Mvelopes Review

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The post Mvelopes Review appeared first on Millennial Money.

Mvelopes is a budgeting app that will help you do just that. Keep reading this Mvelopes review for our full analysis, including how it works, how much it costs, and how it stacks up to the competition.

or, skip straight to the section on how to sign up for Mvelopes

 

What Is Mvelopes?

Mvelopes is a budgeting service that’s helped more than 750,000 people save money and pay off debt. The platform, which charges a small fee, is built around the envelope budgeting system.

In a nutshell, the envelope system involves assigning specific amounts of cash to specific spending categories (e.g., food, housing, and transportation). Each category gets its own envelope and predetermined monthly spending amount (e.g., $500 on groceries, $100 for vacation savings, and $80 on clothes).

The main benefit of the envelope system is that it helps you see exactly how much you’re spending each month and prevents you from overspending. As a result, you can rein in excess spending and find new savings opportunities.

Now that you have a better idea of what Mvelopes is, let’s take a look at how it works.

Mvelopes Features

Here are the top features of Mvelopes.

Mobile App

Mvelopes’ money management platform is entirely digital. You can access your account from the company’s website or via your smartphone. 

The Mvelopes app has a solid 4.4-star (out of 5) rating on iOS. But Android users are less enthusiastic; the app holds a 3.3-star (out of 5) rating in the Google Play Store. 

Digital Envelopes

The first step to getting started with Mvelopes is to create a spending plan and assign specific dollar amounts to the spending categories (digital envelopes) of your choice.  

Digital envelopes can help you see which expenses are essential and which ones can be eliminated. There’s no limit to how many envelopes you can make, so you can truly customize your plan to fit your unique financial situation. 

Budgeting Tools

Once your spending plan is set, Mvelopes’ budgeting tools help you stick to it. 

When you sync your bank and credit card accounts with Mvelopes, the app can monitor your checking account balance in real-time. Mvelopes will also track where every dollar is going and alert you if you’re trending in the wrong direction. 

What’s more, Mvelopes creates interactive reports based on your financial data. It’s almost like having a budgeting coach in the palm of your hand.

Learning Center

Mvelopes Premier and Plus members have access to its online Learning Center, which provides courses on topics like financial awareness, debt reduction, and building an emergency fund.

The Mvelopes Learning Center aims to help customers use its platform more effectively. To illustrate, if you don’t know how much you should save in your emergency fund, it’s going to be hard to assign a dollar amount to that envelope.

Debt Reduction Center

A major focus of the Mvelopes platform is helping people reduce and avoid debt. With its Debt Reduction Center, you can easily take a hard look at the current debt you’re carrying and come up with a plan to pay it off while staying within your envelope budget. 

Once you’re clear of debt, there are also tools that will help you stay that way. 

Financial Coaching

If you sign up for Mvelopes Plus, you’ll have full access to a dedicated personal finance trainer and quarterly coaching sessions. 

While budget apps can help you save money, sometimes it’s just nice to be able to ask questions and get advice from a real person.

Whether your financial goals include paying off debt, buying a home, or saving $1 million, your coach will get you on the right track with a personalized plan. 

Mvelopes Pricing

Mvelopes offers its product in three tiers: Basic, Premier, and Plus. Here’s a look at what’s included with all three versions:

• Unlimited envelopes
• ​Transaction importing and balance monitoring
• Live chat support
• Interactive reports

Mvelopes Basic

The Mvelopes Basic plan comes with the budgeting software’s most important functions. You can set a plan, link your credit and debit cards, and stay on top of your spending.

The features missing here are personal coaching sessions and Learning Center access. The good news is that you can always start with Basic and bump up to Premier or Plus if you find you need some extra support. 

Mvelopes Basic costs $5.97 monthly or $69 annually.

Mvelopes Premier

With a Premier plan, you’ll get everything included in Basic, plus the following features:

• Access to the Learning Center
• Access to the Debt Reduction Center
• Initial setup assistance
• Priority customer support

Premier is also the only plan that comes with a free thirty-day trial. With this in mind, if you’re signing up for a new account, Premier is where you want to start. 

After the trial, Mvelopes Premier costs $9.97 monthly or $99 annually.

Mvelopes Plus

Mvelopes Plus is the platform’s top-tier offering and comes with all of the bells and whistles you could possibly need. Here’s what you’ll get on top of everything included in Premier:

• Dedicated personal coach
• Quarterly coaching sessions
• Personalized financial plan
• Mvelopes Plus costs $19.97 monthly or $199 annually.

