|
Is there a way to use Mint.com to track multiple savings goals in the same savings account? Basically, what I am trying to do is partition my savings account into different sections: Total: $6000 Emergency Fund: $4000 (no bigger goal for this until loans are all paid off in a couple years, but want to add $200/mo for now) "New" car savings: $1250 (want to add a goal to save $200/mo) "Vacation" Fund: $750 (no real specific goal yet, just saving extra money here and there) I guess I could just open a couple extra savings accounts but that just seems like an extra hassle. Is there a way to do the partitioning in Mint? It seems like every time I add a goal connected with my savings account, it puts the entire balance towards the one goal. I still own my first car ('96 Chevy Corsica) and there are various parts on their last legs. The car isn't really worth fixing to me anymore. We don't really need 2 vehicles in our current setup but I want to be in a good position to replace it eventually. I'm wondering if using Penfed with Mint is more effort than it's worth. Many of the debits that show up on our account just show the address, so I have to go in and categorize everything. Will Mint remember that charges from a certain place should be under a specific category in the future? Pip pip pip fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Feb 7, 2012 |
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 16:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 02:46 |
|
|
drat Bananas posted:Is there a reason for me, a 24 year old unmarried female with no home ownership nor children and no immediate plans for children, to look into life insurance? Zeta was pretty clear on the do's and don'ts already, but I would add that one scenario in which you might want to get term (not whole life!) insurance at a younger age even without kids or anything is if you are an only child, your parents are both still alive, and they are not particularly well off. People don't always think about it, but if you anticipate that your parents will be relying on you for help, either money or a home or whatever, and you are the main resource, insuring yourself for their sakes can be helpful. Especially considering, like Zeta said, it's pretty cheap to get a high payout term life policy at your age. If the situation changes you can always cancel the policy or change the beneficiary. You might not be in this position (I'm not), but it's a reason people don't always immediately think of.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 17:52
|
|
|
Pip pip pip posted:Is there a way to use Mint.com to track multiple savings goals in the same savings account? Basically, what I am trying to do is partition my savings account into different sections: With goals, I believe your only option at the moment is to use an account. We use ING, and we make a separate savings account in ING for each goal we're saving for anyway, so this hasn't been a problem, but if you don't want to then you may not be able to use the goals feature properly. I did a quick search in the Mint forums and it looks like there's a few discussions about this, so you could add your 2 cents if you'd like. When you are changing the categories for specific transactions, you can click on "Edit Details" right under the transaction and there should be a checkbox for "Always rename BLAH as WHATEVER and categorize as STUFF". You can also click on the "Manage Your Rules" under it to see all the rules you have setup. Once you do this a few times, it will start being less of a hassle. Also, I believe if you categorize things enough, it starts to learn what you set them as, but that can be hit or miss.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 18:28
|
|
|
I could never get this poo poo to work with either Quicken or Mint, so when I split out accounts, I have Mint and Quicken grab and export the top level data (i.e. Account 1) and then use excel to further break it into the actual sub-accounts (account 1a, Account 1b, etc.)
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 18:32
|
|
|
The "Goals" system in mint is disappointing. The other day I tried to make a goal to pay off a mortgage early, but I couldn't because it doesn't consider a mortgage a loan account.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 18:42
|
|
|
Yea, I've messed around with it a bit and found it to not be particularly useful. I put my goal contributions into the budgeting portion, but don't really bother with the actual goal tracking thing any more.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 18:49
|
|
|
Thanks guys. I ended up doing what Ashcans suggested and added my goal contributions to my budgeting section. I can just keep track of my different goals in a separate spreadsheet as I've been doing before. I think I might just use Mint to play around with for a couple months. It doesn't really seem particularly useful to me since we already have a budget worked out that we can stick to. Am I missing a handy feature?
