Author
LoansJagat Team
Read Time
12 Min
26 May 2025
Laila, a 28-year-old marketing executive, earned ₹45,000 a month but struggled with savings. Her expenses – ₹18,000 rent, ₹8,000 food, ₹5,000 transport, and ₹7,000 shopping – left her with just ₹7,000, yet her credit card debt kept growing.
One day, she discovered financial planning tools. She started with Mint, linking her accounts to track spending. Within months, she cut unnecessary expenses by ₹3,500/month. Next, she used YNAB’s zero-based budgeting, allocating every rupee wisely, saving ₹10,000/month. Finally, Simplifi helped her set goals, and in a year, she saved ₹1,20,000 for her Europe trip while paying off ₹60,000 in debt.
Laila’s story proves that with the right tools, financial freedom isn’t a dream. How did she do it? Let’s explore the top 3 tools that transformed her life.
In 2025, financial planning has become more important than ever, especially for beginners. There are many apps available in the market, but Mint is a tool that stands out because of its simplicity and wide features. Let’s understand in detail how Mint can make your financial journey easier.
Mint is a free financial planning and budgeting app developed by Intuit. This app connects all your bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and bills in one place to give you a complete financial picture.
Below is a table showing how Mint divides your monthly expenses into categories:
Expense Category | Monthly Budget (₹) | Actual Expense (₹) | Difference (₹) |
Rent | 15,000 | 15,000 | 0 |
Food | 5,000 | 4,500 | +500 |
Transport | 3,000 | 3,200 | -200 |
Entertainment | 2,000 | 2,500 | -500 |
Savings | 5,000 | 5,000 | 0 |
This table shows where you are overspending and where you can save.
Below is a table showing how Mint helps you track your progress toward your financial goals:
Goal | Total Goal Amount (₹) | Saved So Far (₹) | Remaining Amount (₹) | Estimated Time (Months) |
Emergency Fund | 1,00,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 | 6 |
Europe Trip | 2,00,000 | 50,000 | 1,50,000 | 12 |
Car Down Payment | 3,00,000 | 1,00,000 | 2,00,000 | 10 |
This table clearly shows the progress of your goals and helps you make adjustments if needed.
Benefits | Details |
Free and Easy Setup | Mint is totally free and very easy to set up. Users could sync their bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments to get a single dashboard. |
Complete Financial View | The app showed all financial accounts in one place so users could get a full overview of their financial health. |
Budgeting & Goal Tracking | Mint helped users create personal budgets, track their spending, and set financial goals. |
Credit Score Monitoring | Users could check their credit score for free, which helped them understand their financial status. |
Bill Reminders | Mint sent reminders for upcoming bills to help users avoid late fees. |
Drawbacks | Details |
Syncing Issues | Some users said that Mint had trouble syncing with financial institutions, which caused incorrect data. |
Advertisements | The free version showed many ads, which could be distracting. |
Limited Customisation | Some users felt the budgeting and reporting tools lacked flexibility for their specific needs. |
Security Concerns | Some people were uncomfortable sharing their financial data with a third-party app, even though Mint used bank-level encryption. |
Mint is a powerful and user-friendly app that makes financial planning easier for beginners. With this app, you can control your expenses, move towards your financial goals, and improve your overall financial health. If you are starting your financial journey, Mint can be an excellent companion.
YNAB is a premium budgeting app that gives users full control over their money. With its zero-based budgeting method, it makes sure that every rupee you earn has a purpose.
Here is a table that shows how YNAB categorises your monthly expenses:
Expense Category | Monthly Budget (₹) | Actual Expense (₹) | Difference (₹) |
Rent | 20,000 | 20,000 | 0 |
Food | 6,000 | 5,500 | +500 |
Transport | 3,500 | 3,800 | -300 |
Entertainment | 2,500 | 2,000 | +500 |
Savings | 7,000 | 7,000 | 0 |
This table helps you understand where you’re overspending and where you’re saving money.
Here is a table showing how YNAB helps you track the progress of your financial goals:
Goal | Total Goal Amount (₹) | Saved So Far (₹) | Remaining Amount (₹) | Estimated Time (Months) |
Emergency Fund | 1,50,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 | 6 |
Europe Trip | 2,50,000 | 75,000 | 1,75,000 | 12 |
Car Down Payment | 3,50,000 | 1,50,000 | 2,00,000 | 20 |
This table gives you a clear view of your goal progress and helps you adjust as needed.
Feature | Details |
Zero-Based Budgeting | YNAB focuses on giving every rupee a specific job so you can track spending better. |
Financial Discipline & Savings | The app helps users control their expenses, which leads to better savings. |
User-Friendly Interface | YNAB has a simple and useful interface, making it easy for new users to use. |
Mobile & Web Access | The app is available on both mobile and web, so you can manage your budget from anywhere. |
Educational Resources | YNAB offers tutorials and webinars to help users understand budgeting better. |
Feature | Details |
Subscription Cost | YNAB is a paid app with a monthly or yearly subscription, which may be expensive for some users. |
Learning Curve | The zero-based budgeting style can be a bit hard to understand for new users. |
Limited Investment Tracking | Investment account tracking is limited, which may not help with advanced financial planning. |
Manual Data Entry | Some users need to enter transactions manually, which can be time-consuming. |
Limited International Support | The bank-syncing feature is not available in all countries, which can be a problem for international users. |
YNAB is a powerful and beginner-friendly app that makes financial planning easy. With this app, you can take control of your spending, move towards your financial goals, and improve your overall financial health. If you are starting your financial journey, YNAB can be a great companion.