Signing Up and Getting Started

When you’re ready to sign up for Mvelopes, just head to the website and click the “Sign Up For Free” button. After that, select your plan, create your login, and add your payment information. If you prefer to do all of this in the app, download it first.

From there, you can link your financial accounts and set up your spending plan. Once your budget is set up, you’ll be able to use all of the features included in your plan. 

Mvelopes Promotions

Unlike some other personal budget apps, Mvelopes doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus. That said, there is a thirty-day free trial for new Premier Plan customers. This makes signing up for Premier a no-brainer out of the gate. Even if you don’t need the added features, you might as well try it out for a month and then drop down to Basic if it’s a better fit. 

Mvelopes also offers a thirty-day money-back guarantee on all of its products. If you sign up for Basic or Plus and don’t want to stay enrolled, you can get a full refund as long as you cancel within the first thirty days. 

Mvelopes Security

As with any good app, security is a top concern for Mvelopes. 

The app uses the same level of encryption as online banking platforms, and your sensitive information is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. 

Mvelopes and its parent company, Finicity, also employ industry-leading firewall technology to keep their servers secure.

Customer Service and Support

To access the Mvelopes online Help Center, you’ll need to create a free login that’s separate from your Mvelopes login. Once you’re in, you can use live chat to talk with a representative or send them a message and wait for a response. 

Mvelopes does have a phone line, but it’s available only to Premier and Plus members, and you have to schedule an appointment ahead of time. 

If you need a quick answer, you can also browse through the most common FAQs on the main website.

It’s also worth mentioning that Finicity (a Mastercard subsidiary) has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). 

Mvelopes Pros and Cons

Pros

• Easy to use
• Highly rated iPhone app
• Intuitive budgeting tools
• Thirty-day free trial

Cons

• Unavoidable fees
• Poorly rated Android app
• Limited customer support for Basic plan

Alternatives to Mvelopes

If you like the sound of Mvelopes but want to know what else is out there, here are some similar budgeting apps to check out.

Mint

Mint connects with your financial accounts and tracks your transactions. Mint also keeps you on top of your bills with payment reminders and comes with a credit monitoring service. 

Unlike Mvelopes, Mint is free to use. That’s because it generates revenue by connecting you with financial products and monetizing your data.

Goodbudget

Goodbudget is a budgeting app that’s also based on the envelope budgeting method. The value-add is that Goodbudget allows multiple devices to log in to the same account — making it a better option for couples and families. 

The downside is that the app doesn’t sync with your bank accounts, so you’ll have to enter all of your transactions and envelope balances manually. 

Goodbudget has a free version that comes with limited envelopes and a maximum of two devices. If you want unlimited envelopes and devices, you’ll have to upgrade to Plus for $7 per month or $60 per year. 

Honeydue

Honeydue is a free budgeting app for couples. You and your partner can track all of your accounts, coordinate bills, and even chat about transactions right in the app. 

Honeydue also offers its own FDIC-insured joint bank account that has no monthly fees or minimum deposit requirements. 

Mvelopes Review FAQ

Here are the most frequently asked questions about Mvelopes.

Who owns Mvelopes?

Mvelopes is owned by Finicity, a software company based out of Utah. Finicity is a subsidiary of Mastercard.

Which financial institutions does Mvelopes work with?

Mvelopes has integrations for more than 16,000 financial institutions in the United States. If yours isn’t supported, you can always reach out to the Mvelopes team and make a request to add it.

It’s important to note that some banks or credit unions may not be available due to technological or contractual limitations.

Does Mvelopes really work?

Mvelopes is simply a tool, and like any budgeting tool, whether it works or not totally depends on you. While Mvelopes can certainly help you get on track, it isn’t a magic app that automatically fixes your financial problems. 

When using a paid service like Mvelopes, it’s important to make sure that you’re open to making changes. If you aren’t willing to put the work in on your end, it’s unlikely to be worth the investment.

The Bottom Line

Personal finance can be confusing and at times overwhelming. If you’ve struggled with debt or are just tired of living paycheck to paycheck, Mvelopes can help make the path a little clearer.

The downside is the cost. There are plenty of free budgeting apps available, so it’s important to ensure that you’re going to be able to capitalize on Mvelopes’s features before buying in. Either way, you can’t go wrong by taking a spin with the free trial.

The post Mvelopes Review appeared first on Millennial Money.

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