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 19:09
|
|
|
Pip pip pip posted:Thanks guys. I ended up doing what Ashcans suggested and added my goal contributions to my budgeting section. I can just keep track of my different goals in a separate spreadsheet as I've been doing before. Some people love it and others don't find a use for it, so playing with it for a few months really is the way to go. I personally really like it. We used to use an excel sheet and keep our receipts, but I find the automation much easier to manage. The budgets work well for us, especially for budgeted items that you may not use every month that roll over, like travel or gifts. I really like the Trends too, in that you can see lots of graphs very easily, and select different time periods to view to see how much you spend on average over 3, 6, or 12 months. Watching debts go down or net worth rise is really nice, and it makes it easy to budget in the future for things like utilities or food by seeing your average monthly cost. The investments graphing is nice too if you have multiple accounts. Overall, it fits my needs very well. It doesn't do anything really revolutionary that you can't get out of another program or your own records/excel sheets, but it does it well and lumps all my data into one spot.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 19:20
|
|
|
Sophia posted:Zeta was pretty clear on the do's and don'ts already, but I would add that one scenario in which you might want to get term (not whole life!) insurance at a younger age even without kids or anything is if you are an only child, your parents are both still alive, and they are not particularly well off. People don't always think about it, but if you anticipate that your parents will be relying on you for help, either money or a home or whatever, and you are the main resource, insuring yourself for their sakes can be helpful. Along those lines, I'm in a similar situation (27, single, no dependents, no home, etc.); the only reason I have any life insurance at all is that my parents cosigned my student loans, so until I finish paying them off I'd rather have that protection. The default policy that my job provides as a benefit is more than enough to cover my loans, though, so I've felt no need to go out and get any more life insurance. Of course, I don't know if your loans are cosigned, and even if they are, your loans are really small, so it may or may not be worth it in your case.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 19:46
|
|
|
Pip pip pip posted:I think I might just use Mint to play around with for a couple months. It doesn't really seem particularly useful to me since we already have a budget worked out that we can stick to. Am I missing a handy feature? If you already have a budget worked out and can stick to it reliably, then yea Mint doesn't add a whole lot. I am kind of in the same situation there. What I do find it handy for is aggregating all my different financial accounts into one place. We have a checking account and a savings account, I have two retirement accounts, we have a savings account for our kid, and then my wife and I each have a couple credit cards (although we don't generally use them). Mint lets me log into one place and check all those accounts every day, which is nice. The other thing that I appreciate is the alert system. I have it sent up to alert me whenever there is a sizeable transaction in or out of the account, or if we seem to have blown through a budget section. Most of the time this is just when the landlord cashes our rent or when it gets confused and puts a purchase in the wrong category, but its nice to know I'll get a nudge when something unusual happens.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 20:20
|
|
|
The point of life insurance is that it's a tool to reduce risk. You don't buy it as an 'investment' to make a profit. The idea is that if you were to die, in death you support people who have been depending on you with the payout. The most common example if you are a working parent and your family depends on your income, you need life insurance to protect them in case you are no longer there earning an income. Another as was pointed out if you have cosigned student loans. If you are the only signer it doesn't matter because on your death the debts can no longer be collected, but if your parents cosigned they are on the hook and if you are gone you obviously aren't paying them back. The above is why you should only look at term life insurance. Term life means you are covered only for a certain period of time. In general people don't need life insurance when they are without families or loans. Then when raising a family life insurance becomes a critical function to provide in the event of your untimely death. After your kids have grown up and no longer depend on you financially, there is little reason to keep the policy (and your older age would only make it more expensive). Whole life is pretty much a scam designed to pad the pockets of the company and the agent who sold it to you. There are numerous internet pages explaining how this is the case.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2012 20:47
|
|
|
