Manage Your Own Money

Course aim

The aim of this unit is to give the learner an understanding of how to manage personal finance, especially with respect to creating a household budget.

Do I need any particular skills or experience?

• You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
• You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
• This course is for a group of around 15 students studying in a live video-learning platform conference and an online digital learning environment platform from the comfort of your own home.
• No skills or experience needed
• This course is suitable for beginners and improvers

By the end of the course I should be able to:

• Identify sources of income eg wages, investments, state benefits, money from family or carers, grants and loans.
• Describe ways of reducing expenditure eg budgeting, prioritising spending, understanding the difference between essential and non-essential items, saving for large purchases.
• Produce a personal budget plan eg over a period of time with dates, description of income and expenditure, savings, sub totals and totals.
• Identify a range of financial institutions and the services that they provide.
• Identify organisations that can help with money problems eg credit unions, Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), The Money Advice Service StepChange Debt Charity, National Debtline, Shelter.

How will I be taught?

• The WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas will be used to provide resources or to support lessons, enable assessment, provide learner feedback and for other activities for individuals away from the course. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
• The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning

What kind of feedback can I expect?

• You will be able to keep a record of your progress and achievement using photos, audio, text or documents uploaded into the WEA’s digital learning platform, WEA Canvas.
• Your tutor will provide written, text and audio feedback recorded in WEA Canvas, WEA’s digital learning platform.
• A range of informal activities will be used by the tutor to see what you are learning which may include quizzes, question and answer, small projects and discussion
• You will have opportunities to discuss your progress with your tutor
• You will be encouraged to consider other students work and give your opinions and suggestions

What else do I need to know?

• What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
• You will also need access to the internet outside of your sessions. You could do this using a smart phone, tablet, laptop or a desktop computer (at home or through a library etc.).
• You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline

Pre-course work, reading and information sources

• No pre reading or pre course work is required

What can I do next?

• Access the WEA What Next? booklet here http://www.wea.org.uk/learn-wea/what-can-i-do-next
• Get Ready for Functional Skills and Employability Pathways