As college students, money seems to slip through our hands pretty quickly. Every time we look at our bank accounts, our smiles drop a little (ok, maybe a lot), and we wonder where our last paycheck went. Then we remember going out to dinner, buying that new pair of shoes, and taking one too many trips to Starbucks.
We’re broke college students, and while that may be a reality, it certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t attempt to build a small savings. For me personally, I’ve found that using budget apps, like Mint, are extremely helpful for keeping track of my spending, and they’ve enabled me to save money in a lot of different ways!
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Budget apps connect directly to your bank account, so they’re updated as you spend money with a debit card or withdraw/add money from an account. It’s such a simple process, and believe me, you will definitely thank yourself later if you download one of these apps. Most of them (including Mint) are free!
While you can create a budget with almost anything, including a scrap piece of paper, it can be very easy to exceed the maximum or even possibly forget about it. But with apps like Mint, you’re reminded of how much you’ve spent and how much you have left in your budget for any particular month, so it helps you stay on track with your goals.
Perhaps the greatest part about these apps, though, is that you can break down your budget by category, which enables you to visualize where you’re spending your money. If you see that it consists mostly of necessities like gas, grocery shopping, amenities, etc., you know that you’re spending your money wisely. However, if all of your money is going to entertainment, you have the ability to rethink your spending habits.
For these reasons and many more, budget apps contain endless features that help college students like us manage our money, and they allow us to feel like we’re making progress toward a more financially stable future just by taking this first step. So, whether you feel confident about your finances or you feel like you have no clue what’s going on, creating a budget for yourself is always a good option!
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