# Transitioning From Mint to YNAB > Moving on from Mint? Learn how YNAB can work for you! We're a flexible and empowering financial software, here to help you love how you spend your money. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/transitioning-from-mint-HJJSQvW7a Last updated: 2026-09-02T17:19:55.343Z So you're a Mint user, and you're wondering if YNAB may be the next step for you. As you explore your options for moving forward, we're excited you're considering us! #### In This Article [Overview](#overview) [The Approach](#choose) [Setting Up Your YNAB Plan](#setup) [How to Use YNAB Going Forward](#forward) [Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)](#faq) * * * ## Overview  If you've been using Mint to track and categorize your spending, we want to make sure you have a clear way forward if you decide to try YNAB. To help you make an informed decision, here are some resources as you compare and explore all YNAB has to offer (try us **free for a month** with our fully featured trial)! * (watch) [YNAB isn't a Mint alternative — it's better](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyzd2rklY9U) * We'll also continue adding to our [FAQ section](#faq) below as we learn what you and your fellow Mint-ers are most curious about while evaluating YNAB for your financial future. The key difference about us is our Method, which is applied to every aspect of our software. Basically, YNAB is a forward-thinking approach to your finances, as opposed to a spending tracker, reviewing the past.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## The Approach Before we jump into specifics, we first want to address that your YNAB account won't be exactly like your Mint setup — and that's okay. It's all about your preferences and priorities. YNAB lets you be **pro**active, and that can feel a bit different if you're used to a more **re**active, tracking program that reviews past trends, as opposed to flexibly empowering your _future_ spending with the dollars you have today. ### Here's our recommended way to approach the move from Mint to YNAB: * **The Past:** Gather your data from Mint using whatever methods are available. Take screenshots or pictures of any reporting, trends, or other info.  * **The Present:** Start your YNAB plan from _today forward_. Manually duplicate your Mint categories and use your average spending to create your targets. Use this data to inform the organization and amounts you use with your categories, targets, and scheduled transactions in YNAB.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Setting Up Your YNAB Plan Now for the steps to actually get up and running in YNAB! 1. [Learn About the YNAB Method](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-ynab-method-an-overview-SJmiqpi6j)It may seem strange that this is the first suggestion, but we strongly recommend learning about why YNAB is designed the way it is. It will make the setup feel more intuitive when you understand why the app works the way it does. The main thing to understand is this—in YNAB, you'll only assign the money you have in your accounts right now. You’ll make a plan for money you’ll get in the future using targets (step three below). 2. Duplicate or [Create Your Categories](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/adding-removing-and-customizing-categories-a-guide-HJFO5j909#new)You can recreate your previous Mint categories or create brand new ones.  3. [Customize Your Targets](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-use-targets-rk5kkI9ks)Mint let you set goals for longer term expenses, and then you had your "budgets", or amounts for monthly expenses. YNAB uses **targets** set on categories to tell you how much to assign to stay on track (you can use your Average Spending amounts from Mint to inform your targets in YNAB). You can choose from a variety of target type and timeframe customizations—and you can change them at any time, so don't worry about setting the perfect target right away! Check out our article on [creating a template in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/creating-a-budget-template-a-guide-ByZJZx_R9)for more on using targets to create a monthly perspective of your plan.Your target won't be tied to a specific account—this is different from Mint (you could designate a specific account that was saving towards a goal).  4. [Add Accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-add-an-account-ByoxswMJs) 1. **Cash Accounts**YNAB considers all money in all cash accounts (cash accounts = checking, savings, and literal cash reserves) as one big pile. You’re welcome to add multiple cash accounts like your savings accounts, second checking accounts, etc., but keep in mind that all those dollars will show up in Ready to Assign. If you have multiple cash accounts, it’s ideal to create a category or Category Group for those dollars up front and assign the money to those categories first, before assigning your other amounts.  