🧭 Start Here: Build Your Personal Finance Foundation

You’ve just landed at The Personal Finance Hub — before you go wild opening new ISAs, pensions or accounts, this article is your essential starting point.

I can’t overstate how important it is to take stock of your financial position before making changes. If you don’t know where your money goes, what you have, and what you owe — then you can’t make smart decisions or set meaningful goals.

Let’s change that.
No waffle. No jargon. Just a spreadsheet and three simple steps.

1️⃣ Understand Your Income & Outgoings

You probably think you know your income and spending. But “roughly knowing” is not good enough when it comes to making real financial progress.

Let’s go deeper.

💼 Income: Not Just Your Salary

• What tax band are you in?
• How much goes into your pension?
• Are there benefits or deductions (healthcare, season tickets, etc.)?
• How much tax do you pay on commissions or bonuses?

🎯 Why This Matters

Let’s say you earn £50,000 — right at the top of the basic-rate tax band (20%). If you earn an extra £5,000 bonus, that’s taxed at 40%. You go from keeping £800 per £1,000… to £600. That’s £2,000 in tax.

📌 If you’re close to a tax band threshold (e.g. £50k or £100k), you should know:

• When it tips over
• What tax bracket you enter
• Whether you could reduce your liability by redirecting income into pensions

🧾 Know Your Spending

Break it down — and yes, write it down. Here are the core categories:

📂 Fixed Costs

• Housing: Rent/mortgage, council tax, utilities
• Insurance: Car, life, pet, gadget
• Memberships/Subscriptions: Netflix, Spotify, Gym, Amazon, etc.

💳 Flexible Spending

• Discretionary: Eating out, travel, clothes, coffee
• Tip: Use 3-month average credit card statements if that’s how you spend

💰 Saving & Debt

• Savings, loans, credit card repayments, car finance

📌 Tip: Use a spreadsheet (or soon — one of our downloadable templates) and categorise everything. You’ll be amazed what stands out.

2️⃣ Know Your Balances: Assets & Debts

Just as important as income/spend is knowing what you have and what you owe.

🏦 Assets

• Savings accounts
• Investments (ISAs, GIA, etc.)
• Pensions (yes, even the old ones)

💸 Liabilities

• Credit card balances
• Loans or car finance
• Mortgage(s)

Don’t just list values. Record:

• Provider & account access
• Interest rates or fees
• Any key dates (e.g. promo periods, lock-ins)

⚠️ What About Lost Pensions?

According to the ABI, £19bn of pension pots are “lost” — that’s 1.6 million unclaimed, averaging £11,000 each.

Why? People leave jobs and forget to consolidate or track their pension. It’s boring, admin-heavy, and easy to ignore. But would you forget about £11k if it was in cash?

3️⃣ Get a Spreadsheet. Seriously.

Bringing steps 1 and 2 together into a simple spreadsheet is the most powerful (and cheapest) step you can take.

We’ll be reviewing digital tools soon — but honestly, Excel or Google Sheets is perfect. The important thing is one source of truth. We’ll be uploading a free template shortly.

🧠 Final Thoughts

This first exercise might take an hour or two — but it’s worth it. If you’re not willing to give it that time, The Personal Finance Hub might not be for you (yet!).

Getting on top of your finances is like decluttering your life: painful upfront, freeing forever. You’ll stop winging it and start building it.

Now: open a spreadsheet.
Soon: open opportunities.

📩 Subscribe now to get early access to our templates and future articles on pensions, investing, tax-saving strategies, and more.