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The Open University

MSE’s Academy of Money

The Open University via OpenLearn

Overview

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The Open University has joined forces with MoneySavingExpert (MSE) to produce this new free course to give you the skills and knowledge to master your finances. The course was written by The OU, with MSE providing support and guidance.Packed with videos, audios, quizzes and activities, the course covers all the key aspects of personal finance in six sessions of study that each take around two hours to complete.The course starts by looking at how to be savvy when spending money and at the behavioural and marketing pressures that try to influence what consumers buy.It then looks at budgeting and the impact of tax on household finances.Borrowing money is something virtually all households are familiar with but it can cause financial problems. The course explains how to borrow money sensibly if necessary, whether it’s a loan to buy a car or a mortgage to buy your home.Do you want to save or invest money? The course looks at simple savings accounts but also investments such as shares, commodities or property. It explains what is involved and the risks you expose yourself to as you look for a higher return on your money.The course finishes by getting to grips with the complexities of pensions. It will help you to think about your options when retiring, such as how much your state pension will amount to, supplementing this with an occupational or personal pension, and what you can do if your pension provision falls short of what you need.The current cost-of-living crisis arising from the surge in energy prices and exacerbated by the rising cost of other essentials has made it even more important to take a tight grip of your personal finances. This course will enable you do that.TranscriptEnrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge – this, together with the OpenLearn statement of participation, constitute the qualification Martin Lewis refers to in the video. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.If you’d like to discuss this course, then check out the course discussion thread on the MSE website.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge.The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 12 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

Syllabus

  • Introduction and guidance
  • Introduction and guidance
  • What is a badged course?
  • How to get a badge
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session1Session 1: Making good spending decisions
  • Introduction
  • 1 What is your financial personality?
  • 2 The social influences on spending
  • 3 Your habits could impair your spending choices
  • 3.1 The preference for bringing forward financial rewards and for delaying outlays
  • 3.2 The preference for simplicity over best value
  • 3.3 Not evaluating the evidence properly when buying things
  • 3.4 Putting off the decision can be a (bad) decision
  • 4 Your personality can seriously affect your spending
  • 5 Understanding the marketing forces that can affect our spending
  • 6 A decision-making model to take control of spending decisions
  • 7 Half-time quiz
  • 8 Why do we buy insurance?
  • 9 Applying Steps 1 and 2 of the decision-making model to insurance
  • 10 Applying Steps 3 and 4 of the decision-making model to insurance
  • 11 Mobile phones and insurance
  • 12 Shopping online
  • 13 Being a smarter online shopper
  • 14 End-of-session quiz
  • 15 Summary of Session 1
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session2Session 2: Budgeting and taxation
  • Introduction
  • 1 Income and taxation
  • 2 Understanding income tax
  • 3 National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
  • 4 Half-time quiz
  • 5 Understanding tax codes
  • 5.1 Do I need to make income tax returns?
  • 6 Why do I need to budget?
  • 7 The income side of the budget
  • 8 Turning to the spending side of the budget
  • 9 Building your budget
  • 10 Your own budget
  • 11 Trimming your spending
  • 12 End-of-session quiz
  • 13 Summary of Session 2
  • Glossary
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session3Session 3: Borrowing money
  • Introduction
  • 1 The boom of borrowing in the UK
  • 2 Good debt vs bad debt
  • 3 Credit reference agencies and your credit history
  • 3.1 How your credit history is compiled
  • 3.2 How to boost your credit worthiness
  • 3.3 Good tips to help your credit worthiness
  • 4 Half-time quiz
  • 5 Who are the lenders?
  • 6 The debt supermarket: get to know the products
  • 7 How much does it cost to borrow money?
  • 7.1 Annual Percentage Rate (APR): the key comparator for borrowing decisions
  • 7.2 Setting interest rates and the role of the Bank of England
  • 8 Low cost and high cost borrowing
  • 9 End-of-session quiz
  • 10 Summary of Session 3
  • Glossary
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session4Session 4: Understanding mortgages
  • Introduction
  • 1 Getting a mortgage: how much can I borrow?
  • 1.1 The property in question and the importance of ‘loan-to-value’
  • 1.2 Repayment or interest-only
  • 1.3 Fixed-rate or variable rate?
  • 2 Half-time quiz
  • 3 Mortgage choices: offset, flexible and portable mortgages
  • 4 Managing your mortgage: overpaying
  • 4.1 Moving to another deal
  • 4.2 Ditching a fixed-rate mortgage
  • 5 The other costs of buying a property
  • 6 Mortgages: understanding and managing the risks
  • 7 End-of-session quiz
  • 8 Summary of Session 4
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session5Session 5: Saving and investing
  • Introduction
  • 1 Why should we save up for the future?
  • 1.1 The difference between saving and investing
  • 2 The UK’s savings problem
  • 3 The savings supermarket: What type of accounts can I get?
  • 3.1 What about Premium Bonds?
  • 4 The savings supermarket: Should you get an ISA?
  • 4.1 ISAs for your first home or your retirement
  • 5 The savings supermarket: Understanding interest and tax
  • 6 The savings supermarket: some final points
  • 7 Money in a savings account is almost always safe
  • 8 Drawing up your savings strategy
  • 9 Half-time quiz
  • 10 Investments – the riskier (but possibly rewarding) side of saving up
  • 11 Understanding shares
  • 12 Understanding bonds
  • 13 Understanding commodities
  • 14 Understanding property investment
  • 15 Understanding investment funds
  • 16 Investment strategies: how to manage your risk
  • 17 Understanding peer-to-peer products
  • 18 Do I need financial advice when choosing an investment or should I go it alone?
  • 19 End-of-session quiz
  • 20 Summary of Session 5
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session6Session 6: Planning for retirement
  • Introduction
  • 1 How does spending change in later life?
  • 2 State pensions
  • 2.1 How far does the state pension go?
  • 3 Occupational pension schemes
  • 3.1 Occupational schemes: moving to average salary pensions
  • 3.2 Occupational schemes: they work like a pay rise
  • 4 Half-time quiz
  • 5 Personal pensions: money purchase schemes
  • 5.1 Planning your pension: the costs and risks
  • 6 Understanding pension tax allowances
  • 7 What can I do with my pension when I retire?
  • 8 The 2015 pensions revolution: freeing up access to pension pots
  • 9 A shortfall in your pension plan – the options
  • 10 End-of-course quiz
  • 11 Summary of Session 6
  • Where next?
  • Tell us what you think
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

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4.2 rating at OpenLearn based on 64 ratings

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