2. **Credit Card Accounts**YNAB has [automatic credit card handling](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/handling-credit-cards-overview-ry7cNub1s) that sets aside money as you spend on the card. That only applies to the individual spending transactions that you add/import into YNAB. You’ll need to fund the balance you owed when you set up the card in YNAB directly in the Credit Card Payment category. If you pay your card in full or the statement balance each month, you’ll need to assign money to cover the starting balance, which is an accumulation of all the spending done before you set up the account in YNAB. You’ll assign the money to cover the starting balance directly to the Credit Card Payment category. (If you can't cover it fully, check out [Paying Down a Credit Card Balance Over Time](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paying-down-a-credit-card-balance-over-time-SkWj0Ls8Me)). Then all future spending will be funded in the spending category (not the Credit Card Payment category), whether it’s spending on a credit card, debit card, or a checking account.   3. **Other Accounts** Use [loan accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/loan-accounts-a-guide-HkNSkPHJi) for your mortgage, car loan, student loan, etc. Use tracking accounts for [retirement investments](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/tracking-investment-accounts-a-guide-r1Bzjxd05), [HSA or FSA accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-add-a-health-savings-account-in-ynab-ByRXzZOAc), and Lines of Credit. 5. [Assign Money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/assigning-your-money-a-guide-SypgkrNJi)Now is the fun part—it's time to tell your dollars what to do! YNAB is a zero-based planning tool, so you assign every dollar you have from Ready to Assign to the categories in your plan until there's nothing left to assign. Here are a few top tips for working through this process.  1. **Prioritize your dollars efficiently**You can manually assign money from Ready to Assign to specific categories, or you can also use the [Auto-Assign feature](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/auto-assign-a-guide-r1gBNbBJo), which identifies which categories need your dollars based on your due dates and types of targets set. The Auto-Assign button will consider any dollars you have ready to assign and help you make a plan for your spending. It'll also offer a preview to show how it will assign your money based on upcoming bills and targets. This is fully editable if you need to make adjustments.  2. **Still have money left over?**Once your immediate obligations are taken care of, ask yourself what larger, less frequent spending you need to prepare for. These are expenses that **will** happen, but you might not know exactly **when** or how **much** they will cost. Since these expenses don't have a set cadence or amount, set some money aside for these things each month, and money will build up in the category over time as you continue to YNAB. It may feel like a sacrifice at first, but Future You will appreciate that you planned ahead! 3. **Build in some breathing room**Build in some money you can spend however you want. Maybe it’s not a lot—but it’s something. We want to set you up for sustainable progress, and that means a plan that’s not restrictive. Keep allocating your dollars until there is nothing left to assign from Ready to Assign. When you've done that, you know you have a plan for spending (and saving) money until you get paid again. 6. [Customize Categories](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/adding-removing-and-customizing-categories-a-guide-HJFO5j909)Your categories in YNAB are the budgets you had in Mint. You can customize, delete, or add any categories and Category Groups to make it just like your Mint structure, or you can take this opportunity to rethink your plan, consolidating categories or creating a few more granular ones.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## How to Use YNAB Going Forward Keep YNAB updated and running smoothly with our [routine checklist](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-keep-your-plan-accurate-SyC9mj9Rq#routine)!  The most important part of using YNAB is assigning your money. After you add your accounts to YNAB, you will notice the starting balances of all your cash accounts in Ready to Assign. Here’s what to do next:  1. Assign money to the Credit Card Payment category to cover whatever portion of the starting balance you intend to pay down.  2. Assign the money in any savings or other specific-use cash accounts to specific categories.  3. If you’re setting up YNAB to match your Mint setup, assign any accumulated balances from your Mint budgets in YNAB so the same amount will be available in YNAB that you set up in Mint.  What’s left should be the money you intend to assign to all your other categories (budgets in Mint). You’ll assign that money until you've assigned every dollar from Ready to Assign. Check out the [Auto-Assign](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/auto-assign-a-guide-r1gBNbBJo) feature, which can use your targets and Scheduled Transaction information to assign funds for you. