Rob Berger

9 Best Mint Alternatives for 2023 (Free & Paid)

December 4, 2023 by Rob Berger

Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, meaning at no cost to you I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase or open an account. I only recommend products or services that I (1) believe in and (2) would recommend to my mom. Advertisers have had no control, influence, or input on this article, and they never will.

Mint was one of the first free online budgeting apps when it launched in 2007. I used it when it was first released. Intuit purchased Mint in 2009, and they recently announced they are shutting Mint.com down at the end of the year. Current users are now forced to find a replacement. Here are the 9 best Mint alternatives worth considering.

In this Article

Top Mint.com Alternative Picks

Of all the options out there to replace Mint, three stand out among the rest:

1. Empower–I've used the Empower Personal Dashboard for years. Formerly called Personal Capital, it offers the most robust budgeting, cash flow, investment tracking, and financial tools of any app out there. It also includes excellent iOS and Android apps. In fact, I use it more on my iPad than I do on the website. It has over 3.3 million users, and it's free.

Try Empower

2. Tiller–For those focused on budgeting (but not investing), Tiller is my favorite budgeting app and one I use in addition to Empower. It connects your financial accounts (banks, credit cards, and even investments) with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. It offers a wealth of tools to analyze everything from your monthly budget to even business expenses. You can try it free for 30 days, then it's $79 a year.

Try Tiller

3. Monarch Money–This is an excellent alternative if you manage money as a couple or don't like spreadsheets. It offers a mobile app and the ability to connect all of your accounts in one place. I've personally tested Monarch and found it very easy to use.

Try Monarch Money

Mint Is Closing

The Mint Budget App is in the processing of closing and moving to Credit Karma. Mint is describing this as linking your Mint and Credit Karma accounts. Yet they make it clear that Mint's features are moving to Credit Karma. And this Reddit thread says that Mint is “dead.”

Thus, now it's more important than ever to consider alternatives to Mint.

Best Alternatives to Mint Budget Tracker

1. Empower–Best Overall Alternative to Mint.com

I've used Empower for more than a decade, and it can easily replace Mint. Like Mint it's free, and it offers far more tools to keep track of your finances and analyze your investments. You can link just about any financial account to Empower's app. Once linked, the dashboard gives you a complete snapshot of your money.

Beyond a high-level view, Empower offers a number of useful features:

Track spending by category or account
Plan your retirement with the Retirement Planner
Understand how investment fees erode your wealth
Monitor your portfolio's asset allocation
Track your net worth
Get alerts when bills are due
Save for emergencies
New: Track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and thousands of other tokens without giving access to your crypto wallet

Empower also offers an app for tablets and smartphones. I use it on both an iPad and iPhone. The user interface is exceptional and the app is easy to use. This makes Empower an excellent alternative to the Mint app.

I’ve written a detailed review and guide of Empower that you can check out.

Try Empower

2. Quicken–Best for those wanting comprehensive budgeting software

I began using Quicken back in the 1990s. It's changed a lot over the years. Today, it is a subscription-based financial planning software package. It can run on both PCs and Macs, although there are some differences between the two versions. Quicken Online is no longer available.

Quicken is best known as a budgeting app. It comes with just about every budgeting feature imaginable, including categorizing expenses, setting goals, paying bills, and running reports. I will say that the look and feel of the PC version is a bit dated.

With Quicken you can also track your investments. The software enables you to link all your banking and investment accounts. It provides some insight into your investments, including asset allocation.

Try Quicken

3. Tiller Money–Best for those who love spreadsheets

For those focused primarily on budgeting, Tiller Money is the best Mint alternative on our list for those who enjoy working with spreadsheets. Along with Empower, I use Tiller every single day. There is, however, a bit of a learning curve. But once you understand how it works, it's a breeze to use.

In short, Tiller enables you to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, and even investment accounts to a Google Sheet or Excel. I use the Google Sheet version. It then gives you templates and tools to do everything from creating a budget to tracking your spending to save for retirement.

The more I use Tiller the more I appreciate the simplicity and ease of use. If you like spreadsheets, you'll like Tiller. To get an idea of how it works, check out this video I created.

Some of Tiller's features include:

Track all your accounts in one place
Make a budget, track spending
Track your net worth with flexible, automated dashboards
Create your own category rules so every expense is automatically categorized accurately
Use flexible templates for budgeting and retirement planning
Works with 2FA (2-Factor Authentication)

The one potential drawback of Tiller is using it on a smartphone. Google Sheets does have an app for both tablets and smartphones. I've used Tiller and Google Sheets on my iPad, and it works well. On a smartphone, however, it's very difficult to navigate.

You get a 30-day free trial. After that Tiller costs $79 a year.

Try Tiller

4. Monarch Money–Best for Couples

While we don't track our finances with Monarch, I've used it for more than a year on a test basis. It's an excellent alternative to Mint for several reasons.

First, its user interface is beautiful and informative. The dashboard gives you quick access to your most important budget details. These details include recent transactions, a comparison of income and expenses for the current month, and your net worth. If you track goals, such as saving for emergencies, the dashboard shows your progress.

Linking bank accounts and credit cards is easy. Once linked, Monarch pulls your transaction and balance data into the app. From here it's easy to create budgets and goals. You can also track your recurring expenses, ideal for keeping an eye on subscriptions and to avoid any surprises.

Monarch also offers a tablet and smartphone app. I've used it on both my iPad and iPhone and found it to be very easy to use.

You can try Monarch Money for free for seven days. After that, the cost is as low as $8.33 per month.

Try Monarch Money

5. CountAbout–Best for converting data from Mint

If you have a lot of data in Mint, CountAbout may be the budgeting tool for you. It has a feature enabling you to import data from Mint. In fact, you can import your entire Mint history into CountAbout.

Unlike Mint, CountAbout doesn't pummel you with advertisements. It does enable you to download transactions from your bank and customize both income and expense categories. You can save receipt images and attach them to the appropriate expense if record keeping is important.