On the Sallie when I access my 1098-E I get the disclaimer:quote:We are unable to determine whether the interest paid on all of your loan(s) is eligible. If you would like us to determine your eligibility, please complete and return a Certification Form to certify which loan proceeds are being used, or will be used, solely to pay for qualified higher education expenses. What the heck does this mean? I already claimed all of the interest as a deduction. I know all of the loans were for college, is that what it is referring to?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 03:05
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:I wouldn’t walk away from your boyfriends friend, I would run. I wish I would have taken your advice; I shouldn't have even let him in the door. We didn't/haven't bought anything, but he's been here for over 4 hours. He was here when I got home from work, we fixed dinner (made him a plate, to be good hosts) and he hasn't stopped talking. I wish my family hadn't drilled southern hospitality in me, I've exhausted all my subtle and not-subtle hints - yawning, watch-looking, going off to shower and put on pajamas, and literally going to bed. Ugh. My poor boyfriend is still being talked at. Lesson: [something about don't talk to insurance salesmen] Yes I'm a huge hospitable pussy. Whatever. Now I'm grumpy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 06:33
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:Yes I'm a huge hospitable pussy. Whatever. Now I'm grumpy. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 09:21
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:I wish I would have taken your advice; I shouldn't have even let him in the door. We didn't/haven't bought anything, but he's been here for over 4 hours. He was here when I got home from work, we fixed dinner (made him a plate, to be good hosts) and he hasn't stopped talking. I wish my family hadn't drilled southern hospitality in me, I've exhausted all my subtle and not-subtle hints - yawning, watch-looking, going off to shower and put on pajamas, and literally going to bed. Ugh. My poor boyfriend is still being talked at. What idiot doesn't leave when their host goes to bed? You can't make that up. I’m curious, was he a walking encyclopedia about all the horrible and random things that kill people? Was he trying to talk circles about investment returns and how it is a magical policy that does everything? I want stories!
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 15:40
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:What idiot doesn't leave when their host goes to bed? You can't make that up. He's just a very socially awkward guy. He's not like a used car salesman kind of person, he's just new at his job and probably just repeating (literally) everything they taught him in his training. He takes forever to explain things because he has to catch his breath and he punctuates eeeeeverything with "uh" "um" "but uh" "what's it...". I didn't even realize he was still answering one of my questions 10 minutes later when a 5 word sentence would have done it. But I didn't pay attention much. I used my "get out of jail free" card saying that my company has a good plan already in my benefits, and I wouldn't be signing up for anything personally. To be fair, he wasn't just selling life insurance like I thought. His company does everything from home/auto to retirement, and wills, and I don't know what else. Boyfriend said he was mostly just letting him practice his presentation to do better at work. He might look at retirement since his small business doesn't have a 401k plan, but we're going to research more. The only thing he gave him was a filled out questionnaire to get an estimate, I guess.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 16:04
|
|
|
You can do the retirement on your own and for much less of a cost. Just pop in on the Long Term Investment Thread when you have some time and they'll walk you through getting started. There is no need these days to go through a 3rd party. He just needs a Roth or Traditional IRA and a target fund at Vanguard to get started. What I've found with people like this is to just be honest up front and say you aren't interested. I've had acquaintences who fell for the Amway/MLM stuff and wanted to sit down and pitch it to me. I just told them up front I wasn't into that stuff and they'd be wasting their time. Even if they continued I just said I'm not interested. If they keep coming on they are just being rude and not friends. I think that approach is better than letting the guy pitch you for 4 hours and then blowing him off.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 16:15
|
|
|
Let me guess, Primerica?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 16:41
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:Let me guess, Primerica? Yep! I've been meaning to read the long term investment thread, it's just a little large and intimidating for someone starting out and pretty clueless like me. I'll try to sit down with it with BF tonight. I'm worried he's going to feel obligated to his friend of 20 years to sign up for something, though, even if he knows he doesn't need it. E: Ok nevermind, from what I can tell on my little phone screen that OP is well written, easy to understand, and applies to my age group. I have no excuse. Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Feb 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 19:56
