How to Manage Money in College: Effective Solutions
BY SYLVIA KOHL
Contrary to a popular belief, it’s not only economists who have to learn all the ins and outs of money management. Being aware and responsible with your funds is the basis of financial success, and you should start learning all about this from a young age. This guide on how to manage money in college and overview of the tools that can help you will help you make wise financial decisions from the very start of your independent life.
How to Manage Money in College: Step-by-Step
There are a variety of guides on student money management and they usually boil down to:
- Create a budget.
- Use student privileges such as special discounts.
- Apply for scholarships or grants if possible.
- Get a part-time job to pay for extra expenses.
- Plan large expenses in advance.
- Look for discounts and special offers to help you save money.
- Pay your bills on time to avoid the accumulation of debts and paying extra charges.
The great news for those who learn how to manage money in college today is that there are a variety of solutions to help you with all the tasks mentioned above. The most effective of them are:
Mint for Budgeting
Creating a budget is essential for a student as it allows you to manage your funds most effectively. The question is how do you do this?
Mint is an app that makes budgeting truly easy. You just need to connect it to your bank and it will provide you with effective prompts on how to create an efficient budget. This app is considered to be one of the best among its class and it’s one of the most secure solutions available. It uses the same security as banks and will alert you to any unusual charges.
Due for Business Payments Management
If you are like the thousands of students who start making extra money by building a business right from college, Due is going to be your best helper when it comes to managing online payments. This solution is extra efficient and has the transaction fee of only 2.7%, both for domestic and international credit cards.
Due allows you to keep track of all invoices and pending payments, which is a huge help for freelancers. The solution is universally effective for any kind of business. It can help you avoid using complex accounting and billing software.
Shopkick for Smart Shopping
No ‘how to manage money in college’ guide can go without the advice to use any advantage to get the best deal on every product. Shopkick is the app that allows you to do this. It will help you find the best deals from a variety of stores as well as earn points when buying. The points can be transformed to gift cards that will save you money in the future.
RetailMeNot for Coupons
RetailMeNot is another money-saving app that provides you with the best coupons for any kind of store, including popular restaurants. Finding the deals is easy and you just need to show the coupon on your smartphone screen when paying to get the desired discount. You can discover coupons on the go as the app will provide you with alerts on deals in your area.
Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 7 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and beta-testing. This writer chose news about the increasing role of IT usage in colleges and schools as the most common topic for her articles.
