We have outgrown paper and adapted to mobile apps quickly. Now, it's time to get your finances digitized with a simple budgeting system.
Budgeting systems like Mvelopes can ease your day-to-day money activities. It creates a smooth operation to avoid money leakage, control excess spending, and meet all your expenses during the month or year. Mvelopes is based off the tried and tested envelope system. While the method is known to work, what’s cumbersome in our time is the constant tracking of physical money and its placement in different envelopes. With many categories to look into, it’s hard to track them daily. So, to simplify this process, mvelopes.com has digitized the envelope concept and brought forth a simple yet effective budgeting software to track your money. But, does it really work? Can you do a self-assessment of your money every day? We review Mvelopes to understand more about this. Read on to know more.
A Little About Mvelopes
Tracking your money need not be difficult. And, it’s not necessary to be a financial wizard to know how to go about doing it. It’s as simple as downloading a mvelopes app, setting your preferences, and using it. But before we go into the details about the software and how it can help you track your money, here’s what makes Mvelopes different from other money-saving apps.
Background About Mvelopes
Mvelopes is a part of Finicity which assists people in gaining financial stability through money management since 1999. And, what makes Mvelopes credible is the A+ accredited rating with the Better Business Bureau as a home-budgeting envelope budget app. It also operates with many partners across North America, some of which are taxBrain, Focus on the Family, Salem Web Network, and many others.
Mvelopes is about preparing a transparent system that allows its users to control the use of their money. By doing so, you avoid debt, simplify your life, and also have a financial plan in place. The mobile app has all the features to provide people with the necessary information to assist, guide, and clarify their financial life.
To date, Mvelopes is best known for being a smooth financial system without any in-depth financial jargon. It takes the envelope method and gives you a digitized system that makes your banking transaction and automatically keeps track of your finances once you prepare a budget.
Who is Mvelopes great for?
If you are one among the many people who struggle to live within their paycheck, then Mvelopes is something you must try. Of course, it's also an excellent product for those looking to streamline their financial budget and are yet to have a formal system in place. With Mvelopes, you can get rid of a paper and pen systems yet still create a continuous money monitoring system for your accounts. If you are not tech savvy and looking for a simple mobile application that is not filled with jargon or a difficult-to-use interface, then Mvelopes is the right choice.
What are the Best Uses for Mvelopes?
Budgets are a handy tool to control any impulse spending or excess money leakage. Of course with money, you are never short of it. But, your money can be better utilized when it is controlled and monitored regularly. It lessens the burden of stress and helps you plan your student loans pay-off, dream weddings, education, and also that elusive vacation that doesn’t seem to be accommodating in your monthly savings or budget. If you have been saving to buy a house or a car, this is a great tool.
Features & Benefits of Mvelopes
We take a quick look at the features and benefits of Mvelopes that makes it an easy to use home-budgeting software for anyone.
1. Easy to use for a non-tech savvy person
As a new Mvelopes user, you'll set up your account and be active in a few steps. After logging in, set your financial goals to align with your priorities and budget. Then, add your bank accounts, define the income, set the budget, and create envelopes for each category.
Each category is based on everyday usage like bills, giving, goals, and periodic expenses that need to be tracked. With these simple steps, you can set your budget and also follow it every day.
2. Compatibility with Different Operating Systems
If you are wondering if the app is suitable for your phone, then you’ll be glad to know that Mvelopes is compatible with your iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac also. Thus if you're a committed and loyal user of one operating system, you'll rest assured knowing you have access. Alternatively, if you utilize a myriad of devices across operating platforms, you'll always have access to the app.
3. Accounts Integration
As a Mvelopes user, you can link four bank accounts and also use twenty-five spending envelopes. That means you have many categories to choose from and can even sort them in those of your choice.
Once your bank accounts are linked, the transactions can be checked for the income. However, it might not work well if you have a variable income. That’s because Mvelopes then takes a random deposit from your variable income. It makes it a bit difficult to project your budget correctly.
On the other hand, if you have a fixed income, it makes it easy for Mvelopes to take in the income. After this, you create a budget and use the templates to design your budget and track the outflow of money.
