Intuit recently announced that Mint.com and the Mint app will be shutting down as of January 1, 2024. This situation has raised issues about the hidden costs of "free" apps, as they often come with trade-offs and aren't always truly without cost. In the case of Mint, the upcoming closure has sparked online discussions about the drawbacks of relying solely on free financial apps. Users are left scrambling to find alternative budgeting tools, highlighting the importance of considering the long-term sustainability and reliability of free FinTech tools. This event is a reminder that even if an app has a price tag of "zero," users have got to be mindful of the company's underlying business model! Learn more in this week's episode of FinCap Friday below:

Click here to access the Kahoot quiz and discussion prompt. If you're short on time, try our simplified No Tech version containing embedded questions right in the slide deck! If you prefer embedding the quiz questions right into the video, check out this Edpuzzle video!

About the Author

Yanely Espinal

Born and raised by Dominican, immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Yanely is a proud product of NYC public schools. She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in 2007 before going on to receive her bachelor's degree at Brown University in 2011. As a Teach For America corps member, Yanely taught third and fourth grade in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She received her master's degree from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2013. She spends her spare time making YouTube videos about personal finance on her channel, MissBeHelpful. Yanely also loves to dance, sew, paint, listen to podcasts, and babysit her 10 nieces and nephews!