Free apps to manage your finances

We know it’s hard to keep track of your spending when you’re at uni.

It’s never fun to think about it and you can always find something better to do than go through your finances.

However, spending all your money in the first few weeks only means crawling your way to the end of term, missing all the parties and nights out simply because you can’t afford them.

You can try an online budget calculator (this UCAS one is pretty good) to get an idea of how much you have and if you need any extra money, but we all know that most tasks can be made easy with the download of an app...

Try out the apps below and see which one suits you best. Remember, if you track your spending properly, you may never need to say ‘no’ to a night out (unless you want to, of course).

1. Wally – available on Android and iOS

Wally is a great tool to manage your finances as it splits your expenses into different categories (clothes, transportation, going out etc.). When you enter an expense the app will use geo-locations to guess where you are and connect your expense to that location. You can constantly review your spending by week, month, or year to see if you’re over budget. Pretty useful to spot where you need to cut back.

2. Toshl Finance – available on Android and iOS

Similar to Wally, Toshl Finance lets you put it your total income and expenses.  The app can show you how much disposable income you've got left. You also have the ability to repeat expenses and incomes, so it's far less time consuming than you might think. What's different about Toshl is that it also has tools to evaluate your spending habits and remind you when bills are due!

3. Goodbudget – available on desktop, Android and iOS

Goodbudget is an app based on the 'envelope budgeting method'. It divides your cash into 'envelopes' with money for different things. You need to set a budget for how much you want to spend on groceries, transport, social events (whatever you want, really). Then, Goodbudget will help you keep track of how close you are to the maximum amount that you have set (and let you know when you've gone overboard!).

4. ATM Hunter – available on Android and iOS

Not actually a budgeting app, but it's pretty useful! When you move to your new town or city, you're probably going to be running around looking for a cash machine at least once. ATM Hunter solves that problem and uses your location to find the nearest one. It will also tell you which ones have extra charges and which don’t. If you'd rather use your own bank's ATM, you can filter for this as well. Handy!​