!

Damon, do you have any knowledge as to IF this may be implemented soon?

Thanks.

[colasde]

If enough users prefer the envelopes system, why not consider adding it as a feature? Mint might do themselves a favor by asking (all) the users what feature they would prefer to see next. Clearly, the envelopes-sytle features of a "savings goal" or "money carried over" are in demand, many other users have written about it.

msugrad_99: You are neither in the right or wrong thread. There are probably 1000 posts mentioning the need for customizable categories, in a variety of threads.

[lolkitty]

If you guys do this, I would go from Mint test-user to Mint evangelist.

Please, please, please do this. Mint has such great potential, but with the current budget tool being useless, Mint is NOT AT ALL helping me manage where my money goes.

At this point, I am considering using Excel :eek:

[santacruz92]

I have been using Mint since September 07, and I've always felt it's been missing something as far as budgeting goes. I think the envelope system would be perfect to assist those over spending in certain categories. Something to visualize your goals with what you are actually spending.

The current budgeting system integrated into Mint does visualize it, but only to a certain extent, I think adding on to that functionality would greatly improve the Mint experience.

[larvell.jones@gmail.com]

Sorry guys and girls, but I must respectfully disagree about envelopes -- I think bolting that "feature" onto Mint would destroy the application and negate the whole point of its existence. The reason? Mint is full-auto. Envelopes by definition are completely manual.

The envelope system is fine for those who deal mostly in paper checks and actual cash. For those of us who use Direct Deposit and ACH transfers, the envelope system quickly becomes cumbersome and labor intensive.

I get paid $x each pay period via Direct Deposit. My main and second mortgage, and all fixed expenses are ACH'd out of my account. I go online and manually bill-pay the variable stuff, only because I operate the checking account close to the wire. I write maybe, one or two checks per month. Mint polls all the accounts, updates the balance, pulls the transactions, categorizes them (and those that are mis-categorized can be easily fixed), and builds the budget based on that. I go into Mint and immediately know where my money is going and from whence it came. I know that I get paid $x, my mortgages are $y, and so on.

Why on earth do I need to create a stack of "envelopes" to "fund" and then have to sit and reconcile against the actual accounts? I see envelopes as doing nothing more than adding work, another layer of complexity and confusion.

As for "envelopes keep you out of debt," I think that's complete hogwash. You keep yourself out of debt, get yourself into or out of debt as the case may be by your spending behaviors and the lifestyle you seek to maintain. I've been in and out of debt -- now starting to work on getting out -- hopefully for the last time. "Debt snowballing" got me out the last time -- not creating and feeding envelopes.

Further, for those of you who are fans of envelope budgeting, there are two online apps that are premised on it: My Spending Plan, which is free, and Mvelopes (paid -- I just dumped it yesterday). The My Spending Plan product doesn't poll your accounts -- it's completely manual, but it's something you can use in conjunction with Mint...you can pull your data automatically in Mint and compare that to the envelopes you set up in My Spending Plan. There's no law against using both products -- they're both free.

I think Mint should remain full-auto -- and just make sure it works with as many institutions as possible, and fix the connections known to be broken.


This could easily be made an optional service/feature, so folks that want their finances completely on auto-pilot (not a good idea imho) can have that. And people that see the benefits of an envelope budgeting system can get what they want too. This should not impact the above user whatsoever. I'm also a current user of mvelopes. That site is soo lame around usability and I'm praying mint will implement this soon.

As a seasoned software engineer and web application developer, I just may implement it myself. So you soon may see a new site called mintvelopes.com :)

[robluu]

I'm unfamiliar with Mvelopes but I like the idea of an automated system to allocate spending into envelopes. So excuse the dumb questions but I really need to know...

1. do you tag an item to remove it from the "envelope?"

I use 6 different checking accounts right now to allocate my spending. It sucks. Having something automated like this would be a dream come true.

[Tone-A]

This is an interesting discussion. I don't use cash much...until I hired a kid to cut the grass I was using less than $40 a month in cash. I also don't use checks much.