4. Reports to Analyze Your Performance
With Mvelopes you'll be able to track the budget plan, the funds allocated for it, and also the expenditure on each. Even if you wish you get detailed reports, it’s available on the app. Assess the envelope spending by month, check envelope balances, account balances, net worth over time, tagging report, and cash flow report. It helps in identifying if your plan is on track, or if you need to work on improving your cash flow.
5. Add-on Resources
Besides the use of the app to track your finances, you can also use the email support. Another advantage of using the Mvelopes app is that when you exceed the budget, the balance appears in red, letting you align your finances. Thereby, Mvelopes not only enables you to track your finances, but also gives you regular alerts if you missed something.
6. Three Mvelopes Plans for Different Needs
Mvelopes has three plans to go along with your needs -- Mvelopes basic, Mvelopes plus, and Mvelopes complete package. With Mvelopes basic, connect unlimited accounts, use the app on your phone or web, and use auto transaction syncing that helps you engage in real time budgeting.
With Mvelopes plus, you get interactive tools to learn about critical financial details and their usage. And, it comes along with one-on-one support and a personal trainer available every three months for guidance and feedback.
If you wish to upgrade to a complete package, Mvelopes complete will assist you with monthly training sessions to track your growth and progress. Also, it comes with a personalized financial plan and access to all budgeting tools that can create healthy business practices.
7. Supports with Budget Makeover
If you are struggling with budget control and are unsure if you are handling your budget correctly, then maybe it’s time for a budget makeover. While this 10-week budget makeover outlines a strategy to get you on the right track, it also makes you feel more confident with your finances. It includes an economic wellness assessment, daily check-in texts, bi-weekly budget reviews, weekly challenges, and personal trainer sessions.
What Users Have to Say About Mvelopes
Mvelopes has created a proven financial home-budgeting system and made it in an easy to monitor form. It will help you track each dollar that goes in and out and later assess the best usages for your funds.
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It makes it readily acceptable and also convenient to use. Like all things, there are a few pros and cons to it. While it does not track investments and users report a few interface problems with the app, it's compatibility and wisdom make it worthwhile.
Alternative Budgeting Software to Consider
If you are looking for better alternatives to Mvelopes that can give you a bit more detailed financial analysis, then we have three mobile applications to consider. Each one has different features, but they all aim to make your life easier.
CountAbout has many features you would love to explore. Track your money from any place, home or your mobile. Unlike Mvelopes, CountAbout gives you the ability to import data from other software like Mint or Quicken. And, because CountAbout is an ad-free platform, you will probably appreciate its clean interface without any intrusion. You also get an easy comparative reporting.
The downside of this software is that it does not enable bill pay. And, the annual fee provides features that are available in a free plan of some other software. While you can budget, it does not offer advice on investments, thereby lacking a key component of financial planning.
A popular and well-known free web-based software is Mint. It lets you track your finances by syncing financial accounts, investments, credit accounts, and also retirement funds. With access to all your monetary transactions, it suggests ways to curtail expenses and create goals. This all comes wrapped up in a user-friendly interface.
The downside of Mint is that you have to track cash spending manually. Not all categories are useful, and you might have to change a few types to align them with your needs. Even still, it comes in handy for designing your financial future.
One of the oldest financial budgeting software, Quicken is well-reputed. If you do not feel safe sharing your bank account details on your phone, then this is an intelligent software to download. However, it is not available on mobile, and hence is not the right financial software if you interact more often with mobile applications.
But, certain advantages make it a long-running software. Among many other perks are tracking your expenditures, creating and monitoring portfolios, and also paying bills that are not available in CountAbout.
Mvelopes is ideal for those looking to move away from manual tracking to continue their online envelope budget system in the digital form.
We have tried to give you all aspects of Mvelopes in the review to help you decide whether it's perfect for you. If you're already bugeting and looking for some assistance, this is the perfect solution. Similarly, it also works if you have no clue no where to begin.
Do share your thoughts on Mvelopes and the other alternatives listed. Which do you prefer? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments! We’d love it if you shared this review with those trying to get their finances together.
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