Key features of CountAbout include:

Import from Quicken or Mint.com
Automate Transaction Downloads
Fully customizable income and spending categories and tags
Invoicing for small businesses
Attachment capability for receipts and images
Recurring transactions
Graphical and text-based “widgets” provide quick view of financial activity
Easy to use on web and iOS/Android apps

For the features you get, the cost is very reasonable. The basic plan costs just $9.99 a year (not a month). If you want automatic downloading of bank transactions, the cost is $39.99 a year.

Try CountAbout

6. Simplifi–Best budgeting app for smartphones

Simplifi is Quicken's version of a mobile budgeting app. It's not a mobile app for Quicken. It's a new app built from the ground up. It uses automation to help you better manage your money.

For example, Simplifi can create a spending plan for you by analyzing your income and expenses. You can identify recurring expenses and subscriptions, which Simplifi then incorporates into the plan. It also includes a calendar view showing you upcoming expenses.

Key features of Simplifi include:

See your banking, credit card, loans and investments all in one place
Have your transactions automatically categorized
Find and track recurring bills and subscriptions so you can cancel what you no longer use
View upcoming bills, income, transfers, and see how they affect your balances
Set up custom watchlists and limits by category, payee, or tags to help stay on track
Set up savings goals for every milestone you are trying to reach
Track refunds on returned items

Update: While Simplifi offered a free trial at one point, it no longer does. On the plus side, they are offering 50% off, bringing the price down to $2.00 a month when paid annually.

Try Simplifi

7. You Need a Budget (YNAB)–Best for simple budgeting

YNAB is ideal for those looking just for a simple budgeting tool. YNAB’s interface is similar to a spreadsheet. The tool makes it easy to budget by category based on the money you actually have in the bank. It's not useful as an investment tracking app, however.

YNAB's key features include:

Access to real-time information, from any device, anytime
Track goals
Excellent charts and graphs

It’s not free, however. You can try it free for 34 days. After that it costs $14.99 a month or $99 a year for the annual plan. The cost is the biggest downside to YNAB.

Try YNAB

8. PocketSmith

PocketSmith started out as a calendar to plan upcoming income and expenses. Today, it’s a full-fledged budgeting app. You can sync your accounts with PocketSmith. Once synced, you can track your budget and you’re net worth. You can also see your income and spending in a handy calendar view.

Key features of PocketSmith include:

Manage multiple income streams
Forecast your cashflow, including tools to help you reach FIRE (financial independence, retire early)
Track Airbnb earnings
Create and track savings goals
Integrates with Xero
Multi-currency

Try PocketSmith

9. Fidelity Full View

Fidelity's Full View is powered by eMoneyAdvisor, a tool used by financial planners. While Fidelity's Full View doesn't come with all of eMoneyAdvisor's features, it's still a robust tool, free, and available even if you don't have an account at Fidelity.

Fidelity Full View includes the following features:

Consolidate accounts in one place
Track your net worth over time
Create and manage a budget
View transactions
Integrates with Fidelity's planning tools

Try Fidelity's Full View

Other Mint Replacement Options

I'm regularly evaluating new financial tools. As I do, I'll add them to this list to help those looking to leave Mint. Here are some of the options I'm evaluating:

Every Dollar: The Dave Ramsey budgeting solution. While Dave is popular with those paying off debt, this solution is one of the most expensive and it doesn't have nearly the features that a tool like Empower offers.
Banktivity: One of the few budgeting apps designed for the Mac, Banktivity is another option. One question to consider though is whether iOS-specific software is necessary today. Everything is online or in an app.
Unifimoney: This app is designed for high-earning professionals. It combines money management tools with saving, spending, and investing services.

Why Switch from Mint?

Mint continues to offer a free, solid budgeting app. There are, however, several reasons to consider an alternative.

The first is its limited investing tools. While you can track your investments in Mint, many of the options here offer far better investing tools. Empower, for example, shows a portfolio's asset allocation, investment fees, and retirement readiness.

Second, Mint uses an advertising revenue model. The result is a user experience plastered with ads.

Methodology

My first step in evaluating Mint alternatives was to use dozens of budgeting and investment tracking apps. I've used each of the tools in our list extensively, with the exception of Pocketsmith and CountAbout (I'm working on those two now). I've also undertaken in-depth research into these and more than 25 other options.

In evaluating these apps, I focused on the following key criteria:

Cost
Ease of use
Mobile app availability
Ability to consolidate all accounts in one place
Budgeting tools
Investment tracking tools

Mint Alternatives FAQs

What is the best free alternative to Mint?

Empower is the best free Mint replacement. It comes with nearly every feature Mint offers, and many additional tools. It’s particularly well suited for those who want to manage all of their money in one place, including investments.

What is the best option to migrate Mint data to the new app?

If you want to migrate Mint data to a new budgeting app, CountAbout is a solid option. It has features enabling users to migrate data from Mint.

What is the best Mint replacement for calendar budgeting?

PocketSmith is a good choice as it offers a calendar view of your budget.

Which Mint alternatives allow you to schedule bill payments?

With both Tiller Money and YNAB, you can plan future bill payments. Tiller offers a Bill Payment Tracker template and YNAB enables you to allocate funds to bills you plan to pay in the future.

Should I switch from Mint.com?

Mint continues to offer a solid budgeting and investment tracking app. Some, however, have complained about issues connecting Mint to banks and other financial institutions. It also uses an advertising revenue model, so users are inundated with ads.

Whatever tool you choose, the key is to pick one that works for you. For me, that’s Empower. One or more of the above Mint alternatives, however, should suit the needs of most looking to better manage their money.

12 Best Quicken Alternatives for 2023 (#1 is Free)

December 2, 2023 by Rob Berger

Quicken was once the go-to budgeting tool. I used it when it was first released in the 1980s. Today, it's been eclipsed by apps that enable you to manage every aspect of your finances, often for free. I've tested dozens of apps, and here are the best Quicken alternatives in 2023.

