Hi Justin,

thanks for sharing such an informative class on finance, I found it really useful, it has helped me focus not just in the short term but now I have a long term vision of how I would like my financial future to map out.

Now I have created my own personal snapshot I am working towards three main goals:

1 - Building a family emergency fund (1–2 years): Over the next couple of years both my wife and I will be cutting down on expenses we don't need in our lives and instead channel this money into a separate savings account which will be the home for our family's emergency fund. We're aiming to save 6 months worth of expenses between us.

2 - Start investing (Ongoing): I have installed apps on my phone such as Chip and Moneybox which automatically stash money away by rounding up any purchases I make to the nearest £, so mentally the investments are small, but having already used these apps for a number of months I'm already seeing the benefits of this approach. Moneybox, in particular, is great as it invests my money in stocks and shares, so it's giving me investing experience whilst I gain more knowledge on the various investments which are available to me.

3 - Bringing my pensions together in one pot (1 month): Having worked at various companies over the years my work-based pensions are all over the place! I'm currently trying to track down my previous pension providers so I can transfer my old pension into one pot, helping me keep updated with how they are progressing and topping them up if I am in a position to.

Creating my own personal snapshot has really focused my mind on my finances and has made me feel less anxious about it and more in control. I'm excited to now be in a place to concentrate on the things that matter to me, which is family, now that all of my finances are automatically set up and I don't need to think much about them.

Thanks again Justin!