College students, you’ve got to get a budget. We know it’s tough. We know you’re busy and have a lot going on. But if you want to be successful in college—and to stay on track with your finances—you should start thinking about your spending habits now. The good news is that there are tons of the best budgeting apps for college students—free and paid options.
In this blog, we shall discuss the best budgeting apps for college students that will help you keep track of all your finances and help you save money.
What if there were an app that made keeping track of your money easy? What if there was an app that could help you learn how to manage your money better? We’ve picked out our top picks below, so look at what they offer and get started today. Don’t hesitate to register for our continuous free financial tips.
The 7 Best Budgeting Apps for College Students
College is a time of change and transition, and keeping up with your finances can be hard. That’s why we’ve made this list of the best budgeting apps for college students. If you are not budgeting your income, you are making a huge financial mistake that will lead to irresponsible living.
1. Digit
Digit is a budgeting app that college students can rely on for their money budgeting. It’s among the best budgeting apps for college students that will help you be a responsible young adult. One thing you’ll like about the Digit app is that it budgets, saves, and invests for you.
Once you open the app, they’ll show you your balances and whether spending is safe. In addition, this app moves money for bills like rent, food, or subscriptions in one place.
Digit app saves money on your behalf after calculating the best amount to save each day, weekly or monthly. The app brags about helping its members to save more than $7 million since 2015.
It keeps track of all your spending habits so you can see where you’re going wrong in your finances, whether it’s eating out too much or buying clothes at the wrong time of year.
You can also use Digit’s tools to find ways to invest money in long-term financial and retirement plans.
With this app, you can track your expenses, set goals, and get real-time alerts on how much money you’ve spent. The best part? You can get the Digit app for only $5 per month.
2. EveryDollar: Best budgeting app for college students
The EveryDollar budgeting app has a good reputation for helping people( including college students) to manage their finances. This app is among the best free budgeting apps for college students to help you manage your money responsibly. The good thing about this app is that you start with the free version and later upgrade to the premium at $12.99/month or $79.99/year.
This app helps you set your savings goals to save money for future emergencies. Isn’t that good? You don’t have to miss an exam due to unpaid fees because the savings kit by EveryDollar will cover you.
This app alerts you whenever your bills are due. You don’t have to stay behind on your payments again. Most Reddit users recommend the EveryDollar app to be the best budgeting app for college students Reddit.
The premium account can sync transactions from over 10,000 connected banks. They will also suggest budgeting recommendations according to your income.
3. Personal Capital
If You want to be somewhere with your finances, the PersonalCapital app will help you budget your college funds accurately.
Personal Capital is among the best free budgeting apps for students that lets you keep track of all your expenses, set goals and earn rewards, and link all your accounts and financial accounts to ensure you’re always getting the best value out of your money.
Using the debt-income ratio, the app can calculate your net worth with a free calculator.
4. GoodBudget
GoodBudget is a budgeting app for students that allows you to use the envelope method in classifying your bills. For instance, you could have an envelope for groceries, rent, loan repayment, or other expenses. This app helps you allocate funds for each envelope such that you can spend without touching your debit or credit card.
The good thing is that this budgeting app notifies you whenever your bills are due. That helps you stay on time with your payments.
GoodBudget app also allows you to save money for bigger purchases and pay your debts.
You can get a free version of the GoodBudget app or subscribe with $8 per month or $70 per year for premium services.
5. Mint: Best budgeting app for college students
Mint is among the best budgeting apps for college students that helps you track all your finances. As a college student, this app will be an excellent choice to help you learn money management procedures early. You can sync your accounts such that you see your balances on the Mint budgeting app.
This app shows you your credit score so you can know where you stand in your credit history. In addition, with the Mint app, you can save money for future use or for emergencies. The app categorizes your transactions to ensure you spend what you should at the right time.
Mint Sights shows you how much you should spend, invest and save according to your income flow. The app shows your net worth if you wish to take a loan or invest further. The good thing is that this app is free.