From what I understand of the envelope budgeting system, it doesn't work with credit cards. Or I can't imagine how it would work with credit cards.

[lanzfamily]

It would be great if Mint could release this feature. Reminds me of the Sopranos..., passing around cash in envelopes to support our lifestyle :D

Please implement ASAP!

[tajmirage]

Folks, I see a lot of support for getting this envelope saving system into Mint, but all that would do is allocate funds in theory. You can still spend it!

I recommend using ING Direct:
- You can create a savings account for each "envelope."
- It only takes a minute to create a new account.
- You can set up automatic transfers from checking to envelope accounts each month to coincide with your pay periods.
- The money is actually there, safely tucked away!

Mint.com did not previously work with ING accounts, but ING recently changed their login process, so you can now access it from Mint very easily.

Rather than wait for Mint to implement an envelope feature, you can start using one on ING today ... and Mint will track everything.

[gravescp]

This is an interesting discussion. I don't use cash much...until I hired a kid to cut the grass I was using less than $40 a month in cash. I also don't use checks much.

From what I understand of the envelope budgeting system, it doesn't work with credit cards. Or I can't imagine how it would work with credit cards.

Actually using it with credit cards is the best part!!! Mvelopes has this totally figured this out, and I hope mint does soon. Every time a credit card transaction comes across, the software takes the money from the funded envelope (ie. groceries) and puts it into your credit card envelope. That way when your credit card bill arrives you just look in your credit card envelope and pay it off in full every month.

[thomson]

Envelope budgeting is a simple and systematic way of saving to pay bills and to maintain a personal budget. Using personal finance software built on envelope budgeting principles really puts you in control of your spending.
================================================== ================
james

Job Openings (http://jobs.gov-auctions.org)

[WenatcheeSteve]

I used Quicken for years and could never get the budget features to be very friendly. I currently use Mvelopes and it does envelopes pretty well, but like others have said, it's painfully slow and missing some useful features. I have a Quicken Online account, but it can't split transactions yet and it doesn't do envelopes. I recently tried Mint and it's refreshingly fast and modern compared to Mvelopes. Like almost everyone else who's posted to this thread, I'd really like to see envelope budgeting in Mint.

What's the difference? The type of budgeting that you find in Quicken and Mint lets you track what you've spent. Envelope budgeting lets you plan your spending. Tracking is good, but planning is much better.

A simple example: Quicken now has a feature where you can use your cell phone to check your account balances "to see if you can afford that purchase that you're thinking about." My balance might say that I have $1200 in my account, but that doesn't tell me that my rent is due in three days and I need the money for that. If I could check my *envelope* balances, then I could see how much I have in my "special purchases" envelope or whatever, and have peace of mind that I wouldn't be eating into my rent money.

So, another polite request for envelope budgeting in Mint! Plus a request for someone from Mint to post to this forum to tell us if it's a possibility or if we're just wasting our time here.

[dr.kaos]

I began using Mint some time ago, and overall, think it to be an outstanding app. Unfortunately, there are two fundamental problems for me:

#1 -- It doesn't support all of my accounts. Notably, Mint does not support some SunTrust Credit Cards, so a huge portion of my monthly spending is essentially excluded from Mint. :(

#2 -- Mint lacks effective budgeting. I own and previously used a Mac app by the name of "Budget" by Snow Mint, and recently spend some time playing with "MoneyWell" by No Thirst SW, both of which use/implement/rely on the envelope budgeting method.

Consider this a +1 for envelope-based budgeting, and another cry for help to Mint support to browbeat their service provider(s) into providing complete support for banks currently listed as "supported."

[AAHill]

Folks, I see a lot of support for getting this envelope saving system into Mint, but all that would do is allocate funds in theory. You can still spend it!

I recommend using ING Direct:
- You can create a savings account for each "envelope."
- It only takes a minute to create a new account.
- You can set up automatic transfers from checking to envelope accounts each month to coincide with your pay periods.
- The money is actually there, safely tucked away!

Mint.com did not previously work with ING accounts, but ING recently changed their login process, so you can now access it from Mint very easily.

