Build and Run Your 12-Month Money Plan

• Goals that don’t last

  ASIC’s Moneysmart research found that while more than half of people surveyed plan to set a financial goal, only about 1 in 8 (12%) manage to stick to it. ASIC media release 25-002MR

• Low resilience in the UK

  The FCA found 13.1 million UK adults had low financial resilience in May 2024 (24% of all UK adults). FCA Financial Lives 2024

• Emergency savings in the US

  The Federal Reserve found 55 percent of US adults said they had set aside money for three months of expenses in an emergency or rainy day fund in 2025. Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025

1. Module 1. Your money baseline

   • What a money year is, and what this course will and won’t doHow the course works: a baseline, a plan, a calendar and four quarterly reviews, and why it’s education rather than advice.
   • Your net worth snapshot: what you own and what you owe todayHow to list your assets and debts in one place, why the total matters less than the trend, and how to keep the snapshot honest.
   • Your real income: regular, irregular and after taxHow to record what actually reaches your account, how to handle pay that changes, and why planning on your lowest month is safer.
   • Where the money actually goes: one month of honest trackingHow to review past spending from your statements, sort it into a few categories and find the irregular costs that wreck plans.
   • Your baseline file: documents, accounts and a safe place to keep themWhat belongs in a money file, how to check your credit report each year, and how to keep the file secure.
   • Project: P1 Your baseline
2. Module 2. Goals you’ll actually keep

   • Why money goals slip, and how to design ones that lastThe common reasons goals are abandoned, and four design features that make a goal easier to keep.
   • Short, medium and long-term goals: matching time to the goalWhy the time until you need the money changes how you plan for it, and how to sort your goals into three horizons.
   • Costing a goal: target, date and the monthly amountThe simple arithmetic behind every savings goal, how to allow for prices rising, and what to do when the numbers don’t fit.
   • Ranking competing goals when the money won’t stretchA simple way to order goals by urgency and importance, the questions that help, and how to record your choice.
   • Your goal sheet: making goals automatic and visibleHow to turn ranked goals into automatic transfers, where to keep goal money, and how to track progress without obsessing.
   • Project: P2 Your goal sheet
3. Module 3. Your money calendar

   • Why a money calendar does what a budget can’tHow timing problems break budgets that look fine on paper, and what goes on a money calendar.
   • Tax years in Australia, the UK and the US, and why your plan should know yoursWhen the tax year starts and ends in each country, and how to line up your money year with it.
   • Tax deadlines and payment dates to put in your diaryThe main return and payment deadlines for individuals in each country, where to check them each year, and how to plan for a tax bill.
   • Renewals, annual bills and sinking fundsHow to turn renewals into decision points rather than automatic payments, and how sinking funds smooth out annual costs.
   • Building your 12-month money calendar and booking your reviewsHow to assemble every date into one calendar, set reminders that work, and book your four quarterly reviews now.
   • Project: P3 Your 12-month money calendar
4. Module 4. Cash-flow architecture

   • Accounts and buckets: a simple structure for where money livesWhy separating money by job makes a plan easier to run, and three common account structures to choose from.
   • The payday routine: automating the planHow to set up transfers and bill payments so the plan runs on payday, and how to check automation isn’t costing you.
   • Irregular and variable income: smoothing the bumpsTools for shift work, casual roles and self-employment: a buffer for low months, paying yourself a steady amount, and bill smoothing.
   • Spending plans that flex without breakingHow to separate needs and wants, set limits that fit your life, and make one change at a time rather than overhauling everything.
   • The 20-minute monthly check-inA short monthly routine that keeps the plan accurate between quarterly reviews, and what to do when you’re off track.
   • Project: P4 Your cash-flow map
5. Module 5. Buffers and protection

   • What an emergency buffer is for, and where it can sitWhat counts as an emergency, why a buffer protects every other goal, and how to check whether cash is protected where you keep it.
   • Sizing your buffer: months of essentials, built in stepsHow to work out what your buffer covers in months, why the right size depends on your situation, and how to build and refill it.
   • Insurance in your plan: what covers whatThe main types of personal insurance, what each is for, cover you might already have through work or super, and how to list it all.
   • Underinsurance and the yearly renewal checkWhat underinsurance is, why it’s common, and a yearly check to make sure your cover still matches your life.
   • If something happens: wills, powers of attorney and your “in case” fileWhy a will and a power of attorney belong in a money plan, what each does in each country, and how to finish your “in case” file.
   • Project: P5 Your buffer and protection review
6. Module 6. Debt inside the plan

