Financial Literacy: The best budgeting apps for students

Managing personal finances can be a challenge for students juggling tuition, living expenses and the desire to save money. With limited income and mounting expenses, budgeting is key to staying on track.

Budgeting apps offer a practical solution by helping students track spending, set financial goals, and manage money more effectively. These apps provide a range of features —from expense tracking to bill reminders — designed to simplify the budgeting process.

You Need a Budget (YNAB)

You Need a Budget (YNAB) is an app that promotes financial planning by focusing on future budgeting rather than tracking past expenses. The app follows a zero-based budgeting system, meaning every dollar you earn is assigned to a category such as spending, savings or debt repayment.

YNAB also offers educational resources to help users master budgeting. It syncs with your checking and savings accounts, credit cards and loans. It is available on mobile, desktop and even Alexa.

While this app requires a commitment, costing $14.99 per month or $109 per year, college students can take advantage of a free one-year subscription, making it a great option if you are looking to get serious about managing your finances.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard is another great option, offering. a simple, easy-to-navigate approach to budgeting. The app automatically links bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments to track bills and expenses.

PocketGuard also shows you your disposable income after paying necessary expenses and saving. It also tracks your net worth and allows you to manually input your financial data if you prefer not to link your accounts.

The basic version of PocketGuard is free to all users, but they also offer a premium subscription, PocketGuard Plus. The upgrade unlocks additional features like the ability to export transactions. However, PocketGuard’s free version provides plenty of helpful tools. PocketGuard Plus costs $12.99 a month or $74.99 per year.

Goodbudget

Lastly, the app Goodbudget takes a unique approach to budgeting by focusing on planning for future expenses rather than tracking past transactions.

It uses the envelope budgeting system, where you can allocate your income into specific categories (or envelopes) for different spending areas. Unlike other apps, Goodbudget won’t connect to your bank accounts. Instead, you can manually input your account balances, cash amounts, debts and incomes, then assign the money to the envelopes.

Goodbudget is available on both mobile and web platforms, offering helpful articles and videos to guide users. They have a free version, which provides one account, two devices, and a limited number of envelopes. However, they have a premium version, costing $10 a month or $80 for the year.

Takeaways

Budgeting apps are essential tools students can utilize to take charge of their finances, offering a variety of features to cater to different budgeting preferences and styles.

Whether you prefer YNAB's hands-on approach, PocketGuard's automated convenience, or Goodbudget's envelope method, there’s an app for managing your money more effectively.

Each app offers unique benefits and free versions for students. By selecting the right app for your financial goals, you can build healthier financial habits and set yourself up for future success.