My name’s Martin Upton. I’m director of the Open University’s True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance. And this eight-week course provides a step-by-step practical guide to managing your money. Before I joined the Open University, I was treasurer to the world’s largest building society. So I hope my experience to understanding of finances can help you when it comes to managing your money. The journey starts by putting together the basic building blocks of financial planning, using real-life facts and figures. We look at everything from planning a pension to taking out a loan. And we also look at the bad habits that can lead to poor money management, and the things you can do to avoid them.

We need to better understand what products exist, how they work, what they mean for us, and then taking the right steps to choose a match, maybe to products and the actions that we take to our own individual circumstances. There are some great videos, and audio quizzes, and discussions, and practical online tools. And all of these will allow you to assess your own financial position. The course will provide a financial workout for anyone who wants to take charge of their financial future, regardless of age or level of confidence. It’s important to get to know lenders. There are banks and building societies, but also many others. And they’re all different.

Finishing the course will give you the confidence to deal effectively with the firms that offer financial products, from credit cards to pensions. You’ll be better placed to make your own decisions when shopping in the financial supermarket.