|
|
|
drat Bananas posted:E: Ok nevermind, from what I can tell on my little phone screen that OP is well written, easy to understand, and applies to my age group. I have no excuse.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2012 23:40
|
|
|
Well this is a nice surprise. I got a letter from my insurance company about an unclaimed check for $4300 they issued to me 6 years ago. Apparently for hail damage on my car at the time. I remember the car, the damage, getting an estimate, and filing a claim, but that's all I remember. I can't recall exactly why I never followed through on it and I never received any check for the repairs, so I just kind of forgot about it. Since there's no lien on the car now, and I don't even have the car anymore and the insurance company needs to clear their books, they told me to just accept the check and enjoy it. I don't know if I should be grateful for the surprise or indignant because it took 6 years to get what was coming to me  I suppose I like it better this way because the damage was just a bunch of minor dents over the whole car, and I would have preferred to pocket the money anyway. This way I actually can. I was suspicious at first and it kind of felt sleazy, but they told me to just consider it free money.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2012 18:55
|
|
|
Is there a such thing as having too many credit cards? I've been perusing the credit card rewards thread and almost want to maximize my rewards in each category (like gas, groceries, etc). I never hold a balance on either of the two cards I have right now so self control wouldn't be an issue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2012 22:16
|
|
|
Dazzo posted:Is there a such thing as having too many credit cards? I've been perusing the credit card rewards thread and almost want to maximize my rewards in each category (like gas, groceries, etc). I never hold a balance on either of the two cards I have right now so self control wouldn't be an issue. Not really. I've had up to a dozen cards at once, never carry a balance and usually just have them open for 3-6 months to take advantage of the signup bonuses. I've kept a few non annual fee ones open to keep a long history but have never had an issue. If I was going to be applying for a mortgage I'd cool it for a year or so to reduce number of inquiries but other than that you should be fine. In fact having more available credit reduces your utilization and is a positive factor in credit scoring.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2012 23:17
|
|
|
Dazzo posted:Is there a such thing as having too many credit cards? I've been perusing the credit card rewards thread and almost want to maximize my rewards in each category (like gas, groceries, etc). I never hold a balance on either of the two cards I have right now so self control wouldn't be an issue. I stay out of the credit card rewards thread on purpose. But since you are asking here, I think it is foolish to go chasing rewards. Just get one that gives cash back, or flights and call it a day. I really don’t care if you have 10 credit cards. If you keep all of them current, banks will still lend you money to buy a house or a car, or whatever you want to borrow money for. But ask any millionaire, any successful business owner, anyone who is able to retire with dignity, anyone who has the financial means to support the causes they believe in, ask any of these people, I doubt anyone will say it was the credit card rewards that pushed them over the top. If it wasn’t for the Capital One sign up bonus, where would I be right now? I’m a loan officer so I see everything that people manage to do with money, and people fall into two categories. People who are too dumb to breath, and people who are too smart for their own good. My recommendation is to have a written budget, live below your means, save money, have an emergency fund, and borrow as sparingly as you can for the big ticket items. But if you want to have 15 credit cards, strategically decide which one will give you the most for every purchase, which is the right one to buy gas with, which one is the best for travel, how often you have to use that one to make sure the stuff doesn’t expire, and you have to make a spreadsheet to manage everything, then just get a part time job.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2012 23:50
