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Mint categorizes expenses in two ways: in a broad category (such as "Food & Dining" or "Health & Fitness") and a narrow category (such as "Groceries" or "Gym") which is a subset of that broader category.

When I export my Mint.com transactions to CSV, it only exports the narrow category (under the column header "Category").

Is there a way to export the broader category too? I create some graphs of my finances using this data and the broader categories would be very helpful.

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  • Never seen Mint, but is there a "download categories list" option? From a database perspective, it would make sense to store only the "narrow" category against each transaction, and have a separate table that says which broad category each narrow category belongs in: narrow category "Gym" is in broad category "Health & Fitness" etc. With such a list, you could then lookup the broad category from the narrow category in the transaction data.
    – TripeHound
    Mar 18, 2022 at 16:08
  • Hi @TripeHound -- that's a nice idea, but unfortunately Mint just doesn't work like that.
    – canary_in_the_data_mine
    Mar 18, 2022 at 22:39

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As @TripleHound mentioned, you can set up a lookup table, I created one based on this site: https://mint.intuit.com/mint-categories/ (accessed on 2022-01-02), and saved as a CSV which is pasted below as text. Copy/paste into your spreadsheet of choice, create the linkage/lookup, and you're on your way.

If it helps, I had this data on a sheet called "Categories" and looked up the broad category based on the narrow one, with this formula on a separate sheet:

=index(Categories!B:B,match(F2,Categories!A:A,0))

where F2 refers to a cell with a narrow category in it, and columns B:B and A:A on my Categories sheet are exactly the "Broad" and "Narrow" columns below, respectively.

Since I've been using Mint for a while and these are new categories, some of my older categories aren't in this list - but hopefully this gets you started :)

Narrow,Broad
Paycheck,Income
Investment,Income
Returned Purchase,Income
Bonus,Income
Interest Income,Income
Reimbursement,Income
Rental Income,Income
Cash & ATM,Miscellaneous
Check,Miscellaneous
Arts,Entertainment
Music,Entertainment
Movies & DVDs,Entertainment
Newspaper & Magazines,Entertainment
Tuition,Education
Student Loan,Education
Books & Supplies,Education
Clothing,Shopping
Books,Shopping
Electronics & Software,Shopping
Hobbies,Shopping
Sporting Goods,Shopping
Laundry,Personal Care
Hair,Personal Care
Spa & Massage,Personal Care
Dentist,Health & Fitness
Doctor,Health & Fitness
Eye Care,Health & Fitness
Pharmacy,Health & Fitness
Health Insurance,Health & Fitness
Gym,Health & Fitness
Sports,Health & Fitness
Activities,Kids
Allowance,Kids
Baby Supplies,Kids
Babysitter & Daycare,Kids
Child Support,Kids
Toys,Kids
Groceries,Food & Dining
Coffee Shops,Food & Dining
Fast Food,Food & Dining
Restaurants,Food & Dining
Alcohol,Food & Dining
Gift,Gifts & Donations
Charity,Gifts & Donations
Deposit,Investments
Withdrawal,Investments
Dividends & Cap Gains,Investments
Buy,Investments
Sell,Investments
Television,Bills & Utilities
Home Phone,Bills & Utilities
Internet,Bills & Utilities
Mobile Phone,Bills & Utilities
Utilities,Bills & Utilities
Gas & Fuel,Auto & Transport
Parking,Auto & Transport
Service & Auto Parts,Auto & Transport
Auto Payment,Auto & Transport
Auto Insurance,Auto & Transport
Air Travel,Travel
Hotel,Travel
Rental Car & Taxi,Travel
Vacation,Travel
Service Fee,Fees & Charges
Late Fee,Fees & Charges
Finance Charge,Fees & Charges
ATM Fee,Fees & Charges
Bank Fee,Fees & Charges
Commissions,Fees & Charges
Advertising,Business Services
Office Supplies,Business Services
Printing,Business Services
Shipping,Business Services
Legal,Business Services
Federal Tax,Taxes
State Tax,Taxes
Local Tax,Taxes
Sales Tax,Taxes
Property Tax,Taxes
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