#31 - Mint updates its wrapping, time ticking for IRA deposits
Does a slicker app make a better experience? Have you hit your maximums on Trad/Roth IRAs?
Intro:
Welcome to 2021’s first episode of Winnings. As you likely know and as described in the disclaimer, this isn’t a place to get investment advice or formal financial guidance, rather it is a place to brush up on some important ideas regarding investing and developing your financial future. You should DEFINITELY speak with a professional or at least do a lot of your own research before making any decisions.
I would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of my grandmother, Joan A. Weinberg, who passed away almost exactly a year ago. Until she passed, she did my taxes (mainly filling out TurboTax) and was my partner in investing (she was more of a penny-stocks person). Towards the end of the note I will share one of my favorite pieces of her financial wisdom.
As you know from previous episodes, Mint was the subject of some praise but mostly ire from some of you and me. Unsurprisingly, they heard all of our complaints and just notified me about their 2021 app updates. I’m going to spend a little bit of the note covering those changes, and then unveil the newest Winnings feature: Tax Corner.
New Mint:
The updated app definitely has a more modern feel, think Robinhood for the doldrums of savings/checking accounts. The ads for tens of credit cards seem less obnoxious than in the past. For those interested, I clicked “x” on all of the ads, and then they just stopped being on the app, at least for a little bit.
Because the new features are still new to me, I wanted to highlight a couple for now and let the others sink in over a bit more time.
First of all, adjusting my budget now feels manageable in the app. Granted it did take me a few times through the app to find a place to adjust my budget, making it a bit unintuitive. The way to do it is click the “+” on the top right of the app and hit “create budget.” You don’t actually need to create a new budget, you can review old budgets and adjust them to make more sense for your current spending patterns.
Secondly, the app pulls up your most recent uncategorized transactions and invites you to correctly categorize them. I am excited about this feature because I think I will be more likely update my transactions that lack a category.
I will spend some more time getting to know this updated Mint before passing judgement, but after watching The Social Dilemma this past week, I’m confident that the concept of “if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product” surely still applies to Mint.
Tax Corner:
I’m experimenting with a new feature until April 15 (the American Tax Day holiday). In the Tax Corner, I’m going to cover a small item from the world of taxes. Think reminders, good things to do, and just-for-fun facts about taxes. If you’re based in a different country and don’t file in the ole US of A, just skip this part. If you’re skipping this part, don’t forget to scroll to the end to leave a review or comment. Regardless, please share Winnings:
As you heard at the top of the note, Grandma was my tax-expert for over a decade and I think my favorite wisdom tradition she shared was this: “Gabi, don’t worry if you need to pay taxes, it means you’re making money!” This mantra certainly helps the pill of tax-paying go down.
Even if you do have reason to pay taxes, now is the time to finish up contributing to your 2020 Roth/Traditional IRA. As you might recall from my first note, the IRA delays your need to pay taxes now or when you withdraw the money from your IRA (depends on whether you’re using the Traditional or the Roth).
As you can see in this link from IRS, you can contribute to your 2020 account all the way through Tax Day (April 15, 2021). Whether you can afford to max-out your IRA account or not, I would certainly encourage you to consider contributing and make sure you take the needed step of actually INVESTING the money you put into that account.
Happy tax prepping!
Interact:
Have you seen the new Mint app? What are your feelings? Share them in an email , a comment, or message me on your messaging app of choice that I also use!
Have you contributed to your IRA? Give yourself a pat on the back and leave a comment that you’ve done it! People should see that others are doing it.
Have you not yet contributed? Go for it, and then follow the instructions above about commenting!
Gratitude:
Thank you all for joining me on this journey and please do share this with a few friends as 2021 keeps on truckin’ through our lives. Hopefully by reading this, you and your friends will become more equipped to deal with the opportunities that earning money and saving money can provide!