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:Since you don’t have a loan on your car, no one has a right to take it back through the bankruptcy due to their status as a lienholder. Every state is different, but I imagine Colorado law allows its citizens to keep a car when they declare bankruptcy. Your car is old enough I don’t see any point in selling it and taking the cash to trade down in car either. Thanks for the advice. You are right about the bankruptcy, I am not going to think about it unless I am pushed into it (garnishing wages/etc). I just received a couple more hospital bills (one for images, two for ambulances) and they add up to another 4k. You wouldn't think a two mile ride would cost $1300 but whatever. I'll just let that debt float out there. I am having trouble deciding to simply not pay the $8000 CC though. I really don't want to see it snowball with nonpayment penalties/interest and be forced into bankruptcy later. I made a budget and it looks like if I pay off my 3k card (I can get this done by end of march because I get paid 5x and it is down to $2400 right now), I could afford to pay Interest * 3 on it which would pay it down and make it less burdening over time too. So for example, I might pay $280 for this month, $273 the next, $266, etc. And the reason I want to get the 3k card paid off and not walk away from it is because it is a rewards card, something I probably wouldn't qualify for again for years. I know that is a stupid reason, but If I get it paid off then do the old "pay it off in full" each month like I used to it would mean a little extra spending money each month. Basically my plan right now is: End of February: -Just continue paying down the 3k card, no unnecessary spending. End of March: -Find a second part time job -Pay off the remaining $2400 on the 3k card. End of April: -Save up enough money for a rent deposit, move out End of May: -Sign up for school, get another year of forbearance on my student loans End of August: -Get some job-related certificates -Quit that second job, start school If I can get all this done, I would be back on my feet, back in school, and getting more financially stable each month. Then in 2013 I would likely be able to find a much higher-paying job, and maybe start tackling those hospital bills. At least it's something to work towards.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2012 19:07
|
|
|
I have a overall long term planning question that hits a lot of things, I think this thread is the best place to ask... if I'm wrong and should go to the student loan/long term investment thread, please yell at me and tell me where to go. I'm in a pretty good place financially and I'm trying to make sure I'm going about things in a reasonably efficient manner. Without going into specific details, I graduated from school with a degree in CS, a great GPA, and landed a dream job doing what I was hoping to do when I got into this in the first place. I'm making mid-60's in a low cost of living area, and without any budgeting skills or any of that stuff, started paying off my sizable loans as fast as I could with my basic plan of "Do never spend. On anything." First thing I did was fix the budget problem. Now I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do with my remaining money every month. I'm already contributing to my 401k at work up to the match, maxed my Roth IRA contribution in 2011, and then bumped my 401k contribution up by my raise last year. As of now, I've got about 30k of student loan debt left (started with 41k 18 months ago), a solid emergency fund, and no idea whether I should continue paying off my loans aggressively or work on my 401k. All of the loans are in the 6-6.8 percent range. Am I right to continue paying off my loans as quickly as I can while stepping up my 401k by my raise every year? Or should I be taking advantage of the tax savings in the 401k? I think the math says that the 401k would technically be more efficient now because I'm getting it tax free, but I know that's not 100% true because I'll get taxed at the end anyway. I feel like taking care of the loans now takes some risk out of the equation should I lose my job or get hurt and unable to work. I'm worried I'm leaving large sums of money on the table because of this concern when you consider compound interest and that sort of stuff. If this is far too vague to be of any use, I can try to fill in the blanks. Ellipson fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Feb 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2012 20:42
|
|
|
How long would it take you to pay off the student loan? 6 is pretty high for a student loan. I'd only contribute up to your 401k match, then aggressively pay off the loan. Who cares about efficiency--this is only for a year or two. Pay the drat thing off!
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2012 21:02
|
|
|
Okay, gentleman. As I previously mentioned I have procured my first credit card and I'm looking to continue building my credit score in the best way possible. I have asked around my pals for some answers, but I doubt they know as much as you guys so... 1. Do I have to wait until my statement to pay off what I owe? For instance, if I rack up a few hundred dollars at a restaurant, can I simply go online and pay that off to get the balance I currently owe down to $0? Or is there a reason to wait until each months balance is due? 2. A friend told me there may be a window of opportunity when asking for a larger line of credit. As this is my first card, my line of credit for this card is very low ($500), despite my swell overall credit score. Is there a recommend wait period for requesting a larger line of credit? I ask because I have read the higher your credit limit, the better. Thanks for any help .
