Overview
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This free course, Managing my money, allows you to gain the skills to manage your personal finances: managing budgets, debts, investments, property purchase, pensions and insurance.
Syllabus
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- Week1Week 1: Financial planning and the life course
- Introduction
- 1.1 The economic backdrop
- 1.1.1 The life course
- 1.1.2 The life course game
- 1.1.3 Your life plan
- 1.1.4 Starting your financial plan
- 1.1.5 Prioritising
- 1.2 Your personality can seriously affect your finances
- 1.2.1 Betting the house
- 1.3 Building your financial planning model
- 1.3.1 Applying the financial planning model
- 1.3.2 Goals – the social and economic context
- 1.4 Try the bad habits test
- 1.5 Week 1 quiz
- 1.6 Week 1 round-up
- 1.7 Further reading
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week2Week 2: Income, taxation and benefits
- Introduction
- 2.1 Income, wealth and assets
- 2.1.1 Income or asset?
- 2.1.2 Incomes and inflation
- 2.1.3 Measuring real incomes
- 2.2 Taxation and benefits
- 2.2.1 Calculating Income Tax
- 2.2.2 Setting Income Tax rates
- 2.2.3 National Insurance
- 2.2.4 State benefits
- 2.2.5 Benefits in transition
- 2.2.6 Government minister and benefits reform
- 2.2.7 State benefits – inflation and tapers
- 2.3 Managing your budget
- 2.3.1 Your budget – the income side
- Week 2 quiz
- Week 2 round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week3Week 3: Expenditure and budgeting
- Introduction
- 3.1 What are your spending habits?
- 3.1.1 Budgeting – the basics
- 3.1.2 Meet Jenny
- 3.1.3 Jenny's profile
- 3.1.4 Jenny’s budget (Stage 1: assess the situation)
- 3.1.5 The budget – the average month
- 3.2 Setting a budget – things you need to think about
- 3.2.1 Jenny’s options (Stage 2: decide on a financial plan)
- 3.2.2 High street shopping in your kitchen
- 3.2.3 Spotting dodgy websites
- 3.2.4 The dodgy website – what did you spot?
- 3.2.5 Heuristics and spending
- 3.2.6 How to trim your expenditure
- 3.2.7 Consumer society in 2018
- 3.3 Jenny’s spending and her goals
- 3.3.1 Jenny adjusts her budget (Stage 3: acting on the financial plan)
- 3.3.2 Budgeting – taking control
- 3.3.3 Ways of saving
- 3.3.4 Budgeting (Stage 4: reviewing the financial plan)
- 3.3.5 Now complete your budget
- Week 3 quiz
- Week 3 round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week4Week 4: Debt and borrowing
- Introduction
- 4.1 Personal debt
- 4.1.1 Debt and interest – some basics
- 4.1.2 More on interest
- 4.1.3 How much interest?
- 4.1.4 Compounding of interest
- 4.1.5 What determines the level of interest rates?
- 4.1.6 Real interest rates
- 4.2 Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of interest
- 4.2.1 Types of interest rate
- 4.2.2 Interest rates – fixed or variable?
- 4.2.3 Individual interest rates
- 4.2.4 The credit scoring game
- 4.2.5 Credit scores – the outcome
- 4.3 Meet the lenders
- 4.3.1 Borrowing can take many forms
- 4.3.2 Making borrowing decisions
- 4.3.3 Affordability
- 4.3.4 Tips when borrowing
- Week 4 quiz
- Week 4 round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week5Week 5: Savings and investments
- Introduction
- 5.1 Managing savings and investments
- 5.1.1 Why should households save?
- 5.1.2 Savings and the life course
- 5.1.3 Life’s events and savings
- 5.2 Understanding savings products
- 5.2.1 Variable rate and fixed rate savings products
- 5.2.2 Spot the highest Annual Equivalent Rate (AER)
- 5.2.3 Savings accounts on offer
- 5.2.4 Why savings rates differ
- 5.2.5 Savings accounts – the risks
- 5.3 Understanding investments
- 5.3.1 Shares
- 5.3.2 Share prices do go up and down
- 5.3.3 Are some shares riskier than others?
- 5.3.4 Share price volatility
- 5.3.5 Bonds (fixed interest investments)
- 5.3.6 Investment funds
- 5.4 What are the best performing investments over the long term?
- 5.4.1 What is the best long-term investment?
- 5.4.2 How investments are taxed
- Week 5 quiz
- Week 5 round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week6Week 6: Housing and the household balance sheet
- Introduction
- 6.1 Housing and the household balance sheet
- 6.1.1 The mortgage market
- 6.1.2 Repaying your mortgage
- 6.1.3 The costs of buying a home
- 6.1.4 How much does it cost?
- 6.1.5 Leasehold and freehold – some facts
- 6.2 Selling property, re-mortgaging and housing as an investment
- 6.2.1 Mortgages – the risks
- 6.2.2 Financial planning when buying a home
- 6.2.3 Remortgaging
- 6.2.4 Remortgaging – a few sums
- 6.2.5 Housing as an investment
- 6.2.6 Spotting the risks
- 6.3 The household balance sheet
- 6.3.1 Completing your household balance sheet
- 6.3.2 Targeting the current asset ratio
- 6.3.3 Your household balance sheet – gearing
- 6.3.4 Can gearing predict a crisis?
- 6.3.5 Linking the balance sheet to income and expenditure
- Week 6 quiz
- Week 6 round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week7Week 7: Pensions
- Introduction
- 7.1 Planning for a happy retirement
- 7.1.1 State pensions
- 7.1.2 The new flat-rate state pension
- 7.1.3 Understanding the new flat-rate pension
- 7.1.4 Occupational pensions
- 7.1.5 Workplace pensions
- 7.1.6 Calculating pension income
- 7.2 Personal pensions
- 7.2.1 Moving to average salary pensions
- 7.2.2 Funded and pay-as-you-go pensions
- 7.2.3 The 2015 pensions revolution: freeing up access to pension pots
- 7.2.4 The challenges of the pension revolution
- 7.2.5 Planning ahead for your retirement
- 7.2.6 Financial planning when saving for retirement
- 7.2.7 Spending money in retirement
- 7.3 Planning ahead for your pension
- 7.3.1 Pensions and retirement – a social revolution
- 7.3.2 Acting on and reviewing your pension plan
- 7.3.3 Take control
- Week 7 quiz
- Week 7 round-up
- Further reading
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week8Week 8: Insurance
- Introduction
- 8.1 Insurance – setting the scene
- 8.1.1 To insure or not to insure?
- 8.1.2 Why do you buy insurance?
- 8.1.3 Mick sorts out his insurance
- 8.1.4 Apply Stages 1 and 2 of the financial planning model to insurance
- 8.1.5 Apply Stages 3 and 4 of the financial planning model to insurance
- 8.2 Home insurance
- 8.2.1 Keeping down the cost of home insurance
- 8.2.2 Motor insurance
- 8.2.3 How to keep down motor insurance premiums
- 8.2.4 Travel insurance
- 8.2.5 Other general insurance
- 8.2.6 Reviewing your insurance
- 8.3 Life insurance and other types of insurance
- 8.3.1 Health insurance
- 8.3.2 Income protection insurance
- 8.3.3 Gender and insurance
- 8.3.4 Winners and losers?
- End-of-course test
- End-of-course guide and round-up
- References
- Acknowledgements