If you're starting your financial journey in 2025, then Quicken’s Simplifi app can be a very useful and beginner-friendly tool. This app gives you a centralised dashboard of your income, expenses, savings, and investments so you can easily track your financial goals.
Feature | Description |
Spending Plan | Dynamic budget based on monthly income and expenses |
Spending Watchlists | Set spending limits for specific categories |
Goal Setting & Tracking | Set financial goals and track your progress |
Real-Time Alerts | Timely notifications for bills, subscriptions, and unusual spending |
Investment Tracking | Portfolio performance analysis and real-time investment updates |
Simplifi follows a subscription model.
Feature | Simplifi | YNAB | Rocket Money |
Budgeting Method | Dynamic Spending Plan | Zero-based budgeting | Traditional budgeting |
Investment Tracking | Yes | Limited | No |
Real-Time Alerts | Yes | Limited | Yes |
Goal Tracking | Yes | Yes | Limited |
Monthly Cost | $5.99 ($2.99 annual) | $14.99 (₹1,288.07) | $6.00 (₹515.64) |
Simplifi uses bank-level 256-bit encryption to keep your financial data safe. The app is available on iOS, Android, and web platforms, so you can manage your money from anywhere.
Feature | Details |
Complete Financial Overview | Simplifi lets users see their bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments on one dashboard, giving a full view of their finances. |
User-Friendly Interface | The app has a simple and smooth interface, so even new users can easily use and understand it. |
Customisable Budgeting Tools | Users can create personal expense categories, set spending limits and savings goals to manage their finances better. |
Ad-Free Experience | Since Simplifi is a paid service, users enjoy an ad-free experience, and their data is not shared with third parties. |
Mobile and Web Access | The app is available on both mobile and web, allowing users to access their financial data from anywhere. |
Feature | Details |
Paid Service | Simplifi has a monthly or yearly subscription fee, which may be a barrier for some users. |
Limited Investment Features | The app does not offer advanced investment tracking tools, which can be a downside for users who want to monitor their portfolios. |
No Quicken Integration | Even though Simplifi is made by Quicken, it does not sync data with other Quicken products, which makes data transfer harder. |
Limited International Support | Simplifi is mainly designed for US users, and its bank syncing features are limited in other countries. |
Limited Customer Support | Some users have reported slow or limited customer support, which can delay issue resolution. |
Simplifi is a comprehensive financial planning tool that is easy and effective, even for beginners. With its intuitive interface, dynamic budgeting, and powerful features, this app can help you achieve your financial goals.
If you are looking to organise and streamline your finances, then Simplifi is an excellent choice.
Starting financial planning in 2025 has become more important than ever, and for beginners, choosing the right tools matters. Apps like Mint, YNAB, and Simplifi make your financial journey easier.
Mint is a free and simple app that offers features like budgeting, expense tracking, and credit score monitoring, but ads and syncing issues can be a bit annoying.
YNAB is a premium app that tracks every rupee using zero-based budgeting, but its subscription cost can be a bit high.
Simplifi comes with dynamic budgeting and real-time alerts, and even though it's paid, it offers an ad-free experience.
Each tool has its pros and cons, but all of them help beginners learn financial discipline. You can choose any one based on your needs—the most important thing is to just get started! Start financial planning today, and feel secure tomorrow.
1. Is Mint free to use?
Yes, Mint is completely free and offers budgeting, expense tracking, and credit score monitoring without any subscription fees. However, it shows ads to support its free model.
2. How is YNAB different from other budgeting apps?
YNAB follows a zero-based budgeting method, meaning every rupee is assigned a purpose, unlike traditional budgeting apps. It focuses on proactive money management rather than just tracking expenses.
3. Can Simplifi track investments along with expenses?
Yes, Simplifi provides basic investment tracking, including portfolio performance and real-time stock updates. However, it lacks advanced investment features for detailed analysis.
4. Are these financial apps safe to use?
All three apps (Mint, YNAB, and Simplifi) use bank-level encryption to protect user data. However, since they sync with your bank accounts, always enable two-factor authentication for extra security.
5. Which app is best for complete beginners?
Mint is the best for beginners due to its free access and simple interface. YNAB and Simplifi are great, too, but may require a slight learning curve or a paid subscription.
About the Author
LoansJagat Team
We are a team of writers, editors, and proofreaders with 15+ years of experience in the finance field. We are your personal finance gurus! But, we will explain everything in simplified language. Our aim is to make personal and business finance easier for you. While we help you upgrade your financial knowledge, why don't you read some of our blogs?
Quick Apply Loan
Subscribe Now
Related Blog Post