Ray for College Students
Your first budget, without the lecture
Part-time income, student loans, and zero financial education. Ray helps you build real money habits before you graduate.
The challenge
Never budgeted before
You know you should have a budget but don't know where to start. Categories, percentages, and rules of thumb feel arbitrary when you make $800 a month.
Student loans are abstract
You signed promissory notes for numbers that didn't feel real. Now you have $34k in loans and no idea what that actually means for your life after graduation.
Irregular part-time income
Your hours change every week. Some months you work 25 hours, others 10. Consistent budgeting is impossible when your paycheck is a moving target.
Building credit from zero
You got a student credit card but aren't sure how much to use it, when to pay, or how any of it affects the credit score you don't have yet.
How Ray helps
A budget that matches your actual income
Ray looks at what you actually earn and spend, then suggests a simple budget based on your real numbers, not some influencer's 50/30/20 rule.
❯ create a budget based on what I actually spendStudent loan reality check
Ray calculates what your loans will actually cost after graduation — monthly payment, total interest, payoff timeline — so you can plan before it hits.
❯ what will my student loan payments look like after graduation?Spending awareness without shame
Ray shows you where your money goes without moralizing about it. See the data, decide for yourself.
❯ where did my money go this month?Credit card coaching
Ray tracks your credit utilization and payment timing. It flags when you're carrying a balance or getting close to a utilization threshold.
❯ what's my credit card utilization right now?You're a sophomore working part-time at a coffee shop. You made $720 this month but spent $680, mostly on food and going out. You have $34k in student loans accumulating interest.
❯ I barely have any money left this month. Am I doing something wrong?
You earned $720 and spent $680 — that's $40 left, which is tight but not unusual for a part-time student. Here's where it went: $310 dining out and delivery, $140 groceries, $120 subscriptions, $110 other. The dining number stands out — that's 46% of your income. If you shifted half of those meals to groceries, you'd save roughly $100/month. Over the school year, that's $900 toward an emergency fund. Your $34k in loans are accruing about $130/month in interest right now — you can't change that yet, but building even a small buffer now will matter a lot at graduation.
Explore more
Ray for New Grads
Student loans, a 401k you don't understand, and more money than you've ever had. Ray helps you make the right moves in year one.
Ray for Freelancers
Irregular paychecks, quarterly taxes, and feast-or-famine cycles make traditional budgeting tools useless. Ray works with your actual cash flow patterns.