Quicken alternatives — Options to replace Quicken

Editor's Top Picks

Of all the options out there to replace Quicken (now called Quicken Classic), three stand out among the rest:

1. Empower–The Empower Personal Dashboard is free and comes with a robust set of features unmatched by other alternatives. It easily handles budgeting, net worth, cash flow, retirement planning, and investment tracking. It also comes with excellent tools, including a retirement calculator, investment fee analyzer, and investment portfolio analyzer. Empower can now even track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and thousands of other tokens. It's the tool I use every day.

Try Empower

2. Tiller–If you are a diehard spreadsheet fanatic, Tiller is the answer. It integrates with Google Sheets and can connect your bank accounts and credit cards. It also offers daily email updates to track your spending. You can try it free for 30 days, then it's $79 a year. I've used it for the past two years and love it.

Try Tiller Money

3. Simplifi–This is a new addition to my editor's pick. I've used Simplifi for over a year now to test it. Its combination of an excellent mobile app, a new desktop app, and automatic categorization of expenses earns it a top rating. Creating a spending plan (a fancy term for budget) and setting goals is easy. And they've just added investment tracking. The cost is as low as $2.00 per month.

Try Simplifi

Quicken Alternatives

Top Quicken Alternatives

1. Empower–Editor's Choice

Empower is the clear winner when it comes to finding a substitute for Quicken. It's free, and it offers tools to manage every aspect of your finances. With Empower, you can link just about every financial account you have–checking, savings, credit cards, retirement accounts, investments accounts, HSAs, and even your home (via Zillow).

Once linked, Empower's financial dashboard offers valuable insights into your finances. As an example, the tool enables you to–

Track your spending by category
Estimate when you can retire
Calculate the cost of your investments
View the asset allocation of your portfolio
Generate a net worth statement
Get alerts when bills are due
Evaluate your investment portfolio
Save for emergencies
Track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and thousands of other tokens without giving access to your crypto wallet.

I've used Empower for years. It's the only option that in my opinion can handle every aspect of my finances, from budgeting to investing to retirement planning.

Try Empower

I've written a detailed review and guide of Empower that you can check out.

Mint.com Is Closing

Mint.com was a reasonable alternative to Quicken. Apart from Empower, it was the only other free option. Unfortunately, Mint is shutting down at the end of the year.

2. Simplifi–Best for Mobile Budgeting

Simplifi is the mobile app budgeting solution offered by Quicken. It was built from the ground up to be a mobile-first budgeting app. In fact, until recently, it was only available on mobile, although now it is available as a web app. I've used Simplifi extensively and found its features and user interface to be excellent.

It offers a rich feature set. Users connect their accounts for automatic download and categorization of transactions. You can easily track spending, set goals, and monitor your upcoming bills. Its reports look great and give you the budgeting details you need to make spending decisions.

NEW: Simplifi recently added investment tracking, making it a more complete Quicken replacement.

It costs as little as $2.00 a month for the annual plan.

Try Simplifi

3. Tiller Money–Best Spreadsheet Budget Tool

I don't know how they do it, but Tiller Money has figured out how to turn a Google Sheet into a dynamic budgeting tool. You link your bank accounts and credit cards to Tiller's Google Sheet tool, which automatically downloads all your transactions. From there, you can create budgets, categorize spending, and generate reports.

I've been using Tiller for three years for both my personal and small business budgets. Tiller is ideal for those who love working with spreadsheets. I will caution you that setting up Tiller can be a bit daunting. The good news is that they have videos to walk you through each step. If I can do it, you can do it.

One thing to keep in mind is that you must manually categorize each transaction. For some, this is a show-stopper. They want the convenience of tools like Empower that automate this process. For others, they would prefer to categorize transactions themselves. It forces them to look at each entry, understand how they spent money, and properly categorize the expenses. Tiller does offer an auto-category tool that you can use to categorize transactions based on the description automatically.

With Tiller, you can also have your transactions downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet. This is an ideal approach for those who don't want to keep their financial data in the cloud.

There is no right or wrong here. It comes down to preference. You get a 30-day free trial. After that Tiller costs $79 a year.

4. Monarch Money–Best for Couples

Monarch Money shares many of the features in the apps listed above. You can connect all your accounts, including investment and loan accounts. Once connected, Monarch syncs your accounts to generate your net worth. The app lets you see all your transactions in one place, set financial goals, and customize your dashboard.

Monarch is ideal for couples because of its collaboration features. Invite someone to your Monarch account with a separate login. They can view your data and connect their own accounts. This feature is particularly useful for couples who keep separate accounts but want to understand their combined financial picture.

Like Quicken Classic, you can also track all of your retirement and other investment accounts:

Try Monarch Money for free for 7 days, then as little as $7.50 a month.

5. You Need a Budget (YNAB)–Best for Basic Budgeting

YNAB is ideal for those looking just for a budgeting tool. In my view, there is no better app for creating a budget. YNAB's interface is similar to a spreadsheet. The tool makes it easy to budget by category based on the money you have in the bank.

One of YNAB's core principles is to give every dollar a job. You do that by deciding how you'll spend every dollar in your checking account. As with other tools, you can connect your bank accounts and credit cards to YNAB. This allows for real-time updates so that you can track your spending throughout the month.

YNAB doesn't have the rich feature set offered by Empower. That's particularly clear when it comes to investing. For those who don't want to track investments, however, YNAB is a good option.

It's not free, however. You can try it free for 34 days. After that, the annual plan costs $14.99 a month or $99 a year. The cost is the biggest downside to YNAB.

6. PocketSmith–Best for Calendar Budgeting

PocketSmith started as a calendar to plan upcoming income and expenses. Today, it's a full-fledged budgeting app. You can sync your accounts with PocketSmith. Once synced, you can track your budget and net worth. You can also see your income and spending in a handy calendar view.

One stand-out feature is PocketSmith's auto-budget tool. It can create a budget for you based on past spending. It also has a cash flow feature that maps income and spending by date range.

While there is a free version of PocketSmith, it requires manual data entry. To get automatic bank fees, you'll need to pay at least $9.95 a month or $7.50 a month when paid annually.

