Sign up for Origin. A note from our CEO.
Origin launches direct to consumer with a strong alternative to Mint.
By Matt Watson
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Published 11.3.2023
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Updated 12.18.2023
Today is an exciting day here at Origin. After years of offering financial wellness to employees, we’re launching our product to everyone, everywhere—regardless of life stage or employer. We’re offering a 3-month free preview, so you can try it out.
I’m pumped to share more about this milestone and our approach to making money simple. Our exciting launch couldn’t have come at a more pivotal moment.
We’re all seeking out top-notch personal finance solutions—given Mint shutting down, debt and credit advice flooding TikTok, and money being a taboo topic, there has never been a greater need for Origin.
It’s not easy to talk about money. It’s intimidating and even taboo in our culture. What’s fascinating is that people would rather talk about anything other than money— things like sex, infertility, and politics.
The unfortunate truth is that managing your money becomes quite easy once you have it. Before you know it, hundreds of thousands of capable financial advisors will compete for your business, eager to alleviate the financial burden.
Unfortunately, these services cater to the wealthiest individuals, with annual fees starting in the thousands. Unless you can spend that kind of money, you are left to figure out money on your own.
"Figure it out on your own" is what most of us are left to do. Today, most people manage their money through a litany of disconnected financial applications. While some of these apps claim to offer an “all-in-one” approach, few really do. Most of us use one app for investing, one app for budgeting, and another app for tax filing. The result? It’s a costly, logistical nightmare. You end up paying hundreds for an investing app, another hundred to file your taxes, and the list goes on. Of course, all these tools need to be managed and tracked.
It’s no surprise that this strategy doesn’t work well. The average consumer makes over $1,800 in financial mistakes every year due to tax errors, inefficiencies, and overpaying for debt. How can you build a cohesive financial strategy with a bunch of disconnected products? It’s not definitely not easy nor simple.
So, the question we naturally asked ourselves here at Origin was, “What would it look like to bring top-tier wealth management tools to everyone?” The answer? Origin: the one place to track, grow, invest, plan, and talk about money.
Why try Origin?
Track. Talk. Invest. Grow. All on Origin. We’re an all-in-one platform. We mean it, and our product shows it. Managing your finances requires more than just budgeting.
What if you just want a replacement for Mint, which you’ve used for years? We’re here for you, and we have so much more to offer—and you get to try it all for 30 days for free.
Holistic Net Worth: See your full financial picture. Link your financial accounts to see money coming in and out, and get a deeper understanding of your assets and liabilities.
Track and Budget: Master your spending with expense tracking and personalized budgeting. Budgeting tools paired with expert guidance and smart money recommendations help ensure you don’t leave money on the table and you're in the driver’s seat of your spending.
Invest like a pro: Put your money to work and invest right in Origin. We offer low-cost, globally diversified portfolios tailored to your specific needs, risk tolerance, and time horizon. The best part? We don’t charge advisory fees—saving a typical member nearly $30k in lifetime fees. We also offer Thematic portfolios for investors with a more aggressive risk tolerance who are interested in investing in AI, semiconductors, clean energy, and more.
Sidekick: Talk money with Sidekick, your AI-powered planner. Sidekick provides real-time, personalized guidance based on your finances. Powered by our technology and planner network’s knowledge base, Sidekick can help answer money questions with high accuracy — from “How is my cash flow trending?” to “How much can I contribute to my 401(k)?” — via chat.
Tax: Come tax season, file your taxes right in Origin at no additional cost, even for complex tax scenarios like capital gains or multi-state filings. This DIY tax tool simplifies the filing process, and we provide access to tax specialists who can help along the way.
Estate Planning: Today, 2 out of 3 Americans don’t have an estate plan due to high costs or cumbersome processes. Beginning in 2024, you’ll be able to create a full estate plan in under 20 minutes as part of your Origin membership. Everyone needs estate planning, and we’re here to help you with this critical step in your financial journey.
Access to a Certified Financial Planner™: Origin was built around expert financial guidance from our CFPⓇ network. For years, our dedicated planners have helped thousands of employees get on track and plan for the future. Now, you can match with a planner based on your needs and pay as you go, instead of breaking the bank.
What should Mint users do now?
Get started with a 30 day free preview of Origin today. We’ll do the hard work for you. Origin will automatically categorize your transactions, provide a breakdown of your spend, and help you create a personalized budget based on your income and savings goals.
Migrate from Mint: We’re making the transition easy. You’ll soon be able to export your transactions from Mint into a CSV and import them into Origin in a CSV. When you migrate your data over, you can keep any custom notes or categorization from Mint.
Custom Categories: We’re building out custom expense and budgeting categories on Origin so that you can understand your spending in the way that works best for you. If you’re importing data into Origin from Mint, we’ll automatically create those custom categories for you.
What’s next
For years, Origin has been offered to employees as a financial wellness benefit. We’re excited to build on that foundation and share our platform with everyone, everywhere—regardless of life stage or employer. We have a robust product roadmap—everything from new spending features to launching estate planning right in our platform—and a passionate team behind it all.
So, let’s talk money. Because when you know more, you can do more.