MONEY MATTERS

Budgeting for Students

Tap to learn smarter spending, saving, and budgeting while still in school.

Many people don’t get a handle on their money until late in life. But by making strategic decisions while still a student, you can set yourself up for a successful future—even if you’re working on a philosophy degree.

Simplify banking

‣ We won’t say which ones, but some banks have been known to charge hefty fees for ambiguous reasons. Simple is a technology-first bank with no fees and no physical branches. Everything can be done online or in the app, including deposits and transfers.

Simple helps you set budgets and keep spending on track.

The service makes it easy to create budgets, set up savings goals, and understand how much of your money is “Safe to Spend.” Your Simple-issued Visa card is also accepted at more than 50,000 ATMs across the country, so if you need cash, you’re covered.

Avoid overdraft fees

‣ An overdraft can happen for all kinds of reasons. Maybe you accidentally used the wrong card to get groceries or forgot that the electric bill was put on auto-pay. With that mistake comes a fee, making a bad situation even worse.

Dave can lend you a few bucks to avoid overdraft fees.

Dave wants to make sure this never happens to you. After you sign up for the $1-per-month membership, link your checking accounts, and enter your recurring bills, Dave will alert you to any potential overdrafts he sees coming. And Dave’s a pretty chill bear—he’s happy to lend up to $75 so you don’t dip into the red.

Split bills evenly

‣ Students with multiple roommates can struggle to keep track of shared household bills and expenses. With Splitwise, set up groups of friends and quickly split anything from rent to movie tickets.

Make sure everyone pays their fair share of bills, grocery expenses, and more with Splitwise.

The app can automatically divide a cost evenly among the group; it also lets you specify exact amounts for each person. When you’re ready, reimburse one another with Venmo or PayPal and balances will be reflected in the app.

Plan large purchases

‣ You may find yourself needing to make a big purchase—a flight to visit a relative, furniture for your new apartment, or maybe a new outfit for a job interview. 

And you won’t always want to put that sum on a credit card. For those cases, Afterpay allows you to pay your purchases off over time in four equal payments, interest-free.

Chip away at student loans

‣ If you’re like most college students, you’ve had to take out a student loan or two to pay for your education. Chipper helps you start paying those off even before you graduate.

Chipper helps you pay down your student loans a few cents at a time.

By rounding up to the nearest dollar on everyday transactions and putting the difference toward a loan account, a student with a $37,500 loan could save $6,200 and shave four years off their repayment timeline, according to Chipper.