Rather than wait for Mint to implement an envelope feature, you can start using one on ING today ... and Mint will track everything.

Funny you mentioned that Taj... that's exactly what I've been doing for about 3 years now with ING. I have separate savings accounts within my overall account that I technically use as the "envelopes" that everyone here is talking about. One each for: Taxes, Water Bill, Prescriptions, Christmas Fund, Personal Loan and Emergency Cash. They're automatically withdrawn from my main checking account at a different bank. I escrow that money throughout each month and transfer it out when needed. I guess I just never knew there was a special name for it... it just made sense.

I stepped away from Mint a few months back because I was tired of waiting for all the corrections, updates, etc... to be released. It simply didn't meet my needs yet. I'm still waiting for the ability to customize budget categories and control what accounts the "Trends" pie chart shows. Overall, it's still the best looking interface I've seen and looks like it will eventually be a winner... For now, I'll probably continue using Yodlee since they have so many more useful features.

- AA

[keithk]

There are other services out there that offer this (eg mvelopes.com and others). Please implement this feature or I fear Mint will go the way of so many other online money management sites!!!

All we really need is a way to credit a virtual account via a budget. Then debit from that by assigning certain spend categories to it. The unused credit carries over to the next month. Then add some basic reporting/graphs.

That's it!! Very simple, you're almost there Mint!

[mburdsall]

I agree that mvelopes.com is a great site with some nice functions. I like Mint better currently, and I think that Mint can go a long way with some very little changes. Such as:

1. manual accounts
2. ener istorical transactions
3. house accounts link to zillow and mortgage accounts
4. rewards
5. envelops for budgeting
6. income accounts in budgets
7. income analysis and trends
8. more spending reports and income/spend reporting
9. budget trends and comparisions to other periods

[dshiznit00]

As a current emvelopes user, I fully support Mint adding this function. I would switch over in a heartbeat and never look back.

+1 for envelope budgeting.

[sh0wtym3]

^^

I see your +1 and raise you a +2.

[ebjohn3]

I agree with the need for an envelope budgeting system. I had used MS Money for a few years before I decided it was too much software and still didn't do what I really wanted. So I just decided to create a budget in excel and track my charges. However, I see envelope budgeting as a much more effective means than anything I have used before. Anyone have a reply from Mint on if and when this will be available?

[bwetherell]

i would also switch in a *HEARTBEAT* if mint had envelopes budgeting. PLEASE add it!

[chicknfood]

I have some questions and comments about envelope budgeting as i've been looking for this feature for a while and have never tried Mvelopes.

I could see using this as a virtual corral of money allocated to a long term goal like savings. you can keep your money in say 3 different savings accounts but allocate the money for certain purposes regardless of where the money is held. If i get $500 worth of renter's security deposits, i can make an envelope of $500 that I never touch until a renter moves out that way my "available funds" don't include that amount in my expendable income.

Additionally, say i have to pay $4000 in property taxes every year, every month my envelope would automatically allocate the $300 or so i need every month to come up with the yearly total. Or if i get billed every two months for water, each month would allocate half of what I normally pay to ensure i have enough.

But what happens if you withdraw money from a savings account that is linked to 3 different envelopes, would Mint be charged the task of removing money from your envelopes automatically, say in case of emergency? or would you, upon login have to fix all the damage, reallocate from different assets to make sure all your important envelopes are full again? Neither way seems easy.

As far as short term budgetary spending, i have a better time seeing how it could work. Your budget already allocates the amount you historically spend on variable expenses, but for relatively fixed recurring expenses, you can have envelopes of how much you typically spend on bills or rent every month and "available funds" would show what is left of your paycheck after all bills are paid which would show you if your variable spending budget can be met. This way you can see if your budgetary goals are reasonable and you can see how much is left over for savings.

Any thoughts?

[TylorFamous@gmail.com]

YES! YES! YES! Mint, Please add this! I have been looking everywhere for something like this! I haven't fully decided which program I want to use (I have been looking at Mvelopes but don't want to commit to a monthly charge). I LOVE the UI of Mint.com and would be SOOO happy if an envelope system was added!!

[mildog]

I think adding the envelope budgeting functionality is the best idea for mint so far!

[mburdsall]

mvelopes.com has a good model. I like the Mint site better but if Mint took some of there ideas it would help.

[Dana]

Oops, I just started my own thread on this, and didn't notice this in the Suggestion section (mine is in the Household Budget discussion forum).

Some of these observations may be off, due to my being a new user and possibly not finding the customization option yet.

I believe Mint could implement something very similar to Envelope Budgeting by adding the following features:


Cumulative budget categories that "carry forward" (ie if you are $50 under your budget this month, you can spend $50 more next month, since - in theory - that money would still be in the envelope)
Allowing for a selectable time period for a budget amount (i.e. $200 over 3 months), with the ability to display this month's usage and the overall usage (i.e. over the 3-month period), with alerts only flagging when you go over your single-month or multi-month amount
Option to see your budget progress "grow" as you spend (spending up to your limit) - this is how it works currently, or "shrink" (starting with your budgeted amount and decreasing as you spend, towards $0).
Manual accounts for splitting your income into (so a manual account for each envelope), or the ability to automatically split your income into certain budget categories (so you don't have to do it manually each pay day)

[EricJilot]

Yes... Please add this feature. I have been looking for a software based "envelope System for sometime.

[mburdsall]

mvelope.com is a goo site based on that primciple. I think htat Mint is better overall but if you are looking for the envelop system investigate this site.

[rednomad]

I've been holding off on joining mint.com for this single feature (envelope budgeting). I am still considering mvelopes.com. It looks like this the #1 requested feature and that quite understandable.

What I don't understand is how come this feature has been requested for the past year and half (since september 2007), and mint.com has not bothered to add it, or at least let its members know if it plans on adding it.

mint.com developers and grand poobahs: please add this feature or communicate to us if you are even considering this.

its just a matter of time before mvelopes.com makes their already decent interface faster and more responsive - at which point mint.com stands to lose quite a few users (albeit ones who will pay for it).

[Camous]

I see a lot has been said about this topic so I will try and make my remarks simple and to the point.

What is the "Envelope" system:

It is a way of allocating available monies so you stick to a budget plan.

Real World Envelope System:

Bills are paid and I have $200 left till next paycheck.
Non-bill expenses get an envelope Like:
$100 - groceries
$50 - entertainment
$50 - dining out
Once envelope is spent you can't spend anymore in that category. Helps you stick to a plan and rein in the items that you might over spend on and saves from over drafting.

Another way to look at it:

Each month I put money in a single savings account:

$500 - House down payment fund
$200 - emergencies
$200 - car replacement fund
$100 - furniture replacement fund
$50 - computer replacement fund

After a few months I have $4,200. I want to track allocated funds in this account so I know when I reach 2,500 for a new computer or $14,000 for a car. I want to know I have a purpose for this money and not spend what I have for emergencies on a high-def TV.

Possible Objections:

This is over kill, you need to be responsible on your own. (RE: this is responsible. Help me track my responsiblity with out just be in my head or written out somewhere else.)

This will bloat the program. (RE: I don't think so, read below)

This goes could hurt Mint.com business model. Offers from credit card companies wont be looked to as much. (RE: possibly but isn't it better to encourage good personal finance. They still have great bank and investment offers)

What I see as a solution:


Be able to enter upcoming expenses/bills and have it deducted from upcoming pay checks to make sure you have enough and what is left to be spent/saved else where. Great example, Quicken Online.
Use something simular to the budget system you have on the homepage but starts at zero, I decide a portion of each pay check to be allocated to a category, it drops as I spend in that category and this value doesn't reset each month.
Haven't used the iphone app, but have a way to see these budget items on a mobile device so if I want to go out to eat I can see if I have money allocated to do so or not.


This in my opinion would be killer.

and lastly...

Mint, please say something in this thread...

[alisonelainescott]

There is also a program for the iphone that does a great job with budget categories--if you don't use all of the money in one budget category it rolls over to the next month in that category.

[llltrunkslll]

I agree, Mint show allow for the creation of a saved amount within an account.