7. CountAbout–Imports from Quicken or Mint

If you have a lot of data in Quicken (or Mint), CountAbout may be the budgeting tool for you. It has a feature enabling you to import data from Quicken or Mint.

CountAbout enables you to download transactions from your bank and customize both income and expense categories. You can even attach receipt images to expense transactions. You can set up recurring transactions and generate financial reports.

For the features you get, the cost is very reasonable. The basic plan costs just $9.99 a year (not a month). If you want automatic downloading of bank transactions, the cost is $39.99 a year.

8. Moneydance–Traditional Budgeting Software

With so many apps going online, Moneydance takes a different approach. You download Moneydance software rather than use it online. Once downloaded, the software works much like you would expect.

You can download banking transactions into the software and initiate bill pay. The software automatically categorizes expenses based on how you categorize them. In other words, it learns from your use of the program.

It offers a dashboard (shown above) that summarizes your finances all in one place. It can also generate reports and graphs to give you a visual perspective of your money. It comes with a mobile app, can track your finances, and can alert you when bills are due.

It costs $49.99 and is available for both Mac and Windows.

9. EveryDollar (now Ramsey+)–Best for Dave Ramsey Fans

For those Dave Ramsey fans, EveryDollar may be a good substitute for Intuit's Quicken. The first thing to point out is that EveryDollar ain't cheap. After a 14-day trial, you'll pay $99.99 annually (down from $129.99). If you want to pay month-to-month, the cost is $12,99 per month. For this reason, it's not high on my list. Still, I know that some folks are passionate about Financial Peace University.

You can sync your bank accounts with the tool, set budgets, and track spending. The budgeting app works on computers, smartphones, and tablets. It also comes with Dave's educational materials, enabling you to take online courses and join virtual groups.

10. Banktivity–Designed for Macs Only

Banktivity is a budgeting app specifically designed for Macs. It offers features enabling you to organize and track your finances. You can group accounts and reports and organize the dashboard in the best way for you.

Banktivity enables you to follow an envelope budget. This can be ideal for those living paycheck-to-paycheck.

You can import transactions from your bank and sync data across your Mac devices. Banktivity also tracks investments and offers account-level reporting. You can try Banktivity for free for 30 days. After that they offer three plans ranging in price from $4.16 to $8.33 a month (billed annually).

11. GnuCash–Best for Small Businesses

GnuCash may be the answer for those who tracked business income and expenses with Quicken and are reluctant to move up to Quickbooks. It uses double-entry accounting, ideal for businesses and accounting nerds like me. It tracks investments, schedules transactions, and generates reports and graphs.

12. GoodBudget–Best for Envelope Budgeting

I'm old enough to remember the envelope method of budgeting. My mom used it. When the money in the grocery envelope ran out, we stopped going to the grocery story until payday (seriously). Today, the envelope budget is still a smart way to manage money for those living paycheck-to-paycheck. If you want a digital version of the time-tested budgeting system, give GoodBudget a try.

Goodudget is an app based on the envelope system. You can sync and share your budget, and set goals to save for big purchases. It also has tools that let you track and pay off your debt.

Bonus Option: Use a Spreadsheet

You can also use a spreadsheet to track your budget, investments, or both. For those who just want to track investments, check out my free Google Sheet that I use for investment tracking.

For budgeting, there are many solid budgeting templates for Google Sheets and Excel.

Quicken Alternatives FAQs

What is the best free alternative to Quicken?

Empower is the best free Quicken replacement. It comes with nearly every feature Quicken offers and money additional tools. It's particularly well suited for those who want to manage all of their money in one place, including investments.

Is Quicken Classic available without a subscription?

Sadly, no. Like so many other software packages and apps, Quicken is now only available as a subscription. As a result, you must pay for Quicken every year.

What is the best option to migrate Quicken data to a new app?

If you want to migrate Quicken data to a new budgeting app, CountAbout is a solid option. It has features enabling users to migrate data from Quicken or Mint.

What is the best Quicken replacement for calendar budgeting?

PocketSmith is a good choice as it offers a calendar view of your budget.

Which Quicken alternatives allow you to schedule bill payments?

With both Tiller Money and YNAB, you can plan future bill payments. Tiller offers a Bill Payment Tracker template and YNAB enables you to allocate funds to bills you plan to pay in the future.

What is the best free alternative to Quicken?

There are only a few free alternatives to Quicken. The best in my view is Empower, as noted above. Its combination of features, ease of use, and user interface make it my top pick.

Whatever tool you choose, the key is to pick one that works for you. For me, that's Empower. One or more of the above Quicken alternatives, however, should suit the needs of most looking to better manage their money.

Series I Savings Bond Rates Now Stand at 5.27% (Updated November 2023)

November 1, 2023 by Rob Berger

Series I Savings Bonds rates increased this month. The unadjusted CPI-U rose from 301.836 in March 2023 to 307.789 in September 2023. As a result, the Inflation Rate on I Bonds increased to 3.97% in November 2023. At the same time, the fixed rate jumped from 0.90% to 1.30%. This represents the highest fixed rate in 16 years, bringing the combined I Bond rate to 5.27%.

How I Bond Rates Are Set

Two factors determine the interest rate on an I bond: A Fixed Rate and an Inflation Rate. Combining these two rates gives us what is known as the Composite Rate.

Featured Offer: Sallie Mae 14-Month No Penalty CD

Open an Account

14-Month No-Penalty CD
APY: 4.75%
Min. Deposit: $1
No early withdrawal penalty
FDIC Insured

Fixed Rate

The Fixed Rate is set based on the date of purchase. As of Novebmer 1, 2023, the Fixed Rate is 1.30%, an increase of 40 basis points. The Fixed Rate was above 3% in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It's been at or near 0% for the past decade until it started to rise again in 2022.

The Treasury announces the Fixed Rate on I bonds every six months, usually on the first business day of May and November. The Fixed Rate is an annual rate that compounds every six months.

Inflation Rate

Unlike the Fixed Rate, the Inflation Rate changes every six months over the life of an I bond. The rate is set based on changes in the non-seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for all items, including food and energy. As with the Fixed Rate, the Inflation Rate is set on the first business day in May and November.

