Personal Finance

Rounding Up 9 Best Financial Health Check Tools (UK)

When is the last time you saw a doctor for a medical check-up? Some of us will say recently, while others may be embarrassed that it hasn’t happened in over a decade (I was busy, okay!).

Now, consider this: when was the last time you had a financial health check? For many people, this is a foreign concept, while others are simply unfamiliar with the term but know the basic ideas behind a finical health check.

In this article, we will define what a health check is, how they work, and why most adults need one.

After this, we will showcase 8 of the best financial health check tools available in the UK, so that you can get started instantly.

What is a Financial Health Check?

First and foremost, a Financial Health Check can be defined as a review of a person or business’s finances designed to evaluate their money management.

Financial health checks can also be called financial checkups, personal financial reviews, fiscal health checks, fiscal checkups, and more.

Traditionally, financial health checks have always been performed in a one on one meeting with an adviser, accountant, or other funds manager. This is still very commonplace today as many people find it best to trust one person or company with their money.

Today, however, more and more financial services are being pushed online. Financial health checks are now available in the form of online quizzes, apps, and other digitally available services.

Typical parts of a Financial Health Check

A financial health check-up is meant to serve as a sweeping overview of all of the fiscal components of a person’s life. For this reason, looking at the following is typically included as a part of a financial health check:

  • Your Savings (Retirement, Pension, Investments, Cash, etc.)
  • Your Debt (Mortgage, Car Payments, Credit Cards, etc.)
  • Your Income (Wages, Dividends, Bonuses, etc.)
  • Your Credit Score
  • Your Insurance
  • Your Spending Habits
  • Your Will
  • and Your Future Purchases

Obviously, some fiscal health checks may be more in-depth than others. Whereas some may simply give you “a score,” others can actually pinpoint the habits and factors that you will need to change in order to better your financial health.

Depending on the complexity of the assessment, a fiscal checkup can take ten minutes or several hours.

Should I pay for my Financial Health Check?

Although many institutions offer them free of charge, some finical health check services will still cost money to utilize.

Although paid services typically imply premium features, it is important to vet the institution you are paying before using their services. In many cases, the same information may be available elsewhere for free.

Why is Financial Health Important?

In many ways, financial health is just as important to physical health and mental health in terms of living a happy and fulfilling life. Of course, you do not need billions of pounds in order to be financially healthy.

Instead, good financial health implies less time worrying about money whilst responsibly spending and saving your money in a sustainable way.

The Best Financial Health Check Tools (UK)

Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know about financial health checks, it is finally time to take a look at today’s top tools.

For adults in the UK, we’ve put together this list of the 8 best financial health check tools that can be used online today.

1. The Money Advice Service Money Health Check Tool

First, on our list, we’d like to recommend a non-biased, government-run financial health check tool.

The Money Advice Service’s Money Health Check Tool was created by the Money and Pension Service (MaPS) in order to provide British people with the best information possible regarding money, debt, and pensions.

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The Money Advice Services’ Money Health Check Tool is free to use on the organization’s website. To get started, simply click through the online quiz designed to fully assess your fiscal situation. There is no need to sign up for anything and the quiz does not take too long to complete.

More than anything, the Money Advice Service’s tool is designed to paint in broad strokes and not actually get into the nitty-gritty numbers of your financial situation.

Instead, it is meant to assess the overall health of your finances and point you in the right direction for additional free, helpful information.

According to its website, the Money Advice Service’s Money Health Check Tool has been used over 500,000 times. With this in mind, it is clear that this service is not only valuable but incredibly easy to use.

2. Lumio’s Financial Health Check Handbook

Admittedly a cheeky self-plug of one of our own homemade creations, but we’re super proud of our own Financial Health Check Handbook and we’d love you to get your hands on it!

We believe knowledge is power. So we’ve created this financial health check to empower you and your finances, step-by-step. We’ve also included some key stats about
how people in the UK are taking control of their finances.

Not only does it contain our beautifully designed, battle-tested health check flow chart and loads of UK stats, but it also includes 5 bonus pages packed with actionable budgeting tips that you can use to change the very course of your financial future.

3. Standard Life Financial Health Check Tool

Next, we’d like to introduce the Standard Life Finical Health Check Tool. For those who are unfamiliar, Standard Life Aberdeen is a global investment company that is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In the UK, the finical series company has released its health check tool which is free and easy to use.

Much like the Money Advice Sevice’s tool, Stand Life’s financial health check tool is designed as an online quiz which requires users to click through to a new page after each answer. The questions go a bit more in-depth than the government provided tool but the results are fairly similar.

At the end of the quiz, participants receive a “report card” with a financial health rating between zero and five stars. The company also provides specific “smart tips” along the way when specific answers are chosen.

Although it is slightly more personalized than the Money Advice Service’s tool, Standard Life’s free online fiscal health check is still a fairly general service.

Beyond this, the website provides more savings tips and guides on how to reach specific finical goals.

4. EQ Investors Financial Health Check Tool

Next up, let’s take a look at the new Finical Health Check Tool from EQ Investors.

EQ Investors is a London-based certified B corporation that provides investment services for individuals, advisers, and charities. In their free finical health check tool, EQ Investors provides a “Financial Fitness Score.”

