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How We Actually Teach Financial Planning
Real budgeting skills aren't learned through lectures alone. Our methods focus on hands-on practice, real-world scenarios, and building confidence through experience rather than theory dumping.
The Practice-First Philosophy
We stopped doing traditional lectures years ago. Why? Because watching someone else create a budget doesn't teach you how to manage your own finances. Our September 2025 cohort will spend roughly 70% of their time working through real scenarios—mortgage calculations, emergency fund planning, pension contributions for different life stages.
Each session builds on actual financial situations our instructors have encountered. You'll work with messy data, incomplete information, and conflicting priorities. That's what real budgeting looks like, and that's what prepares you for genuine financial planning work.
Sessions run from October 2025 through March 2026, with flexible evening and weekend options for those managing work commitments.
Our Three-Phase Learning Structure
Foundation Building
Starts with your current financial knowledge—wherever that is. We map out household budgets, track spending patterns, and understand income fluctuations. No assumptions about what you already know. Just practical skill development at your pace.
Scenario Application
Here's where things get interesting. You'll tackle case studies based on real UK households—young families, pre-retirees, freelancers with irregular income. Each scenario includes complications because real life is complicated. You learn by solving actual problems.
Portfolio Development
By month four, you're creating complete annual budgets from scratch. These become part of your professional portfolio—evidence of your capability. Some students use these examples when applying for financial planning roles or setting up their own advisory services.
Meet Saffron Eldridge
Lead Instructor & Budget Planning Specialist
Saffron spent twelve years working with families across Yorkshire helping them sort out their finances. She's seen every budgeting mistake imaginable—and made a few herself early in her career. That experience shapes how she teaches now.
Her approach isn't about perfection. It's about building systems that actually work when life gets messy. She'll push you to think through edge cases and challenge your assumptions, but always with the goal of making you more confident in your financial planning abilities.
"I don't believe in teaching methods that only work on paper. If a budget can't survive a broken boiler or unexpected job change, it's not a real budget. That's what we practice here."