   • Your debt list: balances, rates, minimums and datesHow to list every debt with the details that matter, total it honestly and see what it costs you each month.
   • Ordering extra repayments: two common methods comparedThe highest-interest method and the snowball method, what each is good at, and how to choose and record your approach.
   • Consolidation and refinancing: questions to ask before you signHow rolling debts together can help or hurt, the questions that reveal the true cost, and warning signs to watch for.
   • Missed payments and debt collectors: your rights and next stepsWhat to do if you miss a payment, what debt collectors can and can’t do in each country, and how to spot a collection scam.
   • When repayments don’t fit: hardship options and where to get helpWhat financial hardship assistance is, how to ask for it, and the free, confidential services in each country.
   • Project: P6 Your debt plan
7. Module 7. Retirement checkpoints

   • Australia: a yearly super check-upWhat to check on your super each year: details, contributions, fees, investment option, insurance, lost accounts and where to find the yearly caps.
   • United Kingdom: workplace pensions and your State Pension forecastHow workplace pensions work, how to check your State Pension forecast, how to find old pensions, and where to check yearly allowances.
   • United States: 401(k), IRA and your Social Security statementWhat to check on workplace plans and IRAs, where to find this year’s limits, and how to get your Social Security statement.
   • Your yearly retirement checkpoint: questions for every countryA one-page checkpoint that works in any country, how to use retirement calculators as models, and when to get personal advice.
   • Project: P7 Your retirement checkpoint
8. Module 8. Your personal investing rules

   • Why write investing rules instead of looking for picksWhat a personal investing policy is, why rules about process help more than tips, and the risk concepts every rule should respect.
   • Diversification, time horizon and rebalancingWhat diversification and asset allocation mean, why time horizon matters, and how a calendar-based review rule works.
   • Fees, compounding and why small percentages add upHow compounding works in your favor on growth and against you on fees, and how to find and record what you pay.
   • Scam-proofing your investing: checks before every decisionThe warning signs regulators describe, how AI and fake endorsements are used, and the register checks in each country.
   • Project: P8 Your written investing rules
9. Module 9. Couples and households

   • Money conversations that build trustHow to start money conversations with a partner or housemate, what to cover, and how to keep them calm and regular.
   • Yours, mine and ours: how to set up shared moneyThe main ways couples organize accounts, the responsibilities that come with joint accounts and joint debts, and how to choose.
   • Shared goals and fair contributions when incomes differWays to split shared costs (equal, proportional, or a mix), how to agree shared goals, and how to handle unequal incomes or time out of work.
   • When money is used to control: recognizing financial abuseWhat financial and economic abuse can look like, why it’s never the victim’s fault, safety considerations, and free, confidential help lines in each country.
   • Separation, marriage and other big household changesThe money checklist for separation, the money tasks when you marry or move in, and where to get legal and practical help in each country.
   • Project: P9 Your household money agreement
10. Module 10. Life events, reviews and professionals

    • Life events: re-planning when things changeHow to re-run your plan when a big change happens, using having a baby as a worked case, and the official support to check in each country.
    • Your quarterly review routineWhat to check every three months, how to keep reviews short, and how to record what changed.
    • The year-end review: closing one money year and opening the nextHow the fourth review differs from the others: the tax year, retirement and investing reviews, and setting next year’s plan.
    • General information, general advice and personal adviceWhat each kind of help is, why this course is general education only, and how to tell which one you’re getting.
    • Choosing, checking and briefing a professionalHow to check registration in each country, what to ask about fees and conflicts, and how to brief a professional so the meeting is useful.
    • Project: P10 Your review routine and professional brief
11. Module 11. Capstone: your 12-month plan and four dated quarterly reviews

    • Build your 12-month plan (Modules 1–10)Pull your module projects together into one 12-month money plan with a start date and four dated quarterly reviews.
    • Quarter 1 review (start date + 3 months)Run your first quarterly review on its date: update numbers, compare with the plan and set up to three dated actions.
    • Quarter 2 review (start date + 6 months)Run your second review: check progress against Q1’s actions and adjust the plan for the second half of the year.
    • Quarter 3 review (start date + 9 months)Run your third review and prepare for the year-end: book any professional help and gather documents.
    • Quarter 4 and year-end review (start date + 12 months)Close your money year: compare with your baseline, review the year, and set next year’s start date and plan.
    • Final assessment (40 questions)A 40-question assessment drawn from an 80-question bank, mostly scenarios, covering every module. Pass mark 80%; retakes allowed.
    • Project: Capstone: your 12-month plan and four dated quarterly reviews

Course types, not named competitors. These are our general observations of each type, not a survey.