Straight away, EQ Investor’s tool is a bit more robust than the previous two on the list. The online quiz adapts on the fly with real-time graphs showing your life expectancy and finical health (which can be a little jarring if you are doing this first thing in the morning).

The quiz also lets you add a spouse or dependents to the equation in order to showcase a family’s finical health.

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The EQ Investor’s Finical Health Check tool allows you to input real numbers, which provides for a better overall assessment of debts, cash flow, and net worth.

Of course, the results are only going to be as good as the information you provide, so this quiz can take a considerable amount of time if you do not have everything prepared right in front of you.

Thankfully, your progress can be saved and you can always revisit the quiz at a later time.

5. The ThisisMoney.co.uk – Financial Health Check Quiz

Next, ThisisMoney.co.uk provides a fun finical health check quiz that was originally published in May of 2019.

This is Money is a part of Daily Mail and General Trust, and calls itself the “Financial Consumer Website of the Year” after winning the award in 2016.

Unlike previous tools in this list, this quiz is more of a questionnaire, the likes of which you may not have filled out since University.

The quiz is comprised of just 8 questions, all of which can be answered A, B, C, or D. Very quickly, it becomes obvious that your overall financial health is probably going to be better so long as you answer the questions with the letters that are closest to the beginning of the alphabet.

At the end of the article, This is Money presents four cartoon caricatures for different finical health statuses. Descending from great to troublesome, your quiz results will land you as either a:

  • Savy Susan
  • Steady Eddie
  • Slapdash Sophie
  • or Pinched Peter

Although these are hardly helpful monikers, the idea here is more or less to get a better understanding of your finical health overall.

To help your finical journey further, this website provides additional articles, podcasts, and videos to help achieve your goals without an individual finical advisor.

6. Lemonade Money Financial Health Check App

The private company, Lemonade Money, also has another great financial health check app that is free and easy to use.

The digital quiz, which can be accessed on the app’s website, is designed to assess your finances in six key areas: debt, mortgages, protection, pension, investments, and will.

For each of these areas, users receive a traffic light score (i.e. green, yellow, or red) for how well they are doing in each finical facet.

In a way, Lemonade Money has combined the simplicity and ease of most finical health checks with the complexity and accuracy of some of the premium quizzes.

The assessment is designed to only take about ten minutes but allows you to input your information in real number rangers that easily categorize your finical health.

Along the way, Lemonade Money’s financial health check app provides UK averages for each of the questions it asks. In this sense, it is easy to get a good idea of where you stand against the populous in a number of different categories.

At the end of the quiz, Lemonade Money requires you to add your name and email address in order to receive the results.

7. Softools Finance Health App (For Businesses)

If you’re looking to perform a financial health check on your business, rather than just your personal savings, then look no further than the Softools Finance Health App.

If you are unfamiliar, Softools is a premier developer of business apps with a history of working with reputable global organizations such as Coca Cola, IBM, Honda, Vodafone, and more.

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Although this app cannot be used to tell the future of your personal retirement, pension, mortgage, or finances, Softools Finical Health App is great for assessing the financial health of your business or professional team.

Within the interface, snapshots can be taken for individuals, teams, and departments over fixed periods of time. By measuring performance against KPI’s, Softools Finical Health App is great for businesses trying to take control of their financial health.

8. Pelican AI Financial Health Check App

Moving right along with business financial advice, we’d like to introduce the Pelican AI finical Health Check App as one of the most complex and accurate fiscal health checks available in the UK today.

Whereas most quick quizzes can give you a decent overview of where you stand, Pelican’s advanced app is designed to “assess performance, monitor trends, and identify opportunities for businesses.”

To get started with Pelican AI, interested businesses must fill out a form in order to receive information about gaining access to the software. Once you’re up and running, Pelican’s complicated system can be used to assess both finical and non-money-related KPIs.

With real-time tracking, the Pelican Finical Health Check App can be used to make departmental assessments with comparisons both internally and externally.

Although it takes a considerable amount of time to set up and deploy, the return on investment of the Pelican AI finical health check app is undeniable.

The interface is perfect for large companies looking to better assess the finical health of their key performing features.

9. The Investeo Personal Finance Quiz

Lastly, we’d like to take it back to personal financial advice, and feature of the most exciting new personal finances quizzes available to UK consumers.

Investeo’s free financial checkup can be obtained by providing the company with your email address and downloading your checkup. Unlike most universal quizzes, Investeo’s personal finance checkup is specifically designed for young adults.

Although Investeo’s quiz is not much different than many others on the list, it is difficult not to get excited about this young company.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign launched during a global pandemic, Investeo is focused on creating guides to make “finance fairer for everyone in society.”

Although we can almost guarantee that your quiz results will point you in the direction of Investeo’s personal finance guide, it is still a valuable resource.

Please, if you decide to make a purchase, 5% of profits are donated to improve financial education in the UK, which is something we can certainly endorse.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, it is very easy to get a financial health check performed for yourself or your business with all of the tools available in the UK today.

With minimal investments of time and money required, you can use any of the tools on this list to easily see the state of your financial health.

Beyond this, many of these robust tools can be used to analyze your finical situation and provide recommendations and guides for saving money and achieving fiscal goals.

Tom
About author

Fully qualified CISI Investment adviser for 5 year. Managed UK private client portfolios.
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