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ### Does YNAB have any resources to help me get started? Absolutely! If you're just getting started with YNAB, we recommend heading over to the [Getting Started with YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/your-ynab-trial-ry87vWAc#start) section of our Your YNAB Trial article, which has everything you need to get up and running.  No matter which resource you choose, keep these two key details in mind: 1. YNAB the app is based on method and encourages reflection. The YNAB Method is a proven process that aligns your money with what matters most to you. 2. The YNAB app has a monthly structure, but you’ll only assign the money you have right now. If you have enough cash in your accounts to fund all your categories (or envelopes) through the end of the month, great! If not, you’ll only assign until Ready to Assign is empty, and then you’ll assign again when you get paid again. ### Can I migrate my data from Mint into YNAB? While there's no direct way to import your Mint data into YNAB, you can recreate your Mint setup manually. That means setting up your categories in YNAB to match what you used in Mint, and using your past spending averages to guide your targets.  ### Does YNAB import my transaction history or accounts? No. It is possible to import that transaction history from Mint (or even from your bank!), but the categorization from Mint will not be recognized by YNAB, so you'll have a lot of uncategorized transactions to deal with. If you really want to have your Mint data live in YNAB, one workaround is to import that data into a different plan than your active YNAB plan—unlike in Mint, you can have multiple! This way, you'll have the transaction data from Mint in YNAB without having to worry about the categorization or if account balances match.  You'll save yourself time and effort by starting fresh in YNAB—and once you get the hang of YNAB, you're welcome to upload your historical data and create an "archive" for record-keeping purposes—but your transition to YNAB will run much more smoothly if you don't try to import the historical data into your new YNAB plan. [**Please reach out to Support**](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) **if you'd like detailed steps for this process!** ### Can I import my Apple Wallet transactions in YNAB? Yes, Direct Import supports Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Savings with Apple Card in the U.S. [This article explains how to connect to Apple Wallet and import transactions](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/apple-connections-rkShEfrUh)! ### I just set up my account—why didn't any transactions import? When you first link an account in YNAB, YNAB imports a starting balance as of today, because that's the amount of real money you have to work with. Transactions that clear the bank on that day will import within the next 24 hours or so. Once they do, you’re safe to move them to categories. ### Why can't I link and sync my investment, loan, stock accounts like I could in Mint? We use different import providers than Mint, and our integrations aren’t built to support the data for investment, loan, and tax-advantaged (HSA, FSA, etc.) accounts. Bank connections report data for these accounts differently than for regular spending and savings accounts, making it hard to connect and import transactions, so we can’t troubleshoot Direct Import issues for these account types.  Since YNAB’s focus is on your active spending and savings accounts, you may find as you use YNAB that you’re less concerned with daily updates on your investment and loan accounts and more with intentional spending of the money you have on hand. **We know how important these accounts are to your financial journey and big picture perspective of your finances, though—tracking your net worth, paying off debt, managing medical expenses, and more! You can absolutely still manage these accounts in YNAB**.  For loans, we recommend using our specific [Loan Account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/loan-accounts-a-guide-HkNSkPHJi) type (to gain automation for the payments and to access our Loan Planner feature). For investments, Lines of Credit, and other tax-advantaged accounts (HSA, FSA, etc.), we recommend using the [Tracking Account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/account-types-an-overview-BkmGM0qCq) type (Asset or Liability options) and keeping them unlinked.  Here are some additional resources:  * [Tracking Investment Accounts: A Guide](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/tracking-investment-accounts-a-guide-r1Bzjxd05) * [How to Add a Medical Savings Account in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-add-a-health-savings-account-in-ynab-ByRXzZOAc) ### Why did my transactions import faster with Mint? We use different import providers than Mint (Intuit only provides importing services for their own products—including Mint). We’re also on a less frequent [import schedule](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/troubleshooting-linked-accounts-BJ9Mv9b1s#delayed) than them. We check for transactions once every morning and when you access the app if we haven’t imported within the last 6-12 hours. Awareness of spending is a big