It started with a spreadsheet that never added up.
Two spreadsheets, one question
Before MintValt, we each ran our money out of a spreadsheet. Every currency had a column, every card had a tab, every instalment plan had a row, and it all looked very organised. It just couldn't tell us the one thing we actually wanted to know: where was it all going?
Between us, we tried online forms that turned everything into charts, and a bunch of budgeting apps. None of them felt intuitive, so none of them stuck, and we kept ending up back at our spreadsheets.
When we got talking about money, it turned out we were fighting the same battles. Different spreadsheets, same mess, and the same "I'll sort it out at the end of the month" every single month. So we built MintValt to fix it.
Nearly everyone we told had a spreadsheet like ours. So here is one.
Meet Sam
Sam doesn't exist. Sam's spreadsheet does, in some form, on half the laptops we know.
Sam earns in euros and dollars, a little in pounds, and lives on Australian dollars. Every month someone has to convert it all, and that someone is Sam, with whatever rate they found that day. One month they forgot. That month does not add up.
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| Column 1 | Cur | Jun | July | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | EUR | 3,200.00 | 3,200.00 | 3,200.00 | 3,250.00 | 3,250.00 |
| Freelance | USD | 850.00 | 0.00 | 1,400.00 | 500.00 | 1,100.00 |
| Dividends | GBP | 0.00 | 38.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 41.10 |
| Rent (flat) | AUD | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 0.00 |
| Column 1. I was going to name it. | ||||||
| rate (typed in) | ||||||
| @ EUR | @1.64 | @1.66 | @1.67 | @1.69 | ||
| @ USD | @1.52 | @1.53 | @1.51 | @1.50 | @1.52 | |
| @ GBP | @1.95 | @1.97 | @1.99 | |||
| In AUD | 8,340.00 | 7,187.65 | 9,258.00 | #VALUE! | 7,246.29 | |
| forgot the rate in September. so: no September. | ||||||
Cash is a mystery
Sam takes cash out, spends some of it, and remembers less. The receipts either make it into the spreadsheet or go through the washing machine. By the end of the month, a few hundred dollars have simply left.
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| Cash (Oct) | amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ATM 02/10 | 200.00 | ||
| ATM 14/10 | 300.00 | ||
| ATM 23/10 | 150.00 | ||
| Took out | 650.00 | ||
| spent on | |||
| groceries (receipt) | 84.20 | ||
| taxi | 38.00 | ||
| lunch, I think | 21.50 | ||
| in wallet now (counted) | 35.00 | ||
| no idea | 471.30 | ||
| receipts: typed in, or through the washing machine with my pants. | |||
The things that go out on their own
Subscriptions charged in US dollars, a phone and a sofa on instalments, a car loan that ends at some point. Sam knows roughly how much is left on each. Roughly.
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| Monthly Instalments / Subscriptions / etc | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriptions | |||||
| Streaming | 16.99 | 04th | Card A | US$10.99 | |
| Music | 12.99 | 13th | Card A | US$8.49 | |
| Cloud storage | 1.49 | 08th | Card B | US$0.99 | |
| Gym | 65.00 | 1st | Card C | ||
| 96.47 | |||||
| Instalments | |||||
| Phone | 89.00 | 21st | Card A | left: 15 of 24 | 1,335.00 |
| Sofa | 120.00 | 15th | Card B | left: 9 of 12 | 1,080.00 |
| Laptop (0%) | 150.00 | 15th | Card B | left: 7 of 18 | 1,050.00 |
| Course | 95.00 | 28th | Card C | left: 2 of 6 | 190.00 |
| the sofa was a good decision. 9 more months of good decision. | 454.00 | ||||
| Loan | |||||
| Car loan | 480.00 | 5th | standing order | ends ??? | |
| car loan ends ???: the bank knows. I don't. | 480.00 | ||||
| Total Fixed | 1,030.47 | ||||
The cards
Sam has a rule: never more than half the limit on any card. Sam made the rule up, and Sam ignores it. The one cell that should say how much is safe to spend has never worked.
