So if you want to handle the rising costs of your higher education effectively, you need to develop a strong level of financial literacy. You can reduce post-graduation debt with wise money management. And even save money for a vacation with your friends.
This guide will give you lists of personal finance resources, including mobile apps, particular articles of interest, desktop software, finance blogs, and many more.
Let’s begin.
Apps And Software
EveryDollar
Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey created this budgeting app. It follows the baby steps approach to track and save money. You can assign each dollar to a savings account or one of eight categories to determine how you spend over time.
You can adjust to keep yourself on track toward achieving your goals. For example, if you want to automatically connect your credit card and bank accounts or input transactions, you pay an annual fee of $99.
Mint
Mint is a free app available on Android and Apple that helps you monitor and pay bills, check credit scores, manage budgets, receive alerts, and many more. The app is for general use, but it’s pretty helpful for student budget management.
Also, you can visit the Mint blog for more advice on personal finance.
Budgeting 101
Budgeting 101 is in-depth information from Greenpath financial wellness website on budgeting. It shows you the ins and outs of budgeting, setting goals, separating needs from wants, tracking expenses, etc.
The information is pretty helpful for anyone who wants to manage their funds, including college students.
Sites, Blogs, And Articles
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
This website is a highly-respected financial advice site by Ramit Sethi. He’s a bestselling author of a book with the site’s name, “I Will Teach You To Be Rich.” Sethi is also a personal finance consultant, and the site contains lots of helpful financial tools, including paid courses.
Money Crashers
Money Crashers provides general advice on finances. But they also offer numerous relevant articles for college students such as saving and investing for college, saving money during college, student loan forgiveness, searching for financial aid, etc.
NerdWallet
This website provides personal finance-related topics, tools, resources for credit cards, tracking spending, earning interest, etc. In addition, you can even get beneficial loan forgiveness like PSLF and other essentials that can help you in college.
WiseBread
WiseBread has plenty of articles on finance before, during, and after college. All you need to do is search for “College” in the search form and learn away!
Books, Tips, Book Search, And Lessons
40 Money Management Tips – Collin College
Collin College offers a detailed guide on money management tips for first-year college students. It includes ways to cut expenses, saving and investing money, etc.
Top 15 Online Jobs For College Students – Student Loans Resolved
Student Loans Resolved provides an extensive article on ways to get online jobs while in college. It’s an excellent way to earn extra money and direct them towards your student loans if you have any.
BookFinder
BookFinder is a search tool that helps you find particular textbooks and books, including rare, used, old, and out-of-print editions. These books are compiled from thousands of booksellers, and it includes comparison features to choose the best price.
BookDeal.com
This bookselling site makes it easy for you to sell your textbooks and get your money back, at least, most of it. And the process is pretty straightforward: type in your book’s ISBN, choose your quote and ship the books for free.
When the company gets your package, you get paid. So it can be an excellent way to fund your textbooks for the subsequent courses.
Conclusion
Many college students find it a pretty daunting process to establish a financial plan. However, if you can push through, it can help your college life and significantly improve your economic life in the future.
Use the resources in this guide to get started. Remember: create a budget, develop healthy financial habits, set realistic goals, invest extra money, and don’t make unnecessary or impulse purchases.
Good luck!
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