Own it, Fix it, Grow it
If you missed the previous weeks of the challenge you can access them here:
- 28 Day Financial Fitness Challenge – Week 1
- 28 Day Financial Fitness Challenge – Week 2
- 28 Day Financial Fitness Challenge – Week 3
Fix it - Week 4
Day 22 - Build an emergency fund
| Task: | Building an emergency fund manually:
Building an emergency fund by hassle-free saving with the option to invest:
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| Key Takeaway: | Life is full of surprises, and in particular financial surprises. One way to combat these nasty surprises is to build a financial 'buffer' in the form of an Emergency Fund, which is a sum of money, separate from other savings, that you can turn to in times of trouble. Three months' net income is a good starter, but don't be worried if this figure seems unobtainable. You will be surprised how quickly it will build. That may seem easier said than done but there are now easy ways to start building a cash buffer without even realising you are doing it. The article in the resource section will give you more information and tips on building an emergency fund. |
| Time Required: | 15 mins |
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| Resources | Building an Emergency Fund – the what, why & how |
Day 23 - Reducing your mortgage payments
| Task: | To review your mortgage it is best to use a mortgage adviser because the mortgage rates you see on comparison websites are only indicative. If you don't know a mortgage adviser whose opinion you trust, then you can:
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| Key Takeaway: | If you already have a mortgage then you may be paying an unnecessarily high interest rate on your mortgage, therefore wasting money. Most people don’t realise that they could be £100s better off a month by reviewing their mortgage. Reviewing your mortgage may seem daunting but it’s easier than ever and it can even be completed online from start to finish, without the need for any face-to-face meetings. |
| Time Required: | 20 mins |
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| Additional Reading: | Remortgaging in 2022 – is now the right time to fix & for how long? |
Day 24 - Evaluate your personal insurance needs
| Task: | Take our simple 2-minute quiz which will help you check your personal insurance needs and whether you need to take out a personal insurance policy and which type may be suitable. |
| Key Takeaway: | While a lot of people understand the importance of home and car insurance, personal insurance such as life insurance, critical illness insurance and income protection insurance are often overlooked. One problem is the array of protection products available, which in itself confuses people, but more importantly most people simply don’t appreciate why they need to take out insurance. The 2 minute quiz above will help you determine whether you may benefit from personal insurance.
If you already have life insurance the podcast clip below discusses the 7 occasions when you should review your life insurance policies. When it comes to income protection be sure to read the article in the resources section on the topic. Also, your completed budgeting spreadsheet will help you determine how much income protection you need. It must, for example, cover your essential bills (under the Needs section of your spreadsheet). Finally, don't forget to take into account any insurance benefits provided by your employer. |
| Time Required: | 10 mins |
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| Additional Reading: | How much life insurance do you need?
Types of life insurance explained How can I reduce my life insurance premiums? |
Over the next two days of the 28 Day Financial Fitness Challenge, you will be looking at your pensions and investments. We won't go into too much depth as we will cover both in more detail in the full Grow it phase which will be launched next month.
Day 25 - Building your retirement plan
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| Key Takeaway: | Remember if you already have some form of pension in place, be it a company pension or personal pension, you will likely have been asked to complete an expression of wish or nomination form when you joined. This documents who you would like to inherit your pension(s) after your death. It’s vitally important that you contact your pension provider(s) or employer to check who you have named on this form to see if it still reflects your wishes, especially if you have divorced or remarried since you completed it. That way you can ensure that your dependents can inherit your existing pensions outside of your estate and also avoid paying inheritance tax on the proceeds. |
| Time Required: | 30 mins |
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| Additional Reading: | How much money do you need to retire and what will your pension be worth? |
Day 26 - Investing
| Task: | Take a look at the following articles as they will give you an insight into the best places to invest your money and the investing options available to you.
You may already be a seasoned investor but haven’t had the time to review your investments. If this is the case then have a read of my article ‘how to maximise your investment returns’ which explains steps to take to reduce costs, build a diverse portfolio and pick the right investments. If investing is not for you and you would prefer the safety of cash then here are our best-buy savings accounts tables covering the whole market. |
| Time Required: | 30 mins |
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| Additional Reading: | A beginner's guide to investing
Get the best return on your £50,000 investments The best Stocks and Shares ISA Best investment apps in the UK - how to invest from your mobile |
Day 27 - Investing for your child's future
| Task: | If you have spare money at the end of the month, then there are a number of options available when deciding to invest for your child's future
1 - Read our article Investing for children: What are your options? to learn how to get started. 2 - Listen to this episode of the Money to the Masses podcast titled ‘How to become a millionaire’ below. The feedback from listeners has been incredible with many crediting it as being the catalyst they needed to finally start investing for their children's future. |
| Time Required: | 30 mins |
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| Additional Reading: | Best Junior stocks and shares ISA |
Day 28 - Financial Advice & Retake the Money MOT
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| Key Takeaway: | If it was left to the financial adviser industry they would tell you to almost always seek advice from them (which isn’t a surprise given that they charge you for it) while a lot of journalists give the impression that you should just do it all yourself (which in fact isn’t always possible or advisable). The truth lies somewhere in the middle as there are times in life when you need to seek the advice of a financial adviser. |
| Time Required: | 3 minutes |
Next month we will be launching the full "Grow it" phase which will look at how you can grow your wealth in the future.