Example 1: I want to set aside $200 for a TV, but don't want transfer it out of my account. I would like to show my remaining balance less the $200 I'm 'saving' for the TV.

Example 2: I want to save $140 per month for a large annual payment on insurance or whatever. I would also like the amount I saved so far subtracted from my remaining balance so I don't spend it accidentally. This is great as an easy overdraft buffer too.

[kirghizstan]

1) Line or Bar chart that tracks balances from month to month (credit card, savings, loans, etc.)
2) Line or Bar chart that compares credit card charges to payments on a monthly basis.

[mburdsall]

I like both of these idaeas.

1) Line or Bar chart that tracks balances from month to month (credit card, savings, loans, etc.)
2) Line or Bar chart that compares credit card charges to payments on a monthly basis.

[prefont]

Please Help,
I tried to log into my account today using my normal log in information and I cannot log in. I tried to recover my password but you website says my email address does not exist even though I have been receiving updates weekly. PLEASE HELP. I am worried my info was hacked by you site!!!!!!!!!!

[Jm42001]

I agree. Envelope budgeting is essential to the success of my budgeting. Please add this feature soon!

Thanks Mint!

[lvlc]

i see a lot has been said about this topic so i will try and make my remarks simple and to the point.

what is the "envelope" system:

it is a way of allocating available monies so you stick to a budget plan.

real world envelope system:

bills are paid and i have $200 left till next paycheck.
Non-bill expenses get an envelope like:
$100 - groceries
$50 - entertainment
$50 - dining out
once envelope is spent you can't spend anymore in that category. Helps you stick to a plan and rein in the items that you might over spend on and saves from over drafting.

another way to look at it:

each month i put money in a single savings account:

$500 - house down payment fund
$200 - emergencies
$200 - car replacement fund
$100 - furniture replacement fund
$50 - computer replacement fund

after a few months i have $4,200. I want to track allocated funds in this account so i know when i reach 2,500 for a new computer or $14,000 for a car. I want to know i have a purpose for this money and not spend what i have for emergencies on a high-def tv.

possible objections:

this is over kill, you need to be responsible on your own. (re: This is responsible. Help me track my responsiblity with out just be in my head or written out somewhere else.)

this will bloat the program. (re: I don't think so, read below)

this goes could hurt mint.com business model. Offers from credit card companies wont be looked to as much. (re: Possibly but isn't it better to encourage good personal finance. They still have great bank and investment offers)

what i see as a solution:


be able to enter upcoming expenses/bills and have it deducted from upcoming pay checks to make sure you have enough and what is left to be spent/saved else where. Great example, quicken online.
use something simular to the budget system you have on the homepage but starts at zero, i decide a portion of each pay check to be allocated to a category, it drops as i spend in that category and this value doesn't reset each month.
haven't used the iphone app, but have a way to see these budget items on a mobile device so if i want to go out to eat i can see if i have money allocated to do so or not.


this in my opinion would be killer.

And lastly...

mint, please say something in this thread...

excellent explanation!!! Please add this feature!!! Is critically needed at this time!

[zcoleman401]

I can see the envelope system as a graphical way to show a YTD budget verse actual report. Since the balances in the envelopes would cary from month to month it would reflect what a YTD budget verse actual report does. This is much more helpful then a simple month to month glance at your budget!

[whistle_440]

ING Direct (http://ingdirect.com) lets you set up multiple accounts without any hassle (after the first, which has the usual hoops you have to jump through). You can make one account for emergency, one for car, one for computer, etc. I know switching banks isn't an option for everyone, but they have pretty great interest rates, too, so it might be worth looking into. I'm sure there are other banks out there that let you do this, too.

I maintain a checking account with a local bank, which my pay gets deposited into, and then I have automatic transfers set up into various ING savings accounts. This lets me keep my savings separated by function.

[vipergtsrz]

I have been using an envelope budgeting system for a while on my local machine, but it got so tedious because I had to enter in every transaction from my bank manually.

If mint could implement a system like this, I would also LOVE it and always use it. I realize that a system like this would take some time to develop, but I am 100% sure that it would be a huge deal for a LOT of people to help them manage their money.