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 01:00
|
|
|
mfaley posted:Okay, gentleman. As I previously mentioned I have procured my first credit card and I'm looking to continue building my credit score in the best way possible. I have asked around my pals for some answers, but I doubt they know as much as you guys so... 1. Interest doesn't accrue until after the first month for which the statement is issued. Pay by the due date and you won't owe anything other than the principal. "Time value of money" would say that you should just wait until its due to pay, but do what you want. Personally, I just pay the balance off on the first day its issued on the statement. I wouldn't pay early on everything personally, and I know that one card I have only allows like two payments a month so you literally couldn't pay early. 2. Rule of thumb, six months.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 02:10
|
|
|
Dead Pressed posted:1. Interest doesn't accrue until after the first month for which the statement is issued. Pay by the due date and you won't owe anything other than the principal. "Time value of money" would say that you should just wait until its due to pay, but do what you want. Personally, I just pay the balance off on the first day its issued on the statement. I wouldn't pay early on everything personally, and I know that one card I have only allows like two payments a month so you literally couldn't pay early. It doesn't accrue as long as you paid your previous month balance in full. If you carry a balance (which it sounds like you're not going to) then interested is charged from immediately when the charge is made. Also on cash advances interest is usually charged from immediately when the charge is made, regardless of your previous balance. It doesn't sound like you're going to run into those situations, but just something to be aware of. You can find this stuff out by looking over your bill, there will usually be a statement of something like "No interest will be charged if your balance is paid in full by the due date." On offers of credit it will also be called the grace period. If you find one that doesn't offer a grace period then run away.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 04:52
|
|
|
Dead Pressed and FISHMANPET, thank you very much for the information! I really appreciate it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 06:21
|
|
|
Meta Ridley posted:
There is much to admire about you. Trying to save money, work hard, pay debts that you signed up for are all good qualities. However I wonder how possible your plan is. By your numbers, you are making $10.50 an hour. At 40 hours a week you are grossing $1820/month. You are probably netting something like $1500/mo? You also state that you pay $15/day for gas because you are driving 120 miles a day. Assuming you have to do this commute 20 days a month, this is $300 in gas. You are down to $1200/mo and this is not including any car maintenance, which I know is not realistic for a 12 year old car that you are putting 2,500 miles on a month. Any financial goals you have need to be realistic. I don’t think it is realistic for you to budget zero for every category of expense except transportation. Sometimes you can manage to spend nothing for a few days or a week, but I don’t see how you can for months at a time. Even if you did, you intend to pay off your $3000 credit card in full by the end of March? I guess if you get a tax refund, because even if 100% of your salary went to the card, you are not paying it off in full. In the same vein, you intend to take only one month to save for a rent deposit, and then every month after that you will need to start paying rent and perhaps utilities too, and after months of living on absolutely zero, and commuting 2+ hours a day, you find the mental and physical energy to work a second job? And after a year of this, none of this stress will trigger any adverse reactions from your bipolar disorder. You might not realize this since you are living it, but you are in the middle of an emergency. In emergencies we hold onto every dollar we can. You say your credit is destroyed. You have collection accounts. You need to remember you are unbankable. You have zero access to any type of credit at all, short of pawn shops and pay day loans. If other people with similar income can use credit cards to smooth things out, you have to remember you do not have this option. With you, if an expense comes up, you need to have the money to pay for it. If you don’t you have it, you have to beg people for money or it doesn’t get paid, no matter how important it is. Even if you are never late with anything ever again, it will be a long time before your credit heals enough to qualify for anything. If you pay just one card, it will do zero to improve your credit. Let me repeat that. It will do zero to improve your credit. If I were you, I would try again to come up with a plan that is possible. I repeat, I don’t think you can afford to make any debt payments right now. It might be possible to save $100/week, keep your car going, and go for a specific job related certificate that you put a name to, not have a vague wish to “get some job-related certificates”. Keep your eyes open for better paying jobs and/or closer jobs, then settle the debts when you can, and when you heal mentally, physically, and financially and you have your life on a solid foundation, then you finish school. I just don’t want to see your life blow up spectacularly.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 16:11
|
|
|
I have another Mint question. I'm currently living with my girlfriend. I pay the bills with my money, and then she writes me a check for her half of the bill. This complicates things in regards to Mint's budgets. Let's say that my electricity bill is $40/month. This means that my half of the bill, and therefore my monthly electricity budget on Mint, is $20. The problem is that Mint sees the bill from the electricity company as $40, and says "Hey you're $20 over budget for electricity." There's got to be some way to split that up, or to have my girlfriend's check deposits put money back into the budget, or something. As I was typing this out I realized that I could just make the budget $40/month. However, I run into problems with things like my food budget or my miscellaneous spending budget. Once again, I pay for everything and she writes me a check. I can't just double my actual budget for Mint, because the spending is not always split down the middle. Sometimes I buy stuff just for me and don't split the cost with my girlfriend. This is where I'm having my problem.
