Learn How to Manage the Household Balance Sheet - Free Course

The course “Finance Fundamentals: Managing the Household Balance Sheet” explores household assets (investments and property) and liabilities (debts) and examines how these should be managed.

It is one of eight from The Open University, designed to help you gain fundamental business and financial skills, including communication, networking, relationship building, project management, personal financial planning and management, investment and financial services.

Finance Fundamentals: Managing the Household Balance Sheet – Course Content

The course includes the following topics:

Borrowing and debts;
The factors that drive interest levels;
Differences between ‘good’ debts and ‘bad’ debts and at the way lenders credit score those seeking to borrow money;
The array of investments that people can hold – including savings accounts, bonds, shares and holdings in funds;
Determinants of investment returns and at the historical evidence about which are the best investments;
How investments are taxed;
The costs of buying and selling property;
The rationale for owning property and the risks involved;
The mortgage products that are used to buy property;
Investment in our pension fund to support use in retirement;
How occupational or personal pensions are needed to top up the pension provided by the state;
How to determine how much income you will need in retirement;
The impact of the recent reforms to pensions in the UK.

The facilitated 4-week course is up-to-date and uses an array of audio-visual assets to help you through the subject matter. It has been developed by The Open University Business School – a pioneering institution that is triple accredited by AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB.