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LAST UPDATED: February 26th, 2023

Mvelopes is based on a budgeting concept that is easy for most people to understand. In the old days, you would cash your paycheck and then distribute the cash into separate envelopes labeled with budget categories like rent, groceries, clothing, emergency savings, or electricity. When bills came due, you would remove money from the appropriate envelope to pay them. If you ran out of money in an envelope you would either have to go without that item (e.g., new clothes) or you’d have to take money out of a different envelope to fund it. When you ran out of money in your envelopes, you wouldn’t be able to spend any more until your next paycheck. The envelopes system excelled at helping people stay within their financial means and avoid racking up debt. 

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The Good

  • Encryption Technology
  • Assessment and Consultation
  • Coaching Sessions

Mvelopes starts you off with a budget template with pre-made envelopes which you can add to, edit, or delete. Included in the budget list is a category for Goals where you can add things you're saving for like an emergency fund or a vacation. Mvelopes is based on the budgeting concept that you would cash your paycheck and then distribute the cash into separate envelopes labeled with budget categories. Some highlights about Mvelopes include:

  • Assessment questionnaire
  • Free financial coaching consultation
  • Set up guide
  • Past transactions
  • Automated starter budget
  • Mobile apps
  • Google Glass
  • "Budgeting Bootcamp"

Mvelopes uses the 128-bit SSL encryption technology that online banks use, firewalls around their servers, and regular security audits. You can read more details of Mevelopes's security measures on their website. The Mvelopes startup experience begins with an easy checkmark-style questionnaire in order to assess which financial needs are most important to you. After this assessment you are presented with an offer for a free financial coaching consultation (a $60 value) which you can either skip or proceed to making an appointment. Once you get into the application, Mvelopes provides you with a step-by-step guide to setting up your budget:

  1. Add accounts
  2. Define incomes
  3. Create a budget
  4. Fund your envelopes

After you add your accounts, Mvelopes will sync several months of your past transactions in order to set up a automated starter budget template for you to edit. You can access Mvelopes from mobile apps for Apple, Android, and Amazon and your transaction information syncs across all your devices. Mvelopes is even supported on Google Glass. Mvelopes Premium plan offers a credit card debt roll-down plan to get your charges under control and paid off quickly. Along with the free coaching consultation, Mvelopes offers other educational materials, such as the Budgeting Bootcamp, an extra $49.99 fee. For an additional fee, customers have the option to receive future consultations with an Mvelopes Certified Budget Coach. These coaching sessions provide customers with an additional layer of assistance as they try to master their personal finances in regards to paying off debt, saving for emergencies, and planning for the future. Sessions consist of monthly one-on-one phone calls that help assist clients toward their financial goals. To learn more about Mvelopes Certified Budget Coaches and how they can support you, please click our "Financial Coaching" tab.

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The Bad

  • Interface is Complex
  • Free plan is Limited
  • Premier Plan is Expensive

The Mvelopes user interface can be intimidating for those new to managing financial accounts. The typeface is very small, the pages are text-heavy, and everything is rendered in Java Server Pages so that zooming in with your browser won't increase the text size. The overall impression that the interface gives is that of a complex console with very little for the eye to make sense of at a glance. There are very few visual displays of data - even on the reports pages - so nearly everything must be read to be understood. Some concerns include:

  • Complex interface
  • Free plan limited
  • Steep pricing for Premier plan

The Mvelopes free plan limits you to only 4 accounts and 25 envelopes, which might not be enough for some people. Also, live chat support is only available through the Premier plan, leaving the basic plan users to help articles and customer forums. The basic breakdown of plans breaks down as follows: Basic plan:

  • 4 bank accounts
  • 25 spending envelopes
  • Compatible with Windows/Mac

Premier plan:

  • Unlimited bank accounts
  • Unlimited envelopes

At $95/year (approximately $7.92/month), the Mvelopes Premier plan is more expensive than most other premium plans which average around $4 - $5 per month.