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 18:21
|
|
|
Shane-O-Mac posted:I have another Mint question. I'm currently living with my girlfriend. I pay the bills with my money, and then she writes me a check for her half of the bill. This complicates things in regards to Mint's budgets. You can split the transaction on the check your girlfriend gives you and apply those splits to different categories. For instance, you can split $20 out of the check and categorize it as Utilities (or Electricity, however you have the category set up), and it will apply a positive $20 towards that category, making your budget say that you were right on target. I think your overall income and expenditure numbers themselves will be off a bit, but they should be off by the same amount, so the difference is the same. This is likely a minor problem if you're looking at the budgets instead of overall expenses, but it's still good to know.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 19:38
|
|
|
Shane-O-Mac posted:I have another Mint question. I'm currently living with my girlfriend. I pay the bills with my money, and then she writes me a check for her half of the bill. This complicates things in regards to Mint's budgets. What I do with mint in regards to split bills is if I'm responsible for paying the bill then I'll set up the full amount as a budget in mint, and set up a separate monthly income for my roommates' portion of the bills. As long as everything is categorized properly it shouldn't cause any weirdness with your balances
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 20:16
|
|
ObsidianBeast posted:You can split the transaction on the check your girlfriend gives you and apply those splits to different categories. For instance, you can split $20 out of the check and categorize it as Utilities (or Electricity, however you have the category set up), and it will apply a positive $20 towards that category, making your budget say that you were right on target. Ah, that did it! Thanks. It will be a bit of a hassle to split the checks, but maybe I can set up some rules for that. SeaWolf posted:What I do with mint in regards to split bills is if I'm responsible for paying the bill then I'll set up the full amount as a budget in mint, and set up a separate monthly income for my roommates' portion of the bills. As long as everything is categorized properly it shouldn't cause any weirdness with your balances That will work for bills that are split evenly, but not for uneven stuff like food. Thanks though, I may do that for my split bills.
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 20:21
|
|
|
Shane-O-Mac posted:I have another Mint question. I'm currently living with my girlfriend. I pay the bills with my money, and then she writes me a check for her half of the bill. This complicates things in regards to Mint's budgets. If you edit the details on any transaction there's a split button, and you can split it into multiple categories. So you would leave your electricity budget at $20, get charged $40 (being $20 over budget) then split $20 of her check into the electricity budget, bringing it back down to $20. You might get extra alerts depending on when the check gets cashed and when the bill gets paid, but in the long term it will work out. E: I should have known that if I went to lunch before finishing the post I'd get beaten
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 20:30
|
|
|
Shane-O-Mac posted:That will work for bills that are split evenly, but not for uneven stuff like food. Thanks though, I may do that for my split bills. Well, one thing you can do is break up your house spending and personal spending - this is what I did for a similar situation. So for instance, regular groceries are a house expense and get split evenly for everyone. But if I decide to pick up something just for myself, or something particularly expensive/crazy, that's a personal expense. So you have a 'Grocery' budget that is split evenly, and a 'Personal Food' budget (I would just make this part of the 'Discretionary Spending' already in my budget). Of course, this means that if you go to the store and buy a gallon of milk and fourty pounds of caviar, you'll need to just split that charge into the components in Mint. Basically I thnk you're going to be stuck tinkering aroudn and splitting stuff up in the system, but there are a variety of ways you can do that depending on what works for you from an organizational perspective.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 20:40
|
|
|
There is not a dedicated mint.com thread anymore, but it comes up often enough that there probably should be. I personally don’t use it so I am the wrong person to write it, but if someone was inspired to do it, they would have my blessing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 20:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 02:46 |
|
|
Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to stick with the fix suggested by ObsidianBeast and Fishmanpet. I ran into a little snag that I figured out. If my electricity bill is from January, but I don't get the check from my girlfriend until February, my split won't automatically apply to January's bill. I have to change the date on the split to January, then it works.
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2012 21:02
|
|