Gain the skills to manage your personal finances: managing budgets, debts, investments, property purchase, pensions and insurance.  With real incomes falling and personal debt at a record high, there has never been a better time to improve your personal financial skills – Managing my money aims to do just that.You'll start by learning how to compile a budget and use it to make good decisions about your spending. You’ll explore debts and investments, and find out how mortgages are used to finance home ownership. The critical issue of pension planning is explained, with guidance on different pension products. You'll finish by examining different types of insurance and getting practical advice on how to make rational decisions about which insurance products to buy.Using up-to-the minute data from the UK you develop financial skills and approaches that are relevant globally. The course is rich in high-quality text, images, video, audio and interactive elements to support your learning.Please note that the forum referred to in course videos is nolonger available.This course is presented on OpenLearn with the kind support of True Potential LLP. If you want to know more about the work of the True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance (PUFin) and its mission to improve personal financial capability, check out the centre’s website. The centre, generously funded by True Potential LLP, has a mission to develop teaching and undertake research to help improve public financial capability.TranscriptRequirementsThis course is intended for those with an interest in developing their personal financial skills to make good decisions when managing their finances and buying financial products. The course does not require any previous experience of studying this subject.
Overview
Syllabus
- 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
