If you are searching for personal finance courses, it might mean that you are having problems saving or investing your hard-earned money. It may also mean that you are living from paycheck to paycheck and falling behind on bills. This could affect your credit score. Worry not. Here’s what you need to know about personal finance and personal finance courses.
What is personal finance?
In simple terms, personal finance covers how to manage your money – how to use it wisely, save it and invest it. Personal finance also touches on budgeting, banking, insurance, loans, mortgages, taxes, retirement planning and estate planning.
What are personal finance courses?
They are structured programmes that help you gain the knowledge and skills required to use, save and invest your hard-earned money prudently.
Competency levels
Before highlighting some of the most popular personal finance courses in the UK, it might be best to identify your personal finance competency level. Generally, there are three levels:
- Beginner – you have little to no knowledge about personal finance.
- Intermediate – you have some knowledge about personal finance. You’re slowly growing your wealth and making wise money moves.
- Expert – you have plenty of knowledge and skills in personal finance. You’ve accumulated wealth and want to make larger investments.
The personal finance competency level you fall under may determine what personal finance courses you should consider.
A note to beginners
Beginners are advised to start with a free course to understand the basics. Free courses make things clear and help you identify areas where you might need detailed information (budgeting, banking, insurance, loans, mortgages, tax, etc.). The information you gather may also help you make more informed choices when choosing paid personal finance courses.
Are paid personal finance courses better? Paid personal finance courses are likely to have more content than free courses. This does not mean that you can’t obtain quality information from popular free courses. A good example of a highly rated free resource is Openlearn by the Open University.
Top paid personal finance courses
Once you learn the basics from free resources, you can start searching for paid courses. Consider factors like the instructor, how much the course costs and what skills you will acquire.
It might be in your best interest to consider popular and trusted marketplaces like Udemy. The good thing about Udemy is that you will find a filter that helps you select the personal finance courses that best meet your situation and level.
Three of the top personal finance courses according to Udemy are:
1. Acorns’ Guide to Personal Finance
This course focuses on budgeting, how to pay off debts faster, saving and how to invest wisely. It goes for about £49.99, but it’s often available with discounts of up to 78% off. This course has 32 lectures that run for a total of 46 minutes, with each lecture averaging between one and four minutes.
2. The Complete Personal Finance Course: Save, Protect, Make More
This course focuses on helping you save more, invest smarter, reduce loans and retire early. It goes for about £69.99, but again, it’s often available with a discount of up to 78% discount. This course has 122 lectures that run for a total of 15 hours and 48 minutes, with each lecture averaging between one and 15 minutes.
3. Personal Finance Masterclass – Easy Guide to Better Finances
This course goes for about £49.99 and is highly rated. As with the other courses on our list, it’s often available with a discount of up to 78% off. It has 168 lectures that run for a total of 7 hours and 15 minutes, with each averaging between one and 15 minutes.
In selecting these top courses, we looked at the number of students enrolled and their reviews. We also considered how favourable the courses are for all personal finance competency levels.
