Technology That Will Help You Budget Whilst Studying At University
Technology That Will Help You Budget Whilst Studying At University
Attending university can be one of the happiest times of your life, until you suddenly find yourself $20,000 in debt at the end of it. As a student, you’re faced with daily decisions ranging from which English course to take to how many clubs to join. Budgeting often comes last on a list of student priorities simply because college is a carefree time of exploration and achievement. However, if you don’t learn to budget, then you may end up with an insurmountable mountain of debt after four years. And because you didn’t budget in college, you probably won’t pick up the habit afterwards. Fortunately, technology exists to help you plan a budget and stay on track. The following guide offers some basic technology that you can incorporate into your daily life to help you keep track of your finances while at university.
Smartphone Apps
Smartphones might be pricey, but many free apps exist to help you create and manage a budget. One way to save some money is to ask your parents or friends if they’d be willing to split a mobile phone bill. If you sign up as a family and share minutes, then you can save some money on your phone bill and still take advantage of great budgeting apps. One great example of a smartphone budgeting app is Mint. This app syncs directly to all of your financial institutions and investment portfolios, and it even tracks all of your debt and anything else you might have stored away somewhere. This comprehensive financial app works on all operating systems, and the app also syncs to the Mint website so your information is updated regularly.
Discount Websites
Amazon, eBay and Textbooks.com will become your new best friends. Some universities offer buy-back programs that essentially allow students to rent textbooks for the term and then sell them back at the end. You only receive a certain percentage back depending on the quality of the book and whether it’s been requested for subsequent terms by the professor. All in all, buy-back programs are useful but not as cost-effective as discount websites like Amazon, which sells textbooks for significantly cheaper than retail stores. Amazon also runs specials sometimes that allow students to take advantage of Prime membership for free. Prime gives you free two-day shipping on eligible products as well as access to thousands of online streaming content like books, movies and music. Take advantage of discount websites to save hundreds on entertainment and textbooks.
On top of the stresses already produced by attending university, the bonus headache of planning a budget and sticking to it can be overwhelming. Using the technology outlined above can not only reduce your stress but save you time and money, two precious resources while you’re in school. Given that on average, U.S. students will have $27,000 in debt by the time they graduate, you’ll be glad that you saved some money by incorporating technology into your budget.
Isaac writes for Richmond Uni, Richmond have started a new fashion marketing degree program which you can learn more about at Richmond.ac.uk
