![]() The app is less helpful for tracking large annual spending like travel. Mint's app is great for keeping tabs on your day-to-day spending (like restaurants) on a weekly basis. I recommend people not log in more than weekly (and only to check day-to-day spending categories), but log in at least monthly. If you're not already in a good groove of checking Mint, start by logging in once a month to make sure transactions are categorized appropriately and reviewing the prior month's spending. ![]() (Go to Settings, then Hide, and select the appropriate radio button for the account you want to hide.) For example, you might choose to hide an investment account from Budgets & Trends so you don’t see any of the trade and dividend activity in your Budget. I find it works best to label all of these transfers as Hide from Budgets & Trends. You can also choose to hide an entire account from Budgets & Trends to reduce some of the noise. This can create a lot of unhelpful noise. This includes transfers between your accounts such as monthly credit card payments. You can let these transfers fall into the "Everything Else" category at the bottom of your populated budget categories. Mint is most helpful when used primarily for expense tracking and you limit the number of transactions you're trying to properly categorize. You don't necessarily need to use Mint to track your savings as well, especially if these transfers are automated. For example, if you create a budget for Food & Dining and also a budget for Food & Dining: Groceries, any expense labeled Groceries will be counted under both Food & Dining and Food & Dining: Groceries. This will lead to expenses being double counted. Once you create a budget for a primary category like Food & Dining, you cannot create a budget using a subcategory under Food & Dining. Separating spending by frequency makes it easier to keep track of your progress. For example, don't consolidate a monthly expense such as toiletries with a less frequent expense such as home repairs. ![]() When you consolidate, only group expenses together that have a similar frequency. This gives you the freedom to choose each month how you’re going to split your budget among eating out, ordering in, or grabbing drinks with friends. Consider lumping all of your non-grocery related food spending into one large category, Food & Dining: Restaurants. For example, all of your fixed monthly bills can be condensed into one big Bills & Utilities category. Mint, or any expense-tracking tool, is going to be much more manageable when you’re only tracking 5-10 categories as compared to 20.
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