Keep in mind that the date new rates apply to a specific I bond depends on the month in which you bought it. Here's a table of when new rates will take effect:

Issue month of your bond	New rates take effect
January	January 1 and July 1
February	February 1 and August 1
March	March 1 and September 1
April	April 1 and October 1
May	May 1 and November 1
June	June 1 and December 1
July	July 1 and January 1
August	August 1 and February 1
September	September 1 and March 1
October	October 1 and April 1
November	November 1 and May 1
December	December 1 and June 1

Composite Rate

The Composite Rate is the annualized rate based on adding the Fixed Rate to the Inflation Rate. From Movember 1, 2023, to April 31, 2023, the Composite Rate is 5.27%.

History of I Bond Rates (Annualized)

Start Date	Fixed Rate	Inflation Rate	Composite Rate
Nov. 1, 2023	1.30%	3.97%	5.27%
May 1, 2023	0.90%	3.40%	4.30%
Nov. 1, 2022	0.40%	6.49%	6.89%
May 1, 2022	0.00%	9.62%	9.62%
Nov. 1, 2021	0.00%	7.12%	7.12%
May 1, 2021	0.00%	3.54%	3.54%
Nov 1, 2020	0.00%	1.68%	1.68%
May 1, 2020	0.00%	1.06%	1.06%
Nov. 1, 2019	0.20%	2.02%%	2.22%
May 1, 2019	0.50%	1.40%	1.90%

How I Bonds Work

There are several features of I bonds to keep in mind before investing.

First, you can only buy I bonds directly from the Treasury. They are not bought and sold on the secondary market. This means, among other things, that you won't find I bonds in an ETF or mutual fund portfolio.

Second, the government imposes a limit on the amount of money that you can invest in I bonds each year. You can invest $10,000 a year per social security number through Treasury Direct. You can also purchase up to $5,000 through your federal tax refund.

Third, you must keep your investment in an I bond for at least one year. You can't sell the bond back to the government during this time. If you sell before holding the bond for five years, you also lose three months of interest.

Fourth, if you own a business, the business entity can also invest in I bonds. This is something I just learned. My business will be buying $10,000 in I bonds this month.

Finally, you can defer paying income tax on interest until you sell the bond. In addition, you'll owe no state income tax.

I Bonds vs CDs

Given the current and upcoming yields on I bonds, they are significantly better than even the best CD rates. That's true even if one plans to sell the I bond after one year and incur the 3-month interest penalty. The key difference is that with I bonds, you cannot liquidate for the first year. With a CD, you can always withdraw your money, subject to an interest penalty.

I use Empower to track all of my investments. The free tool shows me my asset allocation, total costs, and retirement projections. Check out my Empower Review and User’s Guide to learn how it can help you, too.

I Bond Resources

Treasury Direct: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds.htm
TIPS Watch: https://tipswatch.com/tracking-inflation-and-i-bonds/
Deposit Accounts: https://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/inflation-treasury-series-i-savings-bonds/

8 Best Net Worth Calculators in 2023 (#1 is Free)

October 8, 2023 by Rob Berger

There are plenty of free net worth trackers on the internet. For most of them, you enter the value of your assets and liabilities, and the calculator does the simple math to show you how much you're worth. The best net worth calculators, however, do far more than simple math.

They enable you to connect accounts to automatically pull in data. They can connect bank accounts, credit cards, investment and retirement accounts, and even the value of your home. These calculators then regularly update your net worth and keep track of changes over time.

With that in mind, what follows is a list of what I think are the top net worth apps available today.

Editor's Top Picks

There are countless free and paid tools you can use to track your net worth. Here are the two I think are the best of the best.

Empower–This free tool, previously called Personal Capital, is my top pick for tracking your net worth. You can connect bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, retirement accounts, crypto, and even real estate via Zillow. Beyond tracking your net worth, Empower also offers a wealth of tools and charts to evaluate your finances.
Kubera–For those who just want to track net worth, Kubera offers a very clean interface. It links with just about every financial institution out there, including crypto accounts. While it doesn't offer portfolio analysis tools at present, it does give you visibility into individual holdings. Kubera does cost $150 a year, but they offer a 14-day trial for $1.

Net Worth Apps

Top Net Worth Calculators

Household net worth has grown substantially over the last few years, as tracked by the Fed.

The growth has largely followed the increase in real estate prices and stocks. Of course, net worth doesn't always go up, which is one reason I have tracked our net worth for about 25 years.

Here are some of the best tools that can make tracking your net worth easy and informative.

1. Empower–Editor's Choice

Best for investment management

Empower is without question the best net worth tracker available today. Previously called Personal Capital, it's still free and no other tool offers more features.

With Empower, you link all your financial accounts (it secures your data with AES-256 encryption). You can also add accounts without online logins manually (e.g., artwork or vehicles). Once linked, it automatically pulls in all transactions and balances and tracks your net worth over time.

Why Empower is my top pick, however, goes far beyond tracking your balance sheet. It enables you to track all of your income and expenses by category. It offers excellent tools to evaluate your investments, including an asset allocation inspector, fee analyzer, and retirement planner.

Try Empower for Free

2. Kubera

Best for just net worth tracking

Kubera is a relatively new app designed specifically to track net worth. You can link just about any type of account to Kubera. In addition to bank, credit card, and investment accounts, you can link cars using the VIN, the value of real estate via Zillow, and even the value of domain names.

The user interface is clean, and the tool allows you to organize your assets and liabilities as you wish. I've linked numerous brokerage and retirement accounts to Kubera without any issues.

In addition to keeping tabs on your net worth, Kubera can keep track of your insurance policies and securely store important documents. It also now offers some insight into your asset allocation. While this aspect of the app is not as robust as Empower, it's a step in the right direction.

Kubera costs $150 a year, which is one reason Empower earns the top spot. That said, they are offering a $1 14-day trial.

