Finance Fundamentals: Financial Planning and Budgeting

Finance Fundamentals: Financial Planning and Budgeting starts by looking at the current economic backcloth and its impact on household finances. We then move on to explore your attitude to financial management and whether you have bad financial habits and how these should be addressed.

We introduce a simple four-stage model for making financial decisions before moving on to examine the two components of household budgeting – income and expenditure. In doing this we learn about the impact of inflation and taxation on incomes and the support to households provided by the state benefit system.

In examining expenditure we look at the pressures placed on us to spend our money, how to shop with confidence on the internet and on how ‘heuristics’ can interfere with good spending decision-making.

The course finishes by looking at a key area of household spending: insurance. We examine when to insure and when to bear the risks yourself without buying an insurance policy. We use the financial planning model, introduced at the start of the course, to make good decisions when buying insurance.

This facilitated 4-week course is up-to-date and uses an array of audio-visual assets to help you through the subject matter.

Develop fundamental business and finance skills

This course has been developed by The Open University Business School – a pioneering institution that is triple accredited by AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB.

It is one of eight from The Open University, designed to help you gain fundamental business and financial skills, including communication, networking, relationship building, project management, personal financial planning and management, investment and financial services.

You can complete this course as part of one of these two programs:

Finance Fundamentals: four courses, which will give you valuable skills to manage finances at home and at work, and enable you to earn a FutureLearn Award.

Business and Finance Fundamentals: eight courses; holders of FutureLearn Certificates of Achievement for all eight courses can earn 30 UK credits towards The Open University Business School’s BA in Business Management by passing a linked Open University assessment module (requiring separate OU registration and fee).

The True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance (True Potential PUFin)

This course has been adapted from original material created by The Open University’s True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance, and was made possible thanks to the generous support of True Potential LLP.