From early days to golden years; five money tools for every stage of life
In the next edition of MoneyHelper’s monthly financial guidance column, Dawn Cummins, Regional Manager for the West-Midlands at the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), shows how MoneyHelper can support you, no matter what stage of life you’re in.
1. Paying into your workplace pension
Paying into your pension is vital for future foundations.
If you’re an employee over the age of 22 and you earn above £10,000 annually, you’ll have been enrolled into your workplace pension, but it can be hard to know exactly what that means.
The Workplace Pension Calculator on MoneyHelper will show exactly what you and your employer are paying into your pension, including the tax relief that you benefit from.
No matter how much you’re earning, use the Workplace Pension Calculator to help you better understand your contributions.
2. Saving for the short-term
Saving where you can is really important; whether it’s saving for a rainy day, for a holiday, or for a guilty pleasure, putting a little aside every month goes a long way.
When you’re saving for something in the future, it can be hard to know how much to save, or how long it’ll take to reach your goal.
That’s why MoneyHelper developed the Savings Calculator. This will help to figure out how long it’ll take to save and can help you keep your savings on track.
Use the Savings Calculator now to help you get started.
3. Buying a property
Whether you’re looking to buy your first or next property, you need to know how much you can afford to borrow, and the cost of paying it back.
Our mortgage affordability calculator can help you with just that.
Input your monthly incomings and outgoings, and we’ll help you estimate how much you can afford to borrow for a mortgage.
Use our Mortgage Calculator to figure out what you can afford.
4. Having a baby
When having a baby, there’s lots of costs to think about, from maternity and paternity leave to the cost of nappies.
Did you know most babies are born in September in the UK, meaning that many women are just realising in February they are pregnant?
We’ve developed a great tool to help expecting parents plan their finances over the next year. This will tell you key dates, from when you are entitled to claim free prescriptions to when to start budgeting for your baby’s arrival.
It will also help give you key dates following the birth, including when to claim your child benefits.
Use the Baby Money Timeline if this is for you.
5. Money Health Check
If you’re between the ages of 45 – 65, you’re likely thinking about the next steps for your future.
The Money Midlife MOT is a great tool to help you assess your current financial situation and plan for the future.
You’ll receive a personalised report showing what to prioritise going forward that will take you right the way through to retirement.
Try the Money Midlife MOT to build the roadmap for the years ahead.
Visit MoneyHelper
To use money tools that can help you at any stage of life, search MoneyHelper.
