DipFS Unit 3

Having sustainable personal finances enables people to satisfy their needs and achieve as many of their wants and aspirations as they can afford

Austerity - "difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure"

In response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis the government reduced public spending, casuing a slow down in the economy, as a measure to reduce the budget deficit

It has become easier to monitor personal income and expenditure due to financial services providers developing online banking services

National Savings and Investments Income Bonds are FIXED interest that is paid MONTHLY 

An open-ended investment company (OEIC) is a type of COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT

Under the 'triple lock' guarantee the mimimum that the basic state pension can increase from one year to the next is 2.5%

The threshold for an individuals savings, when being assessed for Housing Benefit is £6,000

Child Tax credit is paid to the person who is responsible for them, usually assessed by the 'normally lives with' rule

Either or both parent can applied, and they will need to elect who will receive the payments

Consumer credit is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• Monetary Policy involves the use of interest rates to control the economy
• Fiscal policy involves the use of government spending and taxation to control the economy

To be quantifiable means measurable.

For example elements of a PESTLE analysis can be measured

The Land Registry maintains records of home sales in the UK.

This information can be used to record changes in ownership and are held centrally. 

To enable accurate monitoring of expenditure is is advisable to obtain receipts for items paid for in cash.

These can then be used with bank statements, DD's and SO's to find out where money is being spent with a high level of accuracy

A budget variance is any difference between the expected and actual figures

A deficit - is a negative balance, whereas a surplus is a favourable one

On a monthly cash flow, some items will be exact, as they stay the same every month, for example mortgage repayments, council tax, and salary.

However, others will need to be estimated as they are slightly more flexible or subject to change. Overtime payments is an example of an income that is likely to fluctuate

When using zero-based budgeting, all quarterly bills should be calucated as an annual figure before being 'chopped' into monthly amounts

The payment of any contributory state benefit reply on the claimant having paid enough National Insurance

For example, job seekers payments rely on individuals having paid money into the system first, to get money back out