It’s no secret college students aren’t usually the wealthiest demographic. Combine that with the fact that many will be living completely on their own in five years or less and it becomes clear learning to save and budget one’s money at this age is vital.
Fortunately, a variety of apps are available that can help college students save money, create budgets and plan for the future. Here are a few of the options available.
Available as both online and as an app, RetailMeNot offers hundreds of thousands of digital coupons, making it the world’s largest digital coupon source. The service offers coupons from a variety of stores and restaurants, including Sephora, Starbucks, Best Buy and Nike. The app allows users to save coupons for later use and bookmark their favorite stores, and it sends notifications when there are deals nearby and when coupons are about to expire. The coupons can also be used directly through mobile phones, eliminating the need to print them out.
BillTracker provides a tool for users to keep track of all of their bills, including due dates, the amount due, whether or not the bills are automatically paid, confirmation numbers for payments and more. The app creates a calendar with every due date on it and sends notifications when a bill’s due date is approaching or has passed. It also keeps a record of all previous bills and payments.
Publix, like many other popular chain grocery stores, offers a mobile app allowing users to create grocery lists, view sales and specials and access coupons. The Publix app features the store’s weekly ad, which is customized based on the user’s preferred location.
This comprehensive personal finance app provides a central location for users to manage all of their accounts, including checking, savings, 401k and credit cards. Mint automatically records and categorizes every transaction, creating charts and graphs to help users see where they are spending the most money. From there, the app helps users create a budget to cut down on spending, offering suggestions on how to distribute incoming money between checking and savings accounts.
Offering deals of up to 90 percent off, popular online discount service Groupon is also available as an app. The service offers deals on everything from restaurants to concert tickets, exercise classes, online courses, vacation packages and more. Users can use coupons directly through the app without having to print anything out.
The GasBuddy app uses user-submitted gas price information to help users find the cheapest gas near them. Additionally, for every gas price a user reports, they are entered to win the daily prize of $100 worth of gas.