part of why YNAB works, and we’re totally unique in that our method leans more heavily on active engagement. YNAB is built on the expectation that you’ll keep each account balance reconciled and matching the bank—with or without Direct Import—because the YNAB plan is based on those numbers. Check out this article for more on [How Direct Import Works](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-direct-import-works-H1IGYLgnxl) in YNAB. ### Can I have my loan accounts update automatically? Yes! If you set your account up using the [Loan Account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/loan-accounts-a-guide-HkNSkPHJi) type, YNAB will automatically update the account balance by the payments (withholding estimated interest and escrow/other fees). Since loan accounts [don’t import via Direct Import](#import), this is a good alternative if you’re wanting some automation and to gain the Loan Planner feature (where you can predict how paying more affects your paydown, your end date, etc.). ### My student loan category imported. How do I use it? Mint has just one student loan category, but YNAB treats student loans differently. You have options! You'll add each of your loans as a separate account, and you can choose to have separate payment categories or just one. [Learn more here](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/student-loans-in-ynab-a-guide-B1rUVwKSs)! ### Can I track my credit card spending in YNAB? If I use a credit card to make a purchase, how do I log that in YNAB? Absolutely! YNAB is designed to help you not only track your spending on a credit card, but to help you set aside cash to pay down that card. It's designed to work whether you're a [Paid In Full credit card user](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo), or you're working to [get out of credit card debt](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-out-of-debt-ByMlJW_C9).  When you spend on a credit card, you’ll enter or import the spending transaction into the credit card register and categorize that transaction. If there’s money available in the corresponding spending category (or envelope), YNAB will automatically move that cash from the spending category to the Credit Card Payment category, setting it aside for your next payment!  When you go to make the payment on the card, the amount available in the Credit Card Payment category is the amount you can pay down on the card. That payment transaction will be a simple transfer (using the payment payee) of money from the payment account to the credit card – reducing what you owe on the card and reducing the cash you have set aside in the Credit Card Payment category. ### Why isn't there anything in Spending Trends? You won't notice any data in Spending Trends right away because there's no transaction data right away. Mint's primary value was in the reports and trends—the past. YNAB's primary value is thinking ahead—noting the real cash you have in your account(s) and making a plan for what that needs to do for you before you get paid again. You have all the trends and spending data in your screenshots from Mint. You can refer to Mint to help you set targets in your YNAB plan(s).  ### Does YNAB have a calendar view for scheduling your bills? No. YNAB has a calendar date picker for setting transaction dates and creating [scheduled transactions](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/scheduled-transactions-a-guide-BygrAIFA9), but we do not have a separate calendar view for scheduling and viewing your upcoming bills. ### Does YNAB help me reconcile my bank accounts? You bet! All the numbers in your YNAB accounts are based on the transactions and balances in the account registers, so regular reconciliation is important! There’s a built-in feature on web and mobile to help you compare your cleared balance in YNAB to your current balance with the bank. You can edit, delete and manually add transactions to YNAB in order to make the balances match the bank or you can let YNAB enter a Reconciliation Balance Adjustment! Either way, YNAB can help you keep your transactions in sync with your bank so you can trust your balances! Here's how to [get started with reconciling in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-with-reconciling-accounts-an-overview-Sy3JWx4Js).  ### Have more questions? No problem! That's what we're here for. Our [excellent Support team](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) is happy to help (you don't need to have a YNAB account to reach out with questions). Also, we're continually adding more answers to this section, so feel free to check back soon, too.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You! Our Knowledge Base team reviews article feedback responses weekly, and we actively revise these articles to make them as helpful as possible. That's where you come in! Our articles are scored based on the _Yes_ or _No_ ratings received below. We also collect freeform feedback for any _No_ ratings (so our team can focus in on what you were specifically searching for!). **Success**: Found what you were searching for? 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