Being a broke college student can be hard sometimes. Students want to make plans with friends to go out, but they don’t really have the money.

With a low income and high expenses, it is important to create a budget to see exactly how much money is coming in and how much is going out. Creating a budget can be daunting and rather boring, but there are several applications to make this process easier.

Goodbudget Budget Planner – Expense Tracker & Personal Finance

This is the first free app that shows up in the app store and it is clear why. This is different than some budgeting apps because users don’t have to give any of their personal account information, such as logins and passwords. Instead, users add information manually, this means users must stay on top of their spending.

Goodbudget will show how much users can spend for different categories such as groceries, bills, entertainment, etc. The app also makes it very simple to edit the budget.

Mint: Money Manager, Budget & Personal Finance

Mint is the second free app that appears in the app store, but is probably more well-known. It is easier to manage because users have to connect it to their accounts and it will update the amounts automatically when spending increases. One major perk of this app is that it will remind users when bills are due, so that the users don’t forget to pay them. Also, it displays users’ credit score, cash flow, and advice to help with spending. There are several different charts that are provided that make seeing financials easy and understandable.

Daily Budget Original – Saving is Fun

Daily Budget is very different from the other apps as it is very minimalistic and only shows the information people need or really want to see. The app displays what amount is spent as well as the amount remaining that can be spent. If users choose, they can also see their spending over time, fixed costs, and largest spending areas. There are two versions of this app: the free version or the pro version that costs $7.99. The priced version includes a Dropbox feature, currency support, and the ability to encrypt data before it’s saved online to help keep sensitive information safe.

Whether students want all their financial information at their fingertips or just the bare minimum, these apps will help make saving money easy and fun.

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