It’s a new year and time for new goals. If like most of us you exhausted your finances during the festive season, help is at hand… we have put together a 10 step plan to nurse your finances back to health.

Money101 is a specialist online financial education business servicing the financial services industry. Over the past 7 years we have proudly become the market leader in the consumer financial literacy environment. And… as a leading provider of consumer and financial education programs, we are able to indulge our passion of helping consumers to better understand the issues of money management, debt and wealth creation.

There are many implications related to the adoption of the new assessment and professional development framework proposed by ASIC in its Consultation Paper 153 (CP153). Released in April 2011, the paper sought feedback on ASIC’s proposals. Many financial services businesses and industry groups have since made submissions to ASIC on the paper.

The phenomena of too much to do and not enough time to do it (experienced by all too many of us) creates stress in the home, in the workplace and in our relationships. So, when you think about it, whilst we all know that we need to be dealing with our physical fitness and our workplace skills and attitudes, the reality is we also need to learn mental fitness and mindfulness techniques. How on earth do we fit this all in?

How much money will we need in retirement to live independently from the Age pension? $500, 000? $1 million? $2 million? The answer is different for each household and will largely depend on the type of lifestyle you want.

You may not have backed a winner in this year’s Melbourne Cup, but anyone with a mortgage secured a small windfall, albeit small, in the shape of an interest rate cut – the first in more than 2 ½ years.

A recent report by Hays Recruitment has noted increased demand for financial planners and paraplanners.

Have you thought about who would handle your financial affairs if you were to lose capacity?

Given the lingering effects of the recent economic downturn, it is more important than ever to ensure that Australians understand and participate in their own financial wellbeing. At Money101 we provide numerous financial education packages to help people make good financial decisions and manage money with confidence.

How much further can the online revolution take us and will those of us who don’t embrace it get left behind?

According to the Training Package Development Handbook, skill sets are defined as single units of competency, or combinations of units of competency from an endorsed Training Package, which link to a licence or regulatory requirement, or defined industry need.

Even though Australia may have the world’s best performing Treasurer and has side-stepped much of the fallout of the GFC, many Australian businesses are unable to offer pay rises to their loyal and talented staff in the current work climate. And many employees are afraid to ask for a pay review because they don’t think they will be successful. In fact, a recent survey of accounting and finance workers found that 52 of employees would quit their jobs before asking for a pay rise, believing that they will receive a 5-10 increase in wages by switching jobs.

The Stronger Super reforms have been released at last! With the aim of improving confidence in the superannuation industry the reforms will introduce some key benefits such as simple and cost-effective default products with a single investment strategy and a standard fee structure new , measures to assist with the location and consolidation of multiple super accounts and processes to simplify and add transparency across all super products.

2012 – The only certainties in life are death and volatility. To say 2012 is shaping up to be a financially challenging one is an understatement, with the ongoing European debt crises, political jousting in the US, massive daily stock market swings and now the threat of perhaps a second Global Financial Crisis.

With all the changes that are happening in our profession at the moment, it pays to take a top-down strategic look at the whole thing. One of the side effects of studying Psychology, Commerce, and Finance at university is that I am now a strategic thinker - I’m not really interested in the nit-picking details that others can get caught up with. In Australia we are lucky not to have the serious issues that others in the world face day-to-day. While other countries have to battle poverty, corruption and civil war, our major concerns are a lack of retirement savings, and underinsurance.

Who could have predicted the amazing growth of self-managed super funds over the past few years? Do-it-Yourself superannuation may provide the flexibility and control that Australians seek but do your research before rushing in…

Financial hardship is, unfortunately, being experienced by many Australians and this not only has a negative impact on their own lives, but also impacts directly on society. Some individuals find themselves caught in a downward spiral, and often they do not have the necessary skills to be able to work their way out of it.

Several recent reports point to looming skills shortages in Australia, and this is extremely pertinent to the financial services industry. One very recent report commissioned by the Federal Government has found that workforce demands are consistently not being met, and that current skills training is failing the country, whilst the release of ASIC’s latest consultation paper puts it beyond dispute that training standards and minimum qualifications for all those who work in the financial planning industry need to be raised.

The recent flooding and storms over large swathes of Australia in the past few weeks has led to uncertainty concerning the scope of cover of insurance policies when dealing with different types of natural catastrophes. The question that arises is what, if any, coverage exists for this damage under insurance policies. What happens if already damaged property is further damaged by storms or cyclones?

Web accessibility is the process of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities, so that all users can have equal access to information and functionality. Some examples of special needs learners might be - blind users who rely on screen reading software, deaf users who require captioned video content, or users with mobility issues who may not be able to move a mouse and so require keyboard shortcuts. The purpose of accessibility is to provide these users with an online experience that is equal to that of a non-handicapped user.

Money101 has worked with Westpac for several years on financial literacy programs for their staff and customers. In conjunction with Westpac, Money101 has developed accredited online training in financial services to be delivered through the Davidson Institute. Westpac have now opened the doors of their education facility to tempt more Australians to become financially aware.

Peter Boehm is a regular collaborator with Money101 and is widely quoted in the Australian media on matters regarding property, finance and the first home buyer market. Peter can be seen and heard in Money101’s ‘Your Home Your Loan’ module as well as numerous videos within Money101’s online Financial education modules and online at You Tube. Peter’s book ‘The Great Australian Dream’ has just been published and is recommended reading for anyone considering entering the property market for the first time. With more than 30 years experience in banking and financial services Peter has an extensive knowledge and understanding of personal finance and the needs of first home buyers.

Catherine Birchall, founder and CEO of Money101 is dedicated and passionate about financial literacy. Catherine has ten years experience working within the financial services sector and 20 years in vocational education and training. A large component of Catherine’s success is a result of her work within the finance and education sector industry groups.

Research consistently points to the fact that a better understanding of financial advice, and what it entails, can provide Australians with improved financial literacy and helps them prepare for their future. However, over the last few years, a range of issues have conspired to create a situation where, combined with a number of legitimate misconceptions about the competence of the industry which have flowed out of the GFC, more Australians than ever are suffering from low awareness and a degree of confusion about what actually constitutes good financial planning.

As an employer, you understand that the financial literacy of your employees correlates with sound financial benefits and a significant impact on your triple bottom line that is the environmental, social and economic indicators of success. As an employee, you are probably extremely busy but yet you may need to gain a vocational qualification in the financial services sector, or simply gain a better understanding of how the ‘money-go-round’ works. You want the training, but you don’t want the hassle of finding a car park… you don’t want to drive for ages to an old training room and you certainly don’t want to have to drive home late at night. Money101’s online training provides the perfect answer.

Member engagement has lately been the hot topic at every superannuation conference and Money101 is keen to work with you to gain real time interaction with your audience. Fund members typically have low levels of awareness about superannuation, have a poor understanding of advice and are often uninformed about financial matters generally. It is a scary fact that up to a third of Australians over 50 have not made any preparations for retirement.

Identity theft has cost Australians $1.3 billion over the last year. A survey compiled by Galaxy Research for VeriSign has reported that of the 2500 Australians surveyed almost one in 10 had fallen victim to online identity theft.

E-learning now accounts for nearly one third of learning content in companies and government, according to the ASTD State of the Industry 2010 Report. Online learning programs are being built furiously and fast.