I actually tried Mvelopes a while back and they weren't nearly as user friendly as mint is. Mint NEEDS to do this.

**EDIT**
Another great feature along with this envelope system is being able to distribute money into different envelopes based on a percentage instead of a flat amount. If I want 5% of all the money I get going into a certain category, that would be awesome.

[mburdsall]

There is a nice site called mvelopes.com that provides an envelop based system today.

[pbolesh]

I posted requesting envelope style budgeting in August of 2008. When Mint failed to add the feature or even comment on it, I stopped using the site.

Out of curiosity, I logged back in today (7 months later!) and Mint still hasn't said a word about this. I'm not saying they have to add the feature, but it would be great if they would acknowledge the overwhelming desire of users for it. If it's not going to be added, could you do the kindness of posting that in this forum? Once I know for sure that you won't add this feature, I won't bother logging in again 7 months down the road only to see myriad posts from users asking for an update and no word from Mint one way or the other.

I know Mint doesn't care if they lose one user over this, but for the record, the many great features of Mint notwithstanding, I have no use for this site until envelope style budgeting is added.

[danep]

I haven't given a great deal of thought to this, but I think something along the lines of double-entry bookkeeping combined with standard budgeting could just about accomplish the same thing in a much more "professional" way. I would really like to see Mint move from single-entry to double-entry accounting, which offers a lot of benefits and is how actual accountants manage finances.

[Cobberman]

I would love for my budgets to roll over as well as save for future expenses in a tracked manner. I often am under budget or over budget from month to month on expenses that aren't fixed ie Groceries, Electric Bill... and would like to know that they even out over time. Like budget category YTD balances in + or -.

Mint really needs to respond to this thread. I'd even consider paying for Mint's services if this was included.

[r7mr7m]

I maintain a checking account with a local bank, which my pay gets deposited into, and then I have automatic transfers set up into various ING savings accounts. This lets me keep my savings separated by function.

Kind of what I do... the only problem is my B&M isn't supported by Mint and the transfers between institutions take a few days :(

I thought about setting up multiple accounts on ING but I just haven't pulled the trigger. I think I will after I can find a job and get more than unemployment benefits. Stupid recession! :mad:

[acheslow]

I just commented in another thread (http://forums.mint.com/showthread.php?t=1593) that the best interest rates these days are on rewards checking accounts, but these require you to make a minimum number of debit transactions each month.

You'll earn the most interest by keeping all your money (checking and savings) together in a single rewards checking account, but this gives you no way of separating your savings to protect it.

By having virtual envelopes or sub-accounts, you could keep your savings and checking together in a single physical account while still tracking, budgeting, and managing your savings separately.

I'd *really* like to see this from Mint.

[stevekl]

I just set up a spreadsheet in google docs and implemented an envelope budget system.

It's just as convenient as mint.com because google lets you access your doccuments from anywhere.

I still use mint to keep track of transactions, property, and net worth, but I do my own budgeting with google docs and a spreadsheet.

[MintProduct]

Hi Everyone,
We are listening and we are planning to make some changes to the way our budgeting capabilities work soon. In fact, I would like to extent an invitation for you to participate in a discussion that will focused on budgeting. By accepting this invitation we would hope that we can get 30 minutes of your time for a phone call where you can describe your budgeting needs and desires to a Mint Product Manager.

If you are interested, please send an email to aforth [at] mint.com. We will schedule a time via email as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Aaron Forth

[torybug]

I didn't understand this feature or why it would matter until I read post #7.

Now I WANT!!!!!! I'm often thinking about setting up some kind of imaginary sub-accounts in savings for things like car repairs or vacations or a piece of furniture that I want to save for over several months. Too much work to keep track of on my own - I think Mint could make this really work for me!


However, PLEASE GET MANUAL ACCOUNTS GOING FIRST!!!