Try Kubera for $1

3. Quicken

One of the first budgeting tools, and one that I remember using when it first came out, is Quicken. It is responsible for bringing personal finance into the digital age. Today, it seems to be a lot less popular, possibly because it moved to a subscription pricing model. Nevertheless, it is a solid budgeting tool that will track your net worth.

Quicken can provide a wealth of data about everything from spending to investments. On the downside, the user interface is not the best. As a result, Quicken is best for those who care more about data than how that data is presented. It's also why many have looked to Quicken alternatives.

Quicken's cost depends on the type of subscription you get, and ranges from $2.99/month to $5.99/month.

Try Quicken

4. Simplifi

The makers of Quicken launched a smartphone budgeting app called Simplifi several years ago. Today it's also available as a desktop app. It's my personal top pick for those who want to track their net worth with a budgeting app that looks great on a smartphone.

I've used Simplifi for two years now. It's not my primary budgeting app (see Tiller below). But it is a great app. It's user interface is excellent. You can set budgeting goals and track your spending. Recently, they also added the ability to track your investments. And with that, I added it to this list of the best net worth calculators.

It costs just $2.39/month.

Try Simplifi

5. Tiller

Best for budgeting with spreadsheets

Tiller brings the world of budgeting to Google Sheets. It enables you to connect all of your financial accounts and then download the data into Google Sheets. It's ideal for those who prefer to work with spreadsheets rather than an app.

It comes with countless templates. The main templates track your budget on a monthly and yearly basis. For our purposes, it also comes with a net worth template.

I use Tiller to monitor our budget. While I use Empower for everything else, including net worth, Tiller could serve that purpose for those who want everything in spreadsheets. One big plus with Tiller is that you control all of your data. And in addition to Google Sheets, you can download all of your transactions to Excel.

Tiller offers a 30-day free trial. After that, it costs $79 a year.

Try Tiller

6. YNAB

Best for budgeting month-to-month

If spreadsheets aren't your thing, YNAB (You Need a Budget) offers one of the best budgeting apps you'll find anywhere. I used it for years and found it to be an excellent tool, particularly for those struggling to live paycheck to paycheck.

One feature YNAB offers is a high-level view of your net worth.

YNAB offers a 34-day free trial. After that, it costs $14.99 a month or $98.99 a year.

Try YNAB

7. Mint

Mint is one of the oldest budgeting apps still around. I used it for years when it came out, but more recently have found alternatives to Mint, like Personal Capital, to be a better option overall. Still, if you primary goal is budgeting (not tracking investments), Mint is a solid option.

Among other features, Mint tracks your net worth. You can link virtually all of your financial accounts to Mint. Once linked, you can track your net worth over time.

Mint is free, but does use an advertising model. As such, expect to see offers for financial products peppered throughout the user experience.

8. New Retirement

The last net worth calculator on our list is New Retirement. This app is designed to help you plan for retirement and manage your money during retirement. It offers a wealth of tools covering everything from when to take social security to whether to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. And it tracks your net worth.

New Retirement is not the best choice if your only goal is to track your net worth. But if you also want to plan for your retirement, it's one of the best.

New Retirement offers a free plan. To take advantage of all of its features costs $96 a year.

Try New Retirement

Final Thoughts

Tracking your Net worth is simple. It's just a matter of adding up your assets (everything you own) and your liabilities (everything you owe). The difference is your net worth.

You could use a simple spreadsheet to keep tabs on your assets and liabilities. I've done that for years. The tools listed above, however, make it much easier and offer additional tools to help you manage, track, and evaluate your finances and investments.

3-Step Guide to Mastering Bank Accounts and Cash Flow in Retirement

September 22, 2023 by Rob Berger

Congratulations on your retirement! Now, have you considered how you'll handle your finances? The shift from a steady paycheck to drawing income from investments, social security, and perhaps other sources requires a different approach to cash management.

This article was inspired by an email from a reader named Irving who asked the following question: “I’m a 65-year-old retiree, could you recommend a good bank account setup?”

That’s an excellent question, so let's dig in.

Cash Management Challenges in Retirement

During your working years, cash management is simple. You get paid, deposit the check, and spend the money.

In retirement, things aren't so simple. Retirees generate income from multiple sources. There are guaranteed sources of income, such as Social Security, pensions, and annuities. Retirees also draw from retirement accounts, such as 401(k) and IRA accounts. Then there are taxable investment accounts and bank accounts to consider. For couples, the number of retirement accounts can double, and that's not counting the Health Savings Accounts (HSA) that many have.

If you are ~~70 1/2~~ 72 73 or older, there’s also the matter of managing required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts.

To help you navigate these complexities, we'll cover three topics. First, we'll look at the bank account setup I recommend. Then we'll discuss how to automate cash flow from investment accounts. Finally, I'll suggest some tools you can use to help manage all of these accounts.

My Bank Account Setup

The bank account setup is similar to what many have during their working years. But there are some important considerations that may affect where you open these accounts. We'll look at checking accounts, savings accounts and credit cards.

1. Checking Account

Traditional Checking Account

The checking account is the heart and soul of our banking setup. It's where we'll receive direct deposit of Social Security, any part-time income, and possibly pension or annuity payments. It's also where we'll receive transfers from our investment and retirement accounts, including any RMDs.

There are several important features I've found that are critical for a checking account. The account needs to provide check-writing capabilities, online bill pay, mobile check deposit, an excellent mobile and online experience, and a debit card. (The debit card may be needed to withdraw cash from an ATM, but for regular purchases, it’s not as secure as a credit card.)

Many retirees keep the same checking account they've used for years. If that works for you, then stick with it. It's an excellent option, particularly if your bank has branches near you.

Cash Management Account

Another option is keeping most of your money with a brokerage firm that offers a cash management account. It will give you the ability to keep your cash reserves where you invest, which can simplify transfers between accounts. Just as important, some cash management accounts also come with debit cards, mobile check deposit, online bill pay, and other features commonly associated with traditional checking accounts.

My favorite cash management account is the one offered by Fidelity. I personally think it’s the best of its kind in the industry. The account checks several boxes, including check writing, no fees or balance minimums, online bill pay, ATM debit card, ATM fees reimbursed globally, digital wallet compatibility, and FDIC insurance protection.

