Five online courses to improve your personal finance skills

Personal finance matters because we use money every day to pay our rent, buy groceries, and earn money. Unfortunately, many of us aren’t as clued up about personal finance and managing money as we could be.

Let’s take a look at what personal finance means and learn some of the best ways to improve your money habits. We’ve handpicked five of our best personal finance courses to help you inform yourself about some of the most important financial concepts out there.

What is personal finance?

Personal finance is about the money that belongs to you. It requires a slightly different approach to other forms of finance. Handling the finances of a large multinational business is not the same as managing your own savings and outgoings.

What is financial literacy?

Financial literacy refers to our understanding of financial concepts. If you understand how interest rates work, or what money supply is, then you are probably financially literate. Some financial concepts are more relevant to day-to-day life than others, so if you’re looking to build your financial literacy, look for the concepts that matter to your personal finances.

Financial literacy is distinct from numeracy, which refers to your ability to do basic maths. The latter is very useful when tracking your spending and generally makes finance less intimidating. Ideally, you’ll have skills in both areas.

If you’d like to get started learning the basics of finance, check out our blog on the most fundamental financial question: What is money?

>> Explore our collection of online finance degrees

Why is personal finance important?

In another post, we discuss whether we should teach financial literacy in schools. In it, The Young Persons’ Money Index 2023/24 from the London Foundation for Banking & Finance found that 81% of young people are more anxious about their personal finances while 82% of young people want to learn more about money and finance in school.

Many children today get their financial education from members of the family, rather than from their schools. Unfortunately, not all family members are financially literate themselves which can lead to passing on bad habits.

Can money make you happy?

In our open step, ‘Does money make you happy?’, the University of Bristol looks at some of the research linking money and happiness. The consensus appears to be that it does: up to a point. 

One of the studies referenced in the open step is research by Richard Easterlin at the University of Southern Carolina. He concluded, “If society’s goal is to increase people’s feelings of well-being, economic growth in itself will not do the job,” he wrote. “Full employment and a generous and comprehensive social safety net do increase happiness.

Easterlin was among the first economists to study happiness as an economic resource, back in the 70s. But perhaps the most famous research on the relationship between wealth and happiness comes from Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, whose Nobel-prizewinning research determined that money correlates with happiness up to around $75,000 per year (or around $90,000 in today’s money).

How personal finance skills are useful

If you know your way around personal finance, you’ll find it easier to sustain that income, feel secure, eliminate finance-related stress, and generally improve your quality of life.

Financial literacy is also very important if you want to start your own business. Read how to manage a small business during the pandemic or how to turn your hobby into a career to find out more.

Understanding personal finance means learning about:

• Savings
• Retirement
• Debt management
• Financial freedom

We all face different financial challenges at various stages in life and getting over these psychological barriers can make the difference between a rewarding financial life and a stressful one. If you’re budgeting while at university, your approach will be different than if you’re working as a trader or speculating on the crypto market. 

How to improve your financial literacy

So, how can you boost your personal finance knowledge? There are many great ways to learn more about finances in your every day. These are some simple, effective tips that can help you on your way to good financial habits.

• Follow financial experts on social media
• Read financial magazines and listen to podcasts
• Learn how to budget your money
• Check out our financial literacy guide
• Take online finance courses to improve your personal finance skills

Top five online personal finance courses

On FutureLearn, you’ll find plenty of online courses in finance and business. Let’s take a look at five courses to help you improve your personal finance skills today.

1. Introduction to Personal Financial Planning by the Chartered Insurance Institute

Throughout your life, you’ll have to make thousands of financial decisions. How can I maximise my savings? Is this the best pension plan for me? Should I invest? It’s also likely that you’ll need to financially plan for the different stages of your life. 

From saving and budgeting to investing, you’ll need a good understanding of financial planning and the financial services available to you to put those plans into action. This course is designed to provide just that understanding.

Over the course of four weeks, you’ll explore various financial concepts, gain insight into the financial services industry and develop strategies to protect your financial future throughout each stage of your life.

The world of finance services can be intimidating, but this course provides a useful introduction. For some, it will be a basis to grow and develop a career in the financial planning sector. For others, it will be a source of invaluable information, relevant to your day-to-day spending and financial future.

2. Starting a Business 5: Managing Finances by the University of Leeds

If you’re launching a new business, it’s easy to neglect the financial side of things. But many new businesses fail for exactly this reason. Problems with capital, cash flow and pricing can all spell trouble. A good grounding in finance is the solution. That’s the focus of this course. 

Covering just four hours over two weeks, it focuses on how finances are measured and presented. You’ll look at forecasting, including profit and loss, cash flow, and sales revenue. This information can be interpreted and analysed, and it can ultimately inform future decisions in your business. While the focus of the course lies explicitly with business finance, many of the principles can be applied elsewhere in your personal life. 

3. Introduction to Home Ownership and Mortgages by the Chartered Insurance Institute

Want to get on the property ladder but can’t quite get your head around how mortgages work? You’re in the right place. As a first-time potential property owner, the process of buying a home can seem incredibly daunting and complex.

However, this four-week course from the Chartered Insurance Institute provides a clear and simple introduction to the different elements involved in the property buying process. 

You’ll learn the ins and outs of how mortgages work and complete the course feeling better equipped to handle your property purchase with ease. With guidance and support from your expert educators, you’ll be empowered with the confidence and knowledge to secure a mortgage best suited to your needs.

4. Understanding Public Financial Management: How Is Your Money Spent? by SOAS

It isn’t just businesses and individuals who spend money. Governments do it too – often on behalf of businesses and individuals. Knowing what it is they’re doing can make a big difference to your understanding of your own financial life.

Here, the School of Oriental and African Studies provides an overview of government taxation and spending. You’ll learn to judge which policies are desirable and ethical, and get to grips with the nuts and bolts of public sector finances. Raising government finances, how budgeting works, and public sector financial statements: they’re all covered.

If you already know a little about economics, political science, or accounting, then you’ll be at an advantage, here – but the course is targeted toward a general level. 

5. Principles of Wealth Management by Hanken

The principles outlined in this course can be applied just about everywhere. Market crashes, diversification, risk and return – learning about these will allow you to make better decisions on how to invest your earnings.

This is the most specialised course and to get the most from it, you’ll need to be a Bachelors’s or Master’s student, or a professional in the wealth management industry.

Boost your finance skills with FutureLearn

Without learning the basics of finance, it’s easier to fall into financial struggles or not get the most out of your hard-earned money. With these courses on FutureLearn, you’ll be well on your way to feeling more confident about your personal finances.

Online finance courses

• Introduction to Personal Financial Planning by the Chartered Insurance Institute
• Principles of Wealth Management by the Hanken School of Economics
• Understanding Public Financial Management: How Is Your Money Spent? by  SOAS University of London
• Decentralised Finance: Blockchain, Ethereum, and The Future of Banking by RMIT University