Online tool advises how to mature your finances

Unbiased.co.uk, the website promoting the benefits of independent financial advice, today launches a new online service that identifies consumers’ true ‘financial’ age and offers advice on how to make the most of their money – no matter how old they are.

Whether they’re under 25 and part of the ‘iPod Generation’, a ‘Mid-Life Marcher’ in their 40s and early 50s or a ‘Silver Saver’ soon to embark on retirement, Unbiased.co.uk’s quick and easy to use Financial Age Tool has been designed to help consumers understand the true ‘age’ of their finances compared to their actual age.

Today’s increasing property prices, spiralling debt and lack of forward planning for retirement, has left the majority of consumers with a younger ‘financial age’ than their actual real age. For example, a 35 year old consumer without a mortgage, who often has unplanned spending sprees or has no real savings plans could find that their ‘financial age’ is actually closer to 21.

Therefore it’s important that consumers are able to recognise what state their finances are in and take those crucial steps, such as consulting an IFA and having a financial makeover, to ensure that their finances mature in accordance with or, better still, get ahead of their actual age.

The online Financial Age Tool offers a first step towards helping consumers take control through answering a series of questions about their personal finances including:

the state of their current account at the end of each month
whether they have a pension
how they tend to spend their money
if they have made a will

They then enter their current age and the Tool calculates their actual ‘financial age’ providing an assessment of the current state of their finances.

David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk comments, “’Act your age’ is something most of us are told to do when we’re growing up but how often do we take heed of this as adults - especially where our finances are concerned? It’s never too early to start planning for our financial future yet the world of finances can often seem complicated no matter what age you are.

“Unbiased’s new Financial Age Tool has been designed to provide consumers with a quick and easy means of assessing their current finances and identifying what steps they should take to help them prepare for the future.

“Visiting an independent financial adviser (IFA) for expert advice is often the first port of call for many consumers and Unbiased.co.uk’s search engine has been designed to make it even easier for them to find the right IFA for their needs – they can even download a voucher that gives them a free 30 minute consultation to help set them on the path to financial success!”