Managing Your Finances

Category: Tips and Advice Publish date: 31/10/2014

Looking after your personal finances - it's easier said than done – there’s always something more interesting to do - but rarely anything more important

As you prepare to leave the Armed Forces you will no doubt be paying plenty of consideration to your financial situation; as well as a new civilian job, you may also have to think about school fees, buying or renting a home, setting up a savings account or taking out a loan. There are three main areas to consider:

Day to Day Budgeting

Understanding the importance of budgeting is extremely important if you want to successfully plan your finances. It's the only way to gain, and stay, in control of your money. It will enable you to reach your money goals, whether they're as basic as having money left at the end of the month or as ambitious as owning a second home abroad.

Preparing a personal budget will allow you to see how much money you have coming in and where it goes. Read more about preparing a budget here https://www.moneyforce.org.uk/Managing-money/Plan/Budgeting-to-make-the-most-of-your-money#preparing

Long Term Financial Planning

Financial planning makes sense at any stage of life, making it easy to forecast and plan your investment decisions and maximise your income. Learning how to budget and manage your money can take time. A formal financial plan can include a list of savings and growth accounts, project interest rates over a specific period of time, and also identify asset insurance you may need.

Savings and Investments

This is a complicated area of finance and decisions which may be right for one person will not necessarily be right for another. It is always advisable to seek advice from more than one independent financial adviser.

If you’re looking for some guidance, check out MoneyForce.org.uk, a joint initiative between Standard Life Charitable Trust, The Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence, which aims to assist all Service personnel, their partners, families and dependants, to be better equipped to manage their money and financial affairs.

Whether you want to:

• open a savings account suitable for your goals
• run your current account so you don't incur charges 
• protect the things that are important to you
• buy your dream home or car 
• find the cheapest borrowing option, or 
• improve your credit rating to get the best loan deal

You can find the information to help you manage your finances effectively.

The Financial Aspects of Resettlement (FAR) Briefing

The one day CTP Financial Aspects of Resettlement Briefing is run by the Forces Pension Society and offers an input of generic financial advice from a qualified Financial Advisor (and the option of a follow-up personal financial discussion) as well as a handout giving further points of contact. View dates and locations here.