26 Personal Finance Tools, Apps, and Resources for College Students

Managing money in college can be overwhelming. The good news is that learning how to manage and budget your money throughout college can help you develop decision-making skills to reach your financial and academic goals, according to the Federal Student Aid Office of the U.S. Department of Education.

Whether you’re looking to save for a large expense or pay down student loan debt, personal finance resources can help you reach these goals.

This guide lists some of the best personal finance apps, tools, websites, and books to assist you in creating and sticking to a budget.

The Importance of Financial Planning for College Students

Financial planning is often seen as something reserved for “future you.” But the sooner you start, the better your long-term financial health will be. Yet only 36% of Americans have a written financial plan, according to Charles Schwab’s Modern Wealth Survey. Many individuals find financial planning too complicated, but the rewards are worth it, with several key benefits including:

• Enhanced confidence: Schwab reports that 96% of people with a plan feel confident they’ll reach their financial goals, while 76% feel more in control of their finances.
• Increased savings: Planning can help you reach your savings goals by prioritizing your expenses and budgeting.
• Helps develop better habits: Schwab notes that financial planning isn’t just about investing but also building safer money and spending habits, such as keeping an emergency fund.

Using a budgeting app can be a great way to get started with your financial planning. These tools provide insights that can help you:

• Improve your financial literacy and awareness
• Easily monitor expenses and progress toward your financial goals through automated tracking
• Simplify your financial management by centralizing your accounts

>> Learn more about Budgeting and Financial Literacy for College Students

How to Choose a Personal Financial Tool

With so many tools and apps available, how do you pick the right one? Here are some factors to consider when choosing a financial tool:

• User experience: Is it easy to navigate?
• Cost: Is it free or paid, and is the price worth the features?
• Security: Does it protect your financial data?
• Compatibility: Can it be used on your devices?
• Account integration: Does it connect with your bank and credit accounts?

Personal Finance Apps

These apps can help you budget, track spending, and build smarter financial habits.

1. Credit Karma is a free platform that allows you to check your credit score and report, offering insights and tools to manage your finances. It also provides access to articles and educational resources.

2. YNAB (You Need a Budget) is a budgeting method and app that promotes proactive financial management by encouraging you to allocate every dollar you earn to a specific purpose. This zero-based budgeting (ZBB) approach can help you understand where your money is going and make informed spending decisions. YNAB offers a free year to college students who provide proof of enrollment.

3. EveryDollar, created by Dave Ramsey, is a personal budget app that helps you manage your finances by implementing a zero-based budgeting approach. This means you allocate every dollar of income to specific categories before the start of the month, ensuring that your income minus expenses equals zero.

4. PocketGuard is a budgeting and personal finance app that helps you track spending, manage debts, and achieve financial goals. It offers a single platform with features such as account linking, spending tracking, debt management strategies, and goal setting.

5. Spendee is a budgeting and expense tracking app that helps you manage your finances by connecting to bank accounts, automatically categorizing transactions, and creating budgets. It offers features such as shared wallets and support for multiple currencies, making it suitable for individuals, couples, and families.

6. Rocket Money is a financial app that helps you manage your finances by tracking spending, creating budgets, managing subscriptions, and potentially negotiating bills. It's a freemium service, offering some features for free and providing paid options for more advanced features.

7. Quicken Simplifi is a personal finance app designed to help you manage your finances simply and intuitively. It offers features for budgeting, tracking spending, setting savings goals, and monitoring investments.

8. Honeydue is a free budgeting and financial management app for couples. It helps you and your partner track your finances together, including bank balances, spending, and bills, while also facilitating communication about your financial goals and habits.

Personal Finance Tools

These web and software tools offer customizable budgeting and tracking features.

9. Google Sheets is a free, web-based spreadsheet application that enables you to create, edit, and share spreadsheets online. It's part of the Google Workspace suite.

10. Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to organize, analyze, and visualize data within a gridlike structure of rows and columns. It's a component of the Microsoft Office suite and is widely used in various industries for tasks such as budgeting, financial analysis, data management, and forecasting.

11. Tiller is a personal finance service that automatically feeds your daily spending, income, and balances into your private Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. It connects to over 21,000 banks and offers customizable templates for tracking your finances.

12. Bankrate Calculators are a collection of online tools offered by Bankrate.com. These tools can help you make informed financial decisions by assisting you with budgeting, comparing borrowing costs, planning for the future, and estimating the value of loans or deposits. They take into account factors such as interest rates, fees, and taxes.

13. Quicken is a personal finance software application designed to help you manage your finances, track spending, create budgets, and plan for the future. It allows you to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and other financial accounts to a central dashboard, making it easier to see a comprehensive view of your financial situation.

14. PocketSmith is a planning tool to help you make better financial decisions by forecasting your future bank balances and giving you intuitive ways to interact with your money. It offers tools and insights to meet your unique needs.

15. Goodbudget is a budgeting app that utilizes the envelope budgeting system — a method where you allocate funds to specific spending categories, or “envelopes,” at the beginning of the month. It allows you to manage your finances by planning your spending rather than just tracking it.

16. Trim by OneMain™ is a financial service that can help you save money through various automated features. These features include subscription tracking and cancellation, bill negotiation, and spending analysis. Trim connects to your financial accounts to analyze transactions, identify subscriptions, and provide recommendations for savings.

Personal Finance Websites

These websites offer free tips, tools, and deep dives on money topics.

17. Federal Student Aid is an official U.S. government website providing information on how to apply for and manage federal student loans. The website breaks down different types of student loans and explains who is eligible for financial aid.

18. NerdWallet compares the pros and cons of different credit cards, insurance companies, banks, and more. In addition to their comparison tools, NerdWallet publishes in-depth articles on topics such as saving and building your credit score.

19. Financial Literacy Resource Directory is a comprehensive, free U.S. database designed to help individuals and educators access resources and information related to financial literacy. It covers many topics, including budgeting, saving, investing, and fraud prevention. This directory is a central hub for learning about and improving financial knowledge and skills.

20. Investopedia is a global financial media website providing investment dictionaries, advice, reviews, ratings, and comparisons of financial products, such as securities accounts.

21. Money Under 30 is a personal finance website that provides news, advice, and recommendations about managing money. It offers guidance on topics such as debt management, budgeting, and building wealth.

22. Money Crashers is a financial education blog covering everything you need to know about money management, including reducing your debt and making long-term investments.

23. The Penny Hoarder is a personal finance website offering advice on making and saving money, focusing on unique job opportunities, personal stories, and freebies.

Personal Finance Books: The Best of 2025

These books offer insight, inspiration, and step-by-step strategies.

24. Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche is a 10-step plan for finding peace, safety, and harmony with your money.

25. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel presents 19 stories that explore the ways people think about money and teach you how to make better sense of finances.

26. Finance for the People by Paco de Leon is an illustrated guide to navigating your financial life — no matter your financial situation.

Learn How to Save Money as a College Student

Purdue Global is committed to helping its students find ways to save on tuition. From tuition reduction opportunities to our tuition and fee finder tool, we’re focused on making paying for school as painless as possible. Visit our financial aid and tuition page to learn more.

Request information about our online programs today, and take the first step toward a positive financial future.

Please Note:
The contents of this blog are presented for informational purposes only and are not to be relied upon for financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author(s) and are not attributable to Purdue Global. Any reference to a product or service does not constitute an endorsement by Purdue Global.