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Buying a house can be an exciting time especially if you’ve waited for a long time beforehand. However, the process of buying could be stressful depending on the various circumstances. What steps would you take? Where would you start? Are you scared that you can make a costly mistake? Don’t worry, we’ve decided to have this episode just for you and by the end of it I promise you won’t think it’s that bad.

If you’ve ever been out in a small boat, you will have worn a life jacket. The chances are you won’t need to use it, but if things did go wrong on the water, you’d certainly be glad you were wearing one! Insurance is like the life jacket for our money, and having the right cover in place can make all the difference should you ever need it. You have insurance for your house, for your car, maybe for your pet, but do you have insurance for you? Have you considered what would happen to those closest to you when you’re no longer around? In this episode we’re going to look at life insurance, what it is, the different types of life insurance, and whether or not you need it.

Has anyone ever told you you’re weird? If you call me weird, I wouldn’t be offended at all; in fact I definitely describe myself as weird and I’m proud of it. And when it comes to how we handle money in our society, it’s definitely good to be weird! In this episode we’re going to look at three ways to be weird, to go against what most people are doing, but things that could save you big time. The first one will save you hundreds of pounds, the second one thousands, and the last one tens of thousands.

Do you ever find it hard to know what the right thing to do is when it comes to money? I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to look back in ten or twenty years time and think I’ve made a foolish decision. But there’s no way to predict the future, so how can we be wise with what we have now, not knowing what’s to come? In this episode, we’re going to look at one simple technique that has helped me to make smarter decisions with my money, and I hope can do the same for you.

For most of us, Christmas is the most expensive time of the year. There are presents to buy, meals out with friends and colleagues, travel to see family, and a whole lot of food and drink. And with the cost of living crisis hitting us all, these seasonal expenses are going to be even more of an issue. So how can we have a great time at Christmas without it crippling us financially? In this episode we’re going to look at some practical ways we can take control of our spending at Christmas.

The average graduate in the UK this year will leave university with £45,000 worth of student loan debt. Right from the start of your working life as a graduate, you have debt eating away at your hard earned money, and you’re being charged interest for the privilege. Financing a degree is what everyone does, isn’t it? I have a student loan, my wife has a student loan, all of my coursemates took out student loans — in our society it’s the normal thing. And when you’re seventeen our eighteen and deciding to go to university, you don’t really think about it. But is it what has to be done? Is taking on tens of thousands of pounds in student loan debt a requirement for having the career you want? In this episode, we look at some alternatives that will help you to reduce or even eliminate debt, either for yourself or for your children.

In previous episodes of Financial University, we’ve looked at some great strategies for achieving financial freedom. Things like getting out of debt, setting up an emergency fund, paying off your mortgage early, and saving for retirement. But you only have a finite amount of money, right? You can’t prioritise everything all at once, so where should you start? What’s the plan? In this episode we’re going to take a look at Dave Ramsey’s Seven Baby Steps. Dave Ramsey is a personal finance expert from the U.S. and this is his time tested guide to building wealth. Let’s find out what these steps are and how you can apply them to your life.

Do you ever dream of becoming a millionaire? Maybe it seems like a ridiculous idea to you — something that you can only achieve if you’re famous, or win the lottery, or have your own successful business. What if I told you that even on a modest salary, millionaire status is within your reach? In this episode we’re talking about the everyday millionaire — people who achieve a net worth of one million pounds. They don’t drive a Lamborghini or live in a mansion, but they make great decisions throughout their life to achieve financial freedom. Let’s find out how we can do the same.

Do you ever find yourself stressing about money? Does it cause you anxiety? Do you know what would happen if you suddenly lost your job, or if you had an unexpected expense costing thousands of pounds? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to take almost all of that stress away? Well there is, and while it takes a fair bit of effort to set up, once it’s there, I’m positive your money worries will be significantly reduced. In this episode we’re talking about the emergency fund — what it is, and how you can set one up.

There’s no escaping that energy prices right now are soaring. They’re at record highs already, and are expected to increase ten times faster than wages throughout the rest of this year. So what can be done? Obviously you and I have no control over the factors driving this increase, so it’s easy to feel helpless. But when it comes to your personal finances, there is always something you can do to make yourself better off. In this episode we look at how to combat the energy price increase and take control of your financial future.

For many of us living in the UK, debt is a part of our lives. Interest payments steal away our income every month. It can weigh us down and leave us feeling trapped. And what do you do when that debt reaches tens of thousands of pounds and you can no longer keep up with the payments? In this episode we talk to David about his journey in overcoming debt.

Do you find it hard to keep on top of a budget? Maybe you once set up a budget on a spreadsheet but you haven’t looked at it in months and right now you don’t even know how much you have left to spend before the end of the month. So often our budgets can become too complex and so hard to manage that we end up not doing it, and then we don’t really have a budget at all. In this episode, we’re going to talk about one really simple thing you can do to guarantee that you’ll stick to budget every month. It’s easy to set up and completely automated so you don’t ever have to put in any more effort.

What’s your greatest asset? If you’re a home owner, it might surprise you that the answer is probably not your house. In this episode we’ll talk about why that is, as well as what an asset truly is and what your life aim should be if you want to thrive financially.

What’s the best place for your savings? Cash under the bed? In your current account? In a cash ISA? Actually, all of those things will lose you money. In this episode we explain why that is and what you can do about it.

Do you ever dream of getting rich quick? Wouldn’t it be amazing to suddenly have an incredible amount of money? Actually, no. There’s a better way. Find out more in this episode of Financial University.

There are two distinct types of work in the world we live in. If you have a job and get paid for the hours you spend working, whether it’s per hour or on a yearly salary, then you have an active income. You might have a few days per year holiday, and some allowance if you’re sick, but generally if you don’t show up to work, you won’t get paid. But the other way of working is called passive income. With passive income, you get paid every day whether you go to work or not. I make all of my money from 100% passive income, and it’s amazing. In this episode, Luke explains more about what passive income is and how you can get started.

In this episode of Financial University, we look at the most crucial element to thriving in your financial life. This is the starting point for everything, the foundation if you want to succeed. Find out how to develop a vision for your money and make it an integral part of your life.

Setting up a full budget can be time consuming and a bit daunting. In this episode, Kevin looks at three phrases you can apply to your every day spending to get it under control.

This episode discusses the cashflow quadrant model, taken from the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ books by Robert T Kiyosaki. He devised this model to describe the 4 different types of people that make up the world of business. David gives a brief overview of the quadrants (through the eyes of a Doctor) to help you identify which you quadrant you are currently in and where you would like to be in the future.

Being made redundant is a challenging experience, especially when finding your next role takes longer than expected. Not only are there money worries, but also it can be hard to stay positive, stay motivated, and feel valued. In this episode I speak to Simon, who, like so many others, faced redundancy during the current pandemic. He shares some great practical advice and wisdom that got him through this difficult season, and how he came out the other side to a great new job.