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| Card | limit | May | Jun | July | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card A | 8,000.00 | 2,368.40 | 1,936.20 | 2,824.80 | 1,742.30 | 3,372.60 | 4,210.50 |
| Card B | 5,000.00 | 843.60 | 1,238.60 | 769.60 | 1,034.80 | 997.80 | 1,272.20 |
| Card C | 3,000.00 | 424.80 | 774.30 | 498.20 | 603.60 | 540.40 | 1,630.80 |
| Total | 3,636.80 | 3,949.10 | 4,092.60 | 3,380.70 | 4,910.80 | 7,113.50 | |
| paid off? | yes | yes | partly | yes | partly | ?? | |
| October: still finding out. | |||||||
| red = more than half the limit. a rule I made up and then ignored. | |||||||
| safe to spend? | =limit - balance - bills - ... ? | ||||||
| this is the cell that made me build MintValt. | |||||||
And the rest
Shares, a fund, a bit of gold, some crypto and savings in Singapore dollars, each priced whenever Sam last checked. Ask Sam what it all adds up to and you get a number, followed by "roughly".
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| What | How much | Cur | Price (when?) | In AUD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shares (US) | 14 | USD | 182.40 | 3,881.47 |
| Index fund | 38.2 | EUR | 96.15 | 6,023.61 |
| Gold | 12g | AUD | 152.00 | 1,824.00 |
| Crypto | 0.0412 | USD | 61,200.00 | 3,832.59 |
| Savings | 2,400 | SGD | 1.00 | 2,808.00 |
| Term deposit | 1 | AUD | 5,000.00 | 5,000.00 |
| Total (roughly) | 23,369.67 | |||
| crypto: we don't talk about crypto. | ||||
| index fund price: from March. or April. | ||||
Sam's money (2).numberslast edited: a while ago
| Column 1 | Cur | Jun | July | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | EUR | 3,200.00 | 3,200.00 | 3,200.00 | 3,250.00 | 3,250.00 |
| Freelance | USD | 850.00 | 0.00 | 1,400.00 | 500.00 | 1,100.00 |
| Dividends | GBP | 0.00 | 38.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 41.10 |
| Rent (flat) | AUD | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 1,800.00 | 0.00 |
| Column 1. I was going to name it. | ||||||
| rate (typed in) | ||||||
| @ EUR | @1.64 | @1.66 | @1.67 | @1.69 | ||
| @ USD | @1.52 | @1.53 | @1.51 | @1.50 | @1.52 | |
| @ GBP | @1.95 | @1.97 | @1.99 | |||
| In AUD | 8,340.00 | 7,187.65 | 9,258.00 | #VALUE! | 7,246.29 | |
| forgot the rate in September. so: no September. | ||||||
What we built
Most of your transactions have already happened. They're sitting in your bank statements. So instead of making you type everything in from scratch, MintValt lets you upload those statements and builds your history from them. Then you can finally ask the questions you've always wondered about, instead of guessing.
If you like adding things as you go, great. If you'd rather sit down at the end of the month and catch up in one go, that works just as well. Not everyone wants to record things every day, and you shouldn't have to.
We also didn't want you stuck at a computer. The mobile app does everything on its own. The only thing you need the website for is setting up and paying for your subscription.
See every screenSam's income, in AUD
Every currency, at the rate on the day.
- Jun8,340.00
- July7,187.65
- Aug9,258.00
- Sep8,010.00, the month the spreadsheet could not add up
- Oct7,246.29
We wanted to see every euro, dollar and everything in between. Now we can. Sam would too, if Sam existed.
Leads brand and user experience. Shapes how MintValt looks and feels, from its name and logo to every screen you touch.
MintValt is made by Omvion Ltd, a self-funded studio we set up to build it. That's the name you'll see in the app stores.
Sam's September came to $8,010. Yours?
MintValt uses the rate on the day, so no month goes missing. Upload one statement and see. Get in line now, and start the day your invite arrives.