[protobiont]

Envelope budgeting does work differently. Instead of having limits you accumulate toward for a given period (e.g., monthly), you have "envelopes", which in essence are like categories that function as mini accounts. The difference is that they are categories that carry a balance. You accumulate into them as you are paid and deplete them as you spend money. When you deplete one completely you are supposed to stop spending money in that area. However, if you carry a balance into the next period, such as from one month to the next, you have that much more available to spend (or you can move that money to another category or envelope). With this kind of budgeting, occasional or yearly expenses are easy to save towards as you accumulate each month to the category and pay out less often. This is harder to do with other budgeting methods.

If Mint did implement this as a feature it would be a differentiator and I would very likely use it.

Nailed it. I would PAY for Mint.com if this feature were added.

[mintfeedback]

This would make me come back!

[mburdsall]

I didn't understand this feature or why it would matter until I read post #7.

However, PLEASE GET MANUAL ACCOUNTS GOING FIRST!!!

I fully agree with this. for me the priority has to be:

1. Posting of manual transactions to accounts
2. Reporting, Reporting, Reporting, Reporting, reporting,
3. then budgeting

[mike019]

My wife and I would really like our budgets to rollover so we can keep virtual envelopes or virtual bank accounts for different expenses we have. Is this something mint is still working on?

[astroturf]

It would be nice to know if this is going to make it into mint at some time.

[EricJilot]

We can only hope...

This is a feature that I am searching for.

[sbuchanan]

The problem I have is the lack of ability to move categories. For example, I set an Entertainment budget for the month, and not a budget for newspapers, coffee, fast food, movies all individually. Mint currently recognizes many of my transactions automatically, which is great, but I can't move these 2 into 1 category. Make sense?

[tophat02]

I registered to the forums just to put my vote in for this feature. I've been using the open source program Gnucash, which is otherwise a complete pain in the ass, simply because it has this feature.

I LOVE the way an envelope budgeting system lets me set up "spending accounts" for my fiancee and I, not to mention the other infinite ways you can preallocate your income.

[mburdsall]

There is a great website that follows the principles of enveloping call www.Mvelopes.com.

[tophat02]

There is a great website that follows the principles of enveloping call www.Mvelopes.com.
Well, it's a website anyway. I'd hardly call it "great". Most of us know about mvelopes.com and we haven't all jumped ship for a reason (often multiple reasons).

Off the top of my head:
1) Not free (it's hard to beat free)
2) Site feels like it's designed by corporate marketing bozos (I prefer the strong Web 2.0 feel of Mint, it's far more trustworthy)
3) Flash app

[mburdsall]

I've had my son use it for a while. While I like Mint and think it is a great product, Mvelopes.com has many features that Mint lacks. The budgeting and bill pay features are good. It is a good product that has a technique that is good for my son to learn and use to better manage his money has his young age. The cost is reasonable. I hope mint will look at improving there budgeting, reporting and bill-pay features in the future, but until then Mveoples serves a purpose for my son.

[eldar]

I've been a long time Microsoft Money user. As you may be aware, recently they announced that this product is being discontinued, so, like many MS Money users, this left me angry and with my head in my hands. I've built a whole financial system around this product, that will poof when my license expires.

One of the main reasons why I stuck with Money is the ability to create my own dummy accounts for budgeting purposes, and set up recurring transfers to move money into those accounts after each paycheck. I kinda arrived at this idea on my own, but apparently, as I can see, this is not my own invention. :) There is even an official name for this financial strategy... called 'envelopes'.

I tried many different financial planning options in the last week, including Mint, Quicken desktop, Quicken Online, MoneyDance, Geezeo, Yodlee, YNAB, Snowmint Budget, and few others that escape me at the moment.

By far... I liked Mint's user interface and ease of use the most. Integration with all my financial institutions went without a hitch, which is something that is either non existent or a half functional in other software. The only problem with Mint, there are no tools that allow for budgeting and saving.

We either need a real envelope system built into Mint, or we need ability to create multiple custom cash accounts, like MS Money, with ability to add manual recurring transactions (bills), so that we can transfer funds from one dummy account to another, either manually, or at predetermined intervals.

Add this, and you will have another loyal customer.

Thanks for listening.