The account also pays a decent rate of interest on your savings. However, there are higher interest rate options available elsewhere. And since Fidelity is a broker, you can always park excess funds in Treasury bills that are currently paying a higher rate of return (see below).

Fidelity isn’t the only broker offering a good cash management account. Charles Schwab offers many of the same features as Fidelity. Merrill Edge is another option, with its own CMA account, complete with a Visa debit card, Bill Pay, and other features.

One exception is Vanguard. Though they offer some of the best funds in the industry, their CMA option is limited. That doesn’t mean abandoning your Vanguard account, but only that it isn’t suitable for cash management purposes.

2. Cash Reserve Account

We also need a secure account to hold our emergency fund and perhaps some of the money we plan to spend over the next year. A good cash reserve account has three important qualities:

The account earns a decent amount of interest.
Funds held in the account are safe.
The account provides ready access to our funds.

There are several reasonable options, and we'll look at each:

Savings account
Money market account
Money market fund
Short-term certificates of deposit
T-Bills
Cash Management Accounts

Savings and Money Market Accounts

Bank savings products have the advantage of FDIC insurance, which makes them completely safe up to the amount of the insurance. To get the best rates, however, we need to look beyond large banks with branches. Most offer miserly rates.

Did you know? Savings accounts and money market accounts are functionally equivalent. They both are FDIC-insured and pay interest. In contrast, a money market fund is not FDIC-insured, and is typically offered through a broker.

For example, according to the FDIC, the current average interest returns on bank savings products are as follows (as of 9/21/2023):

Savings accounts, 0.45%
Money market accounts, 0.65%
One-year certificate of deposit, 1.75%

Those rates are common with local banks, and well below what you can get elsewhere. For that reason, you’ll want to hold your cash reserve accounts someplace other than your regular bank. The solution is likely to be an online bank. Because they lack branch networks and the multitude of employees to staff them, online banks typically offer higher interest than traditional banks.

I maintain a list of the best rates on savings accounts, money market accounts, no-penalty CDs, and one-year CDs.

Money Market Funds

Money market funds and money market accounts are a lot like lightning and lightning bugs. They may sound similar, but they ain't. Money market funds are offered by brokers and are NOT FDIC insured. They are still reasonable options, in my opinion, because they invest in very safe short-term government and corporate debt.

An example of a money market fund, and one I hold myself, is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX).

Another is the Fidelity Money Market Fund (SPRXX). Just be aware that, like some other liquid investments, money market funds can take several days to liquidate your position and have the funds transferred into your spending account. You’ll need to plan accordingly.

Certificates of Deposit

A no-penalty CD can also be a reasonable option for an emergency fund. As the name suggests, you can pull your money out at any time (after seven or in some cases 30 days) without penalty. The rates on no-penalty CDs are competitive, and bank CDs are FDIC-insured.

U.S. Treasury Bills

Another option for cash reserves is U.S. Treasury bills. Those are short-term government bonds (under one year) that pay interest and are guaranteed by the US government. One benefit of T-bills is that they are free from state and local income tax.

You’ll want to hold treasury bills in a brokerage account. But be aware that if you sell the securities, there will be a delay of several days as the transaction settles before the cash is available in your brokerage account.

3. Credit Cards

Though it’s important to avoid debt in retirement, especially the credit card variety, credit cards do occupy an important place in retirement cash management. They are, after all, the method most commonly used for spending by many people. But the caveat is that you should pay off your balance in full each and every month to avoid the steep interest rates they charge.

It can also be a real advantage with rewards credit cards. I get a little bit fancy when it comes to credit cards, letting the rewards we earn on the cards accumulate. I save and invest those rewards, which have grown to about $30,000. You can check out my favorite cash back credit cards here.

Generating a Retirement Paycheck

Once you have your cash accounts set up, the next step is to automate your flow of cash as much as possible. Here are the three steps I use:

For taxable investment accounts, I have the dividends and interest automatically transferred to my spending account. Dividends and interest are taxable income anyway, so I use them as a first source of spending money.
For those who have reached the age of RMDs, you can have your broker automatically deposit the RMD into your spending account. Most brokers I'm familiar with will do this monthly, quarterly, or annually, based on your preferences. Again, since RMDs are taxable income, it makes sense to tap them to cover expenses.
Finally, if additional spending money is needed, you can sell investments from your retirement and/or taxable accounts. This part of the process is manual, and you'll need to consider taxes when deciding which accounts to draw from.

Tools to Help You Better Manage Your Cash

There are a lot of accounts and income sources to juggle. Fortunately, there are tools you can use to help you manage the whole process. Here are three of my favorites that I use.

Empower Personal Dashboard

Empower Personal Dashboard is my favorite financial management tool. It’s an online financial aggregator, where you can link and track your investment accounts, retirement accounts, bank accounts, real estate values, and even loans and credit cards, all in one place.

The Dashboard is free to use and provides various tools to help you better manage your finances. They even offer a fee analyzer to show you what you are paying in fees on various funds you hold in your retirement and investment accounts.

Now as I said, Empower is free to use, but they will reach out to you with a free evaluation of your portfolio. That’s because Empower has a premium wealth management service they will market to you with a free portfolio evaluation. You certainly can talk to them if you like, but you’re not required to do so in order to use the Financial Dashboard.

Try Empower

New Retirement

New Retirement is a robust retirement planning tool. You can think of it as a tool to create a roadmap for your finances in retirement. It doesn't track your investments, analyze your fees, and evaluate your asset allocation like Empower does (which is why I use both tools). However, it does analyze your spending and income in retirement to determine if your plan is sound.

With New Retirement, you can factor in everything from Social Security to Medicare to Roth conversions. It offers tools to help you determine when to start taking Social Security and whether a Roth Conversion makes sense. You can run “what-if” scenarios on everything from working an extra two years to moving to a lower income tax state.

Try New Retirement

Tiller Money

Tiller Money is a budgeting tool that also aggregates your financial accounts in one place. It differs from other budgeting apps in that it downloads your data into Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The information contained on the spreadsheet will automatically be updated each day.

