Financial University

We all know buying a house is a stressful experience, and when you’re looking to buy your next house and sell your current one, it can be even more stressful. In this episode we’re going to help you to get through the process with less stress and a calm mind, while also minimising the costs involved.

Buying a house can be an exciting time especially if you’ve waited for a long time beforehand. However, the process of buying could be stressful depending on the various circumstances. What steps would you take? Where would you start? Are you scared that you can make a costly mistake? Don’t worry, we’ve decided to have this episode just for you and by the end of it I promise you won’t think it’s that bad.

If you’ve ever been out in a small boat, you will have worn a life jacket. The chances are you won’t need to use it, but if things did go wrong on the water, you’d certainly be glad you were wearing one! Insurance is like the life jacket for our money, and having the right cover in place can make all the difference should you ever need it. You have insurance for your house, for your car, maybe for your pet, but do you have insurance for you? Have you considered what would happen to those closest to you when you’re no longer around? In this episode we’re going to look at life insurance, what it is, the different types of life insurance, and whether or not you need it.

Has anyone ever told you you’re weird? If you call me weird, I wouldn’t be offended at all; in fact I definitely describe myself as weird and I’m proud of it. And when it comes to how we handle money in our society, it’s definitely good to be weird! In this episode we’re going to look at three ways to be weird, to go against what most people are doing, but things that could save you big time. The first one will save you hundreds of pounds, the second one thousands, and the last one tens of thousands.

Do you ever find it hard to know what the right thing to do is when it comes to money? I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to look back in ten or twenty years time and think I’ve made a foolish decision. But there’s no way to predict the future, so how can we be wise with what we have now, not knowing what’s to come? In this episode, we’re going to look at one simple technique that has helped me to make smarter decisions with my money, and I hope can do the same for you.

For most of us, Christmas is the most expensive time of the year. There are presents to buy, meals out with friends and colleagues, travel to see family, and a whole lot of food and drink. And with the cost of living crisis hitting us all, these seasonal expenses are going to be even more of an issue. So how can we have a great time at Christmas without it crippling us financially? In this episode we’re going to look at some practical ways we can take control of our spending at Christmas.

The average graduate in the UK this year will leave university with £45,000 worth of student loan debt. Right from the start of your working life as a graduate, you have debt eating away at your hard earned money, and you’re being charged interest for the privilege. Financing a degree is what everyone does, isn’t it? I have a student loan, my wife has a student loan, all of my coursemates took out student loans — in our society it’s the normal thing. And when you’re seventeen our eighteen and deciding to go to university, you don’t really think about it. But is it what has to be done? Is taking on tens of thousands of pounds in student loan debt a requirement for having the career you want? In this episode, we look at some alternatives that will help you to reduce or even eliminate debt, either for yourself or for your children.

In previous episodes of Financial University, we’ve looked at some great strategies for achieving financial freedom. Things like getting out of debt, setting up an emergency fund, paying off your mortgage early, and saving for retirement. But you only have a finite amount of money, right? You can’t prioritise everything all at once, so where should you start? What’s the plan? In this episode we’re going to take a look at Dave Ramsey’s Seven Baby Steps. Dave Ramsey is a personal finance expert from the U.S. and this is his time tested guide to building wealth. Let’s find out what these steps are and how you can apply them to your life.

Do you ever dream of becoming a millionaire? Maybe it seems like a ridiculous idea to you — something that you can only achieve if you’re famous, or win the lottery, or have your own successful business. What if I told you that even on a modest salary, millionaire status is within your reach? In this episode we’re talking about the everyday millionaire — people who achieve a net worth of one million pounds. They don’t drive a Lamborghini or live in a mansion, but they make great decisions throughout their life to achieve financial freedom. Let’s find out how we can do the same.

Do you ever find yourself stressing about money? Does it cause you anxiety? Do you know what would happen if you suddenly lost your job, or if you had an unexpected expense costing thousands of pounds? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to take almost all of that stress away? Well there is, and while it takes a fair bit of effort to set up, once it’s there, I’m positive your money worries will be significantly reduced. In this episode we’re talking about the emergency fund — what it is, and how you can set one up.