Managing your money can be difficult, however there are dozens of apps available to help simplify this – and best of all, many of these are absolutely free!
So if the idea of sitting down with your bank statements and a spreadsheet brings you out in a cold sweat, look for an app instead.
Here’s a few that you could try*:
Plum analyses your income and spending patterns to help you save – and you can even use it to invest too!
Cleo is described as an ‘AI pal’ who helps you to budget and save by providing personalised updates, graphs and insights into your spending.
O2 Overpayment Calculator can help check to see if you are overpaying for your phone on your current plan and contract. You could potentially save hundreds of pounds annually and its all just a few clicks away.
Money Dashboard can be used to track spending and plan towards specific goals (e.g. repaying debts, buying a house, going on holiday, etc)
If you have debts you want to clear, Pariti can help by connecting to your bank account(s) to show what you can safely spend each week, setting aside any spare change for repayments.
Reduce housemate friction with Splitwise to help split bills and track IOUs
If you’re consistently overdrawn, Chip can help by calculating and then stashing away money that you can afford to save – so you can kiss the overdraft goodbye.
For further ideas, Save The Student have rounded up a list of their 16 best money-saving apps, as well as 16 essential apps for student life.
If you’d rather use a laptop than your phone, the Student calculator can help with keeping track of your cash
If you’re thinking about trying an app-only bank, Money Saving Expert have a useful guide to digital current and savings accounts.
Budgeting has come a long way from using a pen, some paper and a calculator – if you find managing your money a chore, there are plenty of free smartphone apps around to help. While we can’t guarantee that using one of these will make sticking to your budget any easier, having access to an app on your smartphone may make it easier and quicker to control your spending wherever you go – and you may even be able to save.
Are there any apps that you like that you would recommend to other students? Let us know and we’ll feature them on our blog.
*We recommend that you always check the terms and conditions (‘the small print’) before signing up to any new service
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