Though I use Personal Capital to track our investments and New Retirement to plan our retirement, I use Tiller Money to track our budget. It’s a good choice if you’re a spreadsheet person. I like the fact that I control our data.

Try Tiller

Conclusion

Cash management will get more complicated in retirement. The right combination of bank accounts, automation, and tools can make the job a lot easier.

6 Best Retirement Calculators (#1 is Free)

August 25, 2023 by Rob Berger

Retirement calculators can help us plan and prepare to retire. When we are years away, these online tools can help us determine how much we should be saving. As we approach our time to retire, they can help us understand how much we can spend each year in retirement without going broke.

Not all retirement tools, however, reach the same result. They take different approaches to what is a complex series of calculations and assumptions. One study examined five popular retirement planning software packages and found stark differences in outcomes. As a result, it recommended that individuals use “multiple programs before implementing an action plan based on the results.”

To that end, here is a list of the best retirement calculators. Note that I have used each of these tools for years, as well as many others that didn't make the list.

Table Of Contents

Editor’s Top Picks
Best Retirement Calculators
Other Retirement Calculators Worth Considering
Retirement Calculators Not Worth Considering
FAQs

Editor’s Top Picks

Of all the retirement planners available today, two stand out among the rest:

Empower–Previously called Personal Capital, it’s both free and comes with a robust set of features. Its retirement planner enables you to model everything from social security to pensions to one-time income (e.g., inheritance) and expenses (e.g., home renovation) during retirement. You can create multiple scenarios and run Monte Carlo simulations to see your chance of financial success (i.e., not running out of money).
New Retirement–This tool allows you to model virtually every aspect of retirement. It projects future income, expenses, and net worth. You can set income and expenses on a monthly, yearly, or one-off basis. It can model social security, pensions, and even Roth IRA conversions. There is an annual fee, although New Retirement does offer a free trial.

Best Retirement Calculators

What follows are my top 6 picks. Note that the first two are also retirement planners, meaning they have far more robust features than a simple calculator. The final three options are retirement calculators only. The inputs are much more limited, but these tools give you a quick estimate of when you can retire.

1. Empower

Best free retirement calculator

Empower is my favorite investing and retirement tool. In addition to being totally free, it's extremely easy to use and rich in features. Once a user connects their 401k, IRA, and other investment accounts, Empower pulls all the data from the accounts into its Retirement Planner.

The Retirement Planner then allows users to model both income events (e.g., savings, sale of real estate, social security, pensions) and spending goals (e.g., retirement spending, travel, education). Users can also set up multiple scenarios to compare, such as retiring at different ages. Empower then runs the data through a Monte Carlo simulation and reports the likelihood of the plan's success.

Unique Feature: Users can create multiple scenarios (e.g., different retirement dates, different social security strategies) and compare how successful each will be.

Try Empower for Free

2. New Retirement

Most detailed retirement analysis

New Retirement is not for the faint of heart. The tool, which has both a free and paid version, enables users to model just about every aspect of retirement. For example, users can model social security claiming strategies, medicare coverage, annuities and pensions.

New Retirement handles the complexity of retirement planning in two ways. First, users can follow a quick start guide, answer a few simple questions, and have a complete snapshot of their retirement readiness in under five minutes.

Following that, users can dive into the details of everything from future healthcare costs to retirement savings contributions. New Retirement enables users to link investment and retirement accounts or enter them manually.

New Retirement offers three plans ranging in cost from free to $396 a year.

Unique Feature: New Retirement includes a Roth IRA conversion calculator to help users determine when and how much of a traditional IRA should be converted to a Roth IRA.

Try New Retirement

3. Vanguard's Retirement Nest Egg Calculator

Vanguard's retirement calculator seeks to answer one question–how long will your retirement nest egg last? It requires just four pieces of information:

Length of retirement (e.g., 30 years)
Current savings balance
How much of the balance you'll spend each year
Your stock/bond/cash allocation

With these four data points, Vanguard runs 100,000 simulations and provides the chance of success. Here's an example:

Vanguard's Retirement Nest Egg Calculator

The calculator is very easy to use and provides useful information to assess one's retirement readiness.

4. NetWorthify

NetWorthify is designed for those wanting to retire early, although it works with traditional retirements, too. Simply enter your income, annual savings, and total savings, and NetWorthify estimates how long until you can retire. It's free to use.

5. cFIREsim

Another free option that I like a lot is cFIREsim. You enter some basic information such as when you plan to retire, current savings, income, asset allocation of your investments, and social security values. cFIREsim then calculates the likelihood of your success.

6. Fidelity's Retirement Score Calculator

Fidelity's Retirement Score Calculator estimates the percentage of your expenses in retirement that can be covered by your retirement savings. The calculator requires just a few pieces of information, including your age, salary, savings balance, and investment style. With this data, the calculator generates a retirement score:

Note that the calculator factors in an estimate of social security benefits.

Other Retirement Calculators Worth Considering

The following retirement tools didn't make our list but still may be worth checking out. In some cases, I'm continuing to evaluate them, and some make the “best of” list in the future.

Retirement Calculators Not Worth Considering

Here are retirement tools that I believe aren't worth our time. I list them here to keep a record of what I've looked at and so that readers know I've considered and rejected these options.

Flexible Retirement Planner–Too many ads on the site and the planner must either be downloaded (Windows only) or used with Java Web Start.

FAQs

Are Retirement Calculators Free?

Most retirement calculators, unlike retirement planning software, are free.

What's the difference between a retirement calculator and retirement planning software?

Retirement planning software is more robust than a retirement calculator. They can factor in far more details, such as different social security claiming strategies, Roth conversions, and Medicare premiums. They can also run ‘what-if' scenarios. In contrast, a retirement calculator uses just a few inputs to give one a high-level view of their retirement readiness.

What is the best retirement calculator?

While the best retirement calculator will vary based on one's personal preferences and specific goals, I believe Empower's Retirement Planner is the best. It's free and offers a good combination of features and ease of use.