A NEW online tool has launched to help struggling Brits get “financially fit”.
The step-by-step plan is designed to help you cut spending, get to grips with budgeting and help you stay on top of bills.
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The Money Helper “Couch to Financial Fitness” is available online and is free to use for anyone who needs it.
It’s for beginner’s as well as those further along in their goal of creating good money habits, and it’s just like a physical training plan similar to the “Couch to 5K” app.
The popularity of the health app rocketed during the coronavirus lockdown as people tried to stay fit at home.
Now, the Couch to Financial Fitness tool is helping people get their money back on track after the pandemic which has left many Brits struggling.
Launched by the government’s Money and Pensions Advice Service, the MoneyHelper tool offers a plan covering the basics of budgeting over four weeks.
Each week the programme takes you through three simple activities needed to get your money in shape, including money-saving and budgeting tips.
When you’ve done each section, you’ll get a tick box to mark your completion of each step in the journey.
You’ll also be asked how you feel about your finances using sad or smiley face emojis to measure your progress as you improve your financial fitness.
Each week will focus on a different area of money:
- Week 1: budgeting
- Week 2: debt and staying on top of bills and payments
- Week 3: cutting your bills and spending
- Week 4: starting to save
A follow up step-by-step programme takes you a further five weeks and covers “money milestones” focusing on more in-depth topics like borrowing, mortgages and starting a family.
For instance week five helps wannabe homeowners understand how much you can afford to borrow and what you need to know about saving a deposit.
You can use MoneyHelper’s Couch to Financial Fitness tool online via a phone or through a desktop or laptop computer.
An early user of the tool said they were able to tackle their “crippling debt” with the step-by-step support.
Josie, a 27-year-old single parent from Plymouth said it wasn’t until she took part in Couch to Financial Fitness that she realised just how crippling her debts had become.
She said: “I’d wake up in the morning and the first thing I thought about was my bank account. I’d check to see what’s coming in and what’s going out every day, and just generally worry.”
But Josie – not her real name – said she’s now on top of her finances after two weeks of following the programme and on her way to being debt free soon.
She said: “The programme put me face-to-face with debts I’d brushed aside over the years. Thankfully, MoneyHelper put me in touch with a free debt advisor to get the emergency support I needed.
“Now I’m able to save at least something every month, and hopefully, in just over 18 months, I should be debt-free.”
How to get debt help for free
THERE are lots of groups who can help you with your problem debts.
- Citizens Advice – 0808 800 9060
- StepChange – 0800 138 1111
- National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
- Debt Advice Foundation – 0800 043 4050
You can also find information about Debt Management Plans (DMP) and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) on the Money Advice Service website and on the Government’s Gov.uk site.
Speak to one of these organisations – don’t be tempted to use a claims management firm that will claim it can write-off lots of your debts in return for a large up-front fee.
MoneyHelper, which created the couch to Financial Fitness programme, has replaced the Money Advice Service and provides free information online and over the phone to help people understand their money.
The service has seen a million more page views since the pandemic hit, and the launch of the tool comes ahead of the end of Covid support schemes like Furlough and the Universal Credit uplift.
Caroline Siarkiewicz, the boss of the Money and Pensions Service, said that taking small and simple actions each week will lead to people feeling more secure and in control of their money.
She said: “As we continue to navigate the Covid pandemic, we’re encouraging people to think about how financially fit they feel right now.
“Throughout these challenging lockdowns, millions of people used fitness apps and trackers to get started with exercise or to improve their mental health, to give them goals to work towards, or simply to help them cope.
“Couch to Financial Fitness uses this familiar format to help people make the same sort of gains in their financial wellbeing.
Money management apps like Cleo and Yolt can help you understand your day-to-day spending and are often free.
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