College is expensive. According to the Institute for College Access & Success, the graduating class of 2012 carried an average student debt of $29,400. Depending on the institution, the average debt a student accumulated after a bachelor degree ranged from $4,450 to $49,450.
That’s just the tuition loans — not to mention additional costs paid out of pocket like that Apple (AAPL) iPhone or the annual Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox Live membership fees.
However, while that smartphone might seem like a costly extravagance, in reality it can pay for itself and be the key to cutting a chunk off the debt burden students face. How?
A smartphone (or tablet) can so much more than a luxury item for playing games and following Twitter (TWTR). Our list of 6 Money Saving Apps for College Students recommends mobile apps that can turn handheld devices into cost-cutting machines.
6 Money Saving Apps for College Students: RedLaser
Amazon’s (AMZN) new Fire Phone isn’t the only game in town when it comes to scanning products and comparison shopping.
RedLaser is a free app for your iPhone, Android or Windows smartphone. Go to a store, scan the bar code on a package and RedLaser will look up prices online so you know if you’re getting a good deal or not.
RedLaser budget how much money you’re spending whether you buy the good deals it helps you find or not.
6 Money-Saving Apps for College Students: Amazon PriceCheck
Similar to RedLaser, but this one is an Amazon product. Plus, PriceCheck also supports voice and text input.
Of course, that means the products you scan are compared only against Amazon’s prices, but you can complete the purchase right from the app. If you have free Amazon Prime shipping to take advantage of, even better.
PriceCheck is cheaper than buying a Fire Phone.
6 Money Saving Apps for College Students: Mint
In order to save money, it helps to know how you’re currently spending your money.
Mint is a free app from Inuit (INTU) that helps you set a budget, track spending (it can be linked to your bank accounts), compare that to your goals, and it can even make suggestions on how to save money.
This budget and spending-tracking app deserves a place on every student’s smartphone.
6 Money Saving Apps for College Students: Trivago
Spring break! Big fun, but big bucks…
Luckily, Trivago promises to save you money when it comes to booking those trips to sunny beach destinations.
Plenty of other websites and services offer discounted hotel rooms, but Trivago takes the step of scouring all of these — 204 booking websites in all — and comes back with the best overall price.
That doesn’t seem fair somehow, but no one can complain about an affordable spring break!
6 Money Saving Apps for College Students: Groupon
Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.
That’s the premise behind Groupon (GRPN).
The daily deal app tracks thousands of deals — including ones specific to your local area. You have to pay money upfront, but in return, you get a significant discount on the product or service.
Deals expire after a set period (usually 90 days), but using the Groupon app can easily earn you 50% discounts for restaurants, clothing, fitness classes, travel and tons of other things students might be interested in.
6 Money Saving Apps for College Students: GasBuddy
While most students rely on public transportation or bicycles, the massive parking lots on most college campuses say there are still a lot of students with cars.
When it comes to operating a car, one of the biggest expenses is gas — unless you somehow lucked into a Tesla (TSLA).
For everyone else, GasBuddy is well worth the download. The app tracks gas prices near your location in real time so you always fill up at the best price.
As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
