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The many ways of understanding your finances

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
26/10/2015

The days when we had to solely rely on financial advisers are long gone. Most people can choose to get by without them and DIY saving and investing has never been more straightforward. That’s not to say it is easy, but it is certainly not the enormous struggle it was in the days before websites, blogs and apps became available.

Politicians have also been encouraging us towards choosing our own futures. There are self-invested personal pension (SIPP) options to organise our own pensions, ISAs to organise our saving and investing, and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that let us invest our money in practically any way we like without even speaking to an adviser.

While there are still dangers which are fiendish as ever, there is information out there and new ways to become more clued up before taking the plunge.

Websites & blogs

There are many websites and blogs full of helpful tips and advice. You can learn a lot online but make sure you exercise some caution about whose advice you rely upon. If you do follow through on advice, make sure they are credible and actually know what they are talking about.

Videos

Streaming sites are full of helpful finance explainers, some of them entertainingly animated for ease. Even HMRC has started offering helpful advice. Look up their Tax Facts series of videos on YouTube. They are good for basic information and are also surprisingly fun to watch. Again, caution is advised, as there are plenty of sceptics on the video sites like YouTube and Vimeo warning you that financial Armageddon is due the Tuesday after next.

Courses

There are lots of courses available to help you understand your finances while also getting a qualification. The Open University has some fantastic free online courses. And I may be biased here, (okay, I’m definitely biased), the Open University has allowed me to convert one of its courses into a series of radio programmes called Managing My Money, covering everything from budgeting to mortgages to pensions.

After listening you can test yourself online and get an Open University Certificate. The show has been designed to help people through the money maze with light hearted weekly shows. And with songs and sketches it is a lot of fun too. You can listen via Share Radio or via the iPad app, or download the podcasts here.

Apps

There are some great finance apps for smartphones, designed to help you while on the go.  A good one for budgeting is the aptly named Goodbudget for Android and Apple devices. It helps you split your expenditure into categories so you can keep a close eye on your spending in real time. There are literally dozens of apps available offering different variations on finances from budgeting to understand financial jargon to tracking your accounts. For more in-depth money management tools, try out the Financial Calculators app where you can calculate things like the Present Value of a Growing Annuity.

Social media

Over the years we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of social media with most companies, journalists, celebrities and influential people taking to social channels to express their views. You can learn a lot on there too. It is worth following personal finance experts, consumer champions and companies as they tend to share tips and advice on a daily basis. You can also ask them directly too.

Don’t forget while there are new ways to help you with your financial knowledge, if you are still unsure, there are charities, industry bodies and also financial advisers available to help you.

Glen Goodman present the Managing My Money show on Share Radio.

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