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The Bottom Line

The Mvelopes free plan is a robust tool designed for people who are already budget-savvy and are comfortable with text-heavy consoles of information. The Premier plan offers more support options and a debt roll-down feature, but is fairly pricey compared to other premium online financial plans. Additionally, the interface may be difficult to read for those with vision problems or people who absorb information best from visual displays. Overall, we recommend using Mvelopes for your personal finance needs. Those that use Mvelopes for their personal finance management needs can expect the following from the platform:
  1. Quality and straight-forward budgeting tools
  2. Organize and manage all finances
  3. Expensive premier plan
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Star Rating

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3.2

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33 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

33%

4 grade

24%

3 grade

0%

2 grade

12%

1 grade

30%

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Lynn Dallas, TX

STAY AWAY FROM THIS SOFTWARE I signed up with this company the first of the year and linked a couple of credit cards and my bank but did not have time to keep it up. Two weeks ago I reset my balances and signed up for the "premier" plan. When I went back to link my credit cards they would not link. It took two chats and a couple of days later I got an email saying the encryption on the credit cards had changed and they could not link my accounts. That is what I bought it for. I don't need to use it for importing transactions manually. During one of the chats it turned 7:00 p.m. MT. and they just left me hanging. Then I emailed back to get a refund and they are telling me they cannot "reverse" the transaction! Today I get back on and cannot even get a "chat code" sent to me to discuss this further. And there is no phone number to call. This very disappointing. I guess I have just been scammed out of $99.

3 years ago

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Richard Wagner Glenwood City, WI

I've used Mvelopes for over 10 years. The visual envelope at-a-glance is what has been the biggest winner for me. That being said, their technology is years behind and their customer service is terrible. They've tried to release the new version of their on-line software several times and each time they have had to pull it back because of issues. They are still using Flash, which for non-techies is an outdated technology that the major browsers like Google Chrome no longer support. In fact, to currently use Mvelopes in Google Chrome, you have to re-authorize Flash EVERY TIME you want to log in to Mvelopes. The time to bring up the interface on-line can sometimes be minutes long. This morning takes the cake. They have been offline for the last two hours with a service page that says to try back in 5 minutes. There was NO Notification to customers about this downtime. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. I could go on and on about the technology failures and lack of customer support. The ONLY reason I'm still with the company is because of the pain involved with moving everything over to a new budgeting software company. As soon as I can find one that operates in a similar matter, I will be cancelling my account. For these numerous technology and customer service issues, I do NOT recommend getting started with Mvelopes.

4 years ago

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Dan Frisco City, AL

I'm not sure how you are getting away with $95/month. I was sold a plan that is $49.95 month for 3 years or so. Coaching consists of reprimands for not doing "homework", when the "lesson" consisted of "can I have limited control of your computer" and proceed to make changes for me, then we are out of time, let's schedule the next time, on their schedule, not mine. I have not heard a thing in over a year, unless, I don't make the monthly payment, the financing company that handles the billing, calls wondering why you don't want make your payments. Quite disappointed, the program looks good, never was able to get a good grasp. The first coach left for another company, the next one never made a good connection. Probably a good thing for some, but a pricey mistake for us.

8 years ago

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Robin Bowman Littleton, CO

I started using them years ago and they were a solid 5 stars. They have recently become TERRIBLE. They no longer have live caht, you musty schedule an appointment and mine was 1 1/2 weeks out. They cancelled it 5 mins before the appointment saying I wasn't premier and I am. Even if I wasn't it should not have allowed me to schedule. Then I called waited on hold for 17 minutes and they hung up without ever answering. Issue of all my entries duplicating is of course not resolved as NO ON WILL HELP

4 years ago

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Jeffery Smith CA

Mvelopes is horrible they promise so much and bring so little I wish I had never signed up they also do bait and switch at the beginning they promise you that you can get out of your contract cheaply then they charge way more to get out and hold a contract over your head they lie and they have the worst customer service I would stay away from them learn from my mistake. They treat you like you are dumb stay away from this company!

7 years ago

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weddingdance Knoxville, TN

Way too expensive. Very little time with debt counselor (one half-hour per month). Only works if you actually have enough money to cover your budget in the first place. Excessively long contract length. The free program was good, wish I'd stuck with that.

8 years ago

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Joy W. Tucson, AZ

Bad, the first week I was on the sight I discovered what I needed to know. Now I'm stuck with 2 more yrs. of $49.+ / mth and I don't even use this, too complicated, time consuming, and expensive. No personal caring, it's all about getting that money even if one doesn't use it.

8 years ago

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Anita Manassas, VA

Signed up for the envelopes systems and paid for a complex system that I was NEVER able to use. Don't waste your time instead do it yourself using a spreadsheet or the old way with actual envelopes.

8 years ago

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Jim Tuckett Phoenix, AZ

It's a good idea and is hopelessly difficult to get and keep working. After 5 years' of frustrations, and paying for a "life time" service, I have given up.

8 years ago

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Lois Dingman-Browne Big Rapids, MI

Very disappointed with the coach I had. Still paying for a dead horse.

8 years ago