6. DollarBird: Best budgeting app for college students
DollarBird is among the best budgeting apps for college students that help create and track income. Although it isn’t free to use DollarBird, it’s among the cheapest Budgeting apps with exceptional features. With a budget of $3.33 per month or 39.99 per year, you can access a pro plan for the app.
DollarBird lets you track all your past, present, and future expenses. That way, you’ll be sure where your money is heading. Therefore, you can manage your expenses to save money for future purchases.
The app calculates and shows you your daily balance and where your money goes. The good thing about the app is that you can manage your finances with your partner since you can add them. That will be an easy way to manage family accounts.
Get the DollarBird app to change your financial journey for the better.
7. Wally
With the Wally budgeting app, you can link all your bank accounts to see the available funds on all your accounts. Wally is a free app that will help you manage all your money in one place.
The Wally app is among the best budgeting apps for college students that makes it easy for you to track all of your expenses and earnings—no matter where they come from—and see how much money is left over each month. It’s also got some great features, like a breakdown of each expense or income category’s overall impact on your financial situation.
The app will help you plan your expenses and save more money. With categories, you can allocate funds for each expense like groceries, rent, car fuel, etc.
The app gives you real-time updates on how you are spending your money. That helps you learn early about any overspending and curb it.
How to Get the Best Out of Budgeting Apps for College Students
College students can get the best out of these budgeting apps. For instance, college student can manage their student loan to account for every coin they get. They can also include money from their side hustles that help supplement their stay in college.
The best ways to do that include:
- Setting up a monthly budget will help you spend money within your income level. As a student, you don’t have to take more loans apart from student loans.
- Be realistic about what you spend. Of course, a budget app will not restrict you from spending less. It will only advise you on how to spend. You take it or leave it. You can see some tips you can use to save money when shopping online.
- Ensure you have enough money for food, housing, and other necessities. You can achieve that by working online with your phone to supplement your parent’s/ guardian’s tips.
- Track your spending to see where your money is going. The budgeting app will help you achieve your financial plans if you follow what it shows.
You can use budgeting apps, free or paid to help you be a responsible young adult.
Budgeting Tips for College Students
- Record every expense in detail (and include receipts).
You’ll want to keep track of your purchases and expenses to accurately determine if you’re spending more than you should be. The best budgeting apps for college students will help you in this keep track of all your expenses.
- Ensure you have a savings account.
If you don’t already have one, start one now—and make sure it has enough money in it to cover at least six months of living expenses! This way, if something unexpected happens, like a loss of income or an increase in tuition fees, your savings will still be there.
- Don’t forget about taxes.
If your parents contribute enough money towards your education (and if they pay some back after graduation), then they can get a tax credit that helps offset part of the cost of their tuition fees from being taxed at a lower rate than other people earning higher salaries who don’t pay as much into social security taxes because they’re not
- Always track your finances.
You don’t want to be that person who is always struggling to pay their bills on time, and you don’t want to find yourself in debt just because you didn’t think about money.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I budget as a college student?
Budgeting while in college is the only way to be responsible for your money when you complete school. You can try planning earlier for the money you get from side hustles and your parents. A free budgeting app can help you keep track of all your money.
- What are the common ways college students pay for their fees?
- A work-study programs
- Student loans
- Government grants
- Scholarships
- Savings
- Which budgeting app is free for college students?
The Mint app is a good choice if you dont have money to pay for a budgeting app.
The Bottom Line
College is a time of great change for many. You’re learning to live independently and will be responsible for much more than your living expenses. Therefore, take advantage of the best budgeting apps for college students
It’s harder when you’re trying to keep your expenses low and ensure that you have enough money for the most important things in life. So if budgeting interests you, check out our list of the best budgeting app for college students.
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Comment below for any other excellent app we may have left behind. We appreciate your feedback.