[brianmmckee]

I am currently a user of mvelopes and will not switch to another budgeting program unless it has an envelope budgeting system. It allows you to track your expenses more accurately and save for items over time or monthly for annual expenses. It also holds you accountable for going over your budget for one month into the next, because you need to fund the negative envelope. I would even pay (I am doing it now for mvelopes) for Mint to do this. I am not totally happy at mvelopes and feel that they are not enhancing their system as quickly as Mint.

[tylergohl]

I'd love to see some type of envelope budgeting system on mint as well. Whether you call it 'roll-over' or 'irregular' expenses, it is a great feature that should (in my opinion) be included in all budgeting software.

For the time being, users wanting similar functionality can check out http://www.pearbudget.com to do envelope type budgeting.

[janie_super@yahoo.com]

i already do this with my regular budget. if i overspend on a category, it goes into a category for the next month called "pay debt last month" and that is the first bill i pay. the budget is adjusted accordingly. so far its working well for me. I make sure cut back in the following month on fast food, shopping and groceries to cover my overage from last month.

[tylergohl]

i already do this with my regular budget. if i overspend on a category, it goes into a category for the next month called "pay debt last month" and that is the first bill i pay. the budget is adjusted accordingly. so far its working well for me. I make sure cut back in the following month on fast food, shopping and groceries to cover my overage from last month.

That is more of a reactive than proactive scenario, though. We're looking more for a way to categorize every dollar that we make every month, give it a name, and withdraw that money from that category when needed. For instance, you set aside $100.00 every month for vacation, or car insurance for that matter, and at some point take that money out when you need it. There is no good way to plan / track that monthly in Mint currently (as far as I know)

[Clarissa]

Hi Minters,

Thank you for taking the time to write a suggestion on how we can improve the product. We will forward your suggestion to our Product Team for consideration. We will assure that they will find ways to fit this is. If you have another suggestions or feedbacks please don’t hesitate to email us back at feedback@mint.com or https://wwws.mint.com/contact.event and we are more than glad to assist, reply and welcome all of them

Please keep an eye for regular announcements and product updates.

[shredswithpiks]

throwing in another vote for this feature. Now that my bank's checking/savings work with mint, this is the *only* feature missing for switching completely to mint.

[mellycooks]

The envelope style of budgeting is the only one that seems to work for me. I think I'm going to have to go back to mvelopes since I haven't heard anything about this being implemented here.

I'll keep my eye on it though, and if Mint develops this I'd likely come back.

[jwinters78]

The envelope style of budgeting is the only one that seems to work for me. I think I'm going to have to go back to mvelopes since I haven't heard anything about this being implemented here.

I'll keep my eye on it though, and if Mint develops this I'd likely come back.

You may want to look at the new budgeting system deployed yesterday (or today?) -- if the 'rollover' budget option plays out as I hope, it may be *very* similar to an envelope system.

I'm hoping that in roll-over you add a budget item, select 'roll over' and any unused funds this month will be added to next month's budget item. Similarly, if you go over-budget one month, it will make next month's corresponding budget item less the amount you were over last month.

Hope that makes sense... and I hope that this is actually how Mint is implementing the 'roll-over' option! I could be very wrong about this.... in which case, enjoy emvelopes :(

[ttwiv]

I vote for the addition of true Envelope Budgeting.

Envelope budgeting automatically distributes income from paychecks and other tagged income sources into your budget categories (envelopes). There is no monthly under/over; you either have enough money in an "envelope" to cover an expense or you don't. Some expenses may occur once every two years, so you add maybe $5/paycheck to that envelope. Income adds to your categories/envelopes as defined by rules you setup, and expenses subtract from the categories/envelopes. You also have the flexibility to move money from one envelope to another for re-balancing. Every dime you have is in an envelope earmarked for some purpose, whether it be "groceries" or "cash on hand" or "general savings" or "tuition savings", etc. It is by far a superior method for budgeting, and should be an option on Mint's superior financial aggregation tool. :)

[smartwonderwoman]

It should start as a motivation drive. Making savings and less spending. Identify what your goals after all these saving project you are trying to workout. This is quite a goal.