The many benefits that apps offer students can’t be overstated. This week, HealthyU turns its attention to the many apps available that help students stay thrifty with their cash. The apps included can help you budget, take advantage of free options for travel, music, and even banking, and all of the apps won’t cost students a cent.
So if you’re not sold yet on apps, now is the time to try them out. And if you are an app-user already, still be on the lookout for these six new and/or recently improved apps that promise to help you have a successful 2015 in this edition of App-ly Yourself.
Every student listens to music. But if you’re still paying for songs or searching them one by one when you want to listen to them, it’s time to upgrade. The popular website Soundcloud has recently refined its app to make getting new (and free) music a breeze, rather than the pricey ordeal it used to be.
The app allows students to make playlists for any occasion from unwinding to studying, and makes it easy to discover new music by connecting you with friends to share music on a Facebook-like feed.
Want to make a big leap into the future this year? Well, Simple is one of the most millennial-geared futuristic apps of 2015, and can help you save money on fees and over-spending by actually becoming your bank. That’s right, an app to replace your bank. The FDIC-insured app for up to $250,000 of savings/checking anticipates users’ bills, spending habits, and the budget they enter.
The app makes sure you always know what is safe to spend and withholds savings from your “grand total” when you tell it to. The app has been called by The New York Times “a financial service for people fed up with banks,” and one of the “15 best financial sites and apps” by CNN Money.
Wish you could iMessage, Android message or WiFi-call all your friends no matter what brand of phone they have so you can avoid racking up data or using up valuable minutes? Viber lets you do just that. The long-established free messaging app now lets users seamlessly take phone calls on their phone and transfer them onto their computer so you can talk for free no matter what you’re doing.
The app is also ideal for international or travelling students, as the app knows no borders and is free and usable wherever there’s an internet connection, no matter where you’re trying to call or text.
Did you make a resolution this New Year to eat healthier? How about spend less money on food? Eat out less? If you answered yes to any of those, this is your app. Pepperplate centralizes everything food, allowing students to import some of their favorite healthy recipes from online or enter them on their own.
The app also can help you form a shopping list, plan your menu for the week or month so that you don’t have to resort to going out, and even has a few handy kitchen timers and recipe-displayers for when cooking.
Paying for parking can be expensive, and often times finding parking is hard enough. But on the other hand, getting around with public transportation can be just as stressful. Not anymore.
Transit is an app that consolidates every form of transportation in your area, from where busses are in their routes to subway times to Uber locations and even bike-share services. The app is also useful for travelers, as it has now expanded to include 87 metropolitan areas.
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