Financial services are an ever increasing part of the infrastructure of everyday life. From banking to credit, insurance to investment and mortgages to advice, we all consume financial services, and many millions globally work in the sector. Moreover, the way we consume them is changing with the growing dominance of fintech and Big Data. Yet, the part of financial services that we engage with as consumers is just the tip of a vast network of markets, institutions and regulators – and fraudsters too. Many books about financial services are designed to serve corporate finance education, focusing on capital structures, maximising shareholder value, regulatory compliance and other business-oriented topics. A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion is different: it swings the perspective towards the end-user, the customer, the essential but often overlooked participant without whom retail financial services markets would not exist. While still introducing all the key areas of financial services, it explores how the sector serves or sometimes fails to serve consumers, why consumers need protection in some areas and what form that protection takes, and how consumers can best navigate the risks and uncertainties that are inherent in financial products and services. For consumers, a greater understanding of how the financial system works is a prerequisite of ensuring that the system works for their benefit. For students of financial services – those aspiring to or those already working in the sector – understanding the consumer perspective is an essential part of becoming an effective, holistically informed and ethical member of the financial services community. A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion will equip you for both these roles. The editors and authors of A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion combine a wealth of financial services, educational and consumer-oriented practitioner experience.

Owning a property is a dream for many people, and borrowing from banks is often essential to achieve this. However, having a mortgage can cause real anxiety because of the latent fear of losing our home if we cannot keep up with mortgage payments. Traditionally, homeowners repay their debt over 25 years, but high house prices have made it necessary to increase the term up to 40 years to make monthly payments affordable. Spreading the debt over a longer period of time not only means that borrowers have to pay more interest, but they are also exposed to other risks such as potential interest rate rises and changes in personal circumstances affecting their mortgage eligibility. These can lead to financial worries, financial stress, and reduced well-being. There are few practical guides available to show borrowers how to manage their mortgage debt more effectively, and how to repay their mortgage quickly so that they are debt-free. This book seeks to empower consumers, young and old, by providing a roadmap to help borrowers achieve financial security through planning for the future, insuring their income, and setting up an emergency fund. It also outlines simple strategies for an early repayment of debt, including paying off the capital, making extra payments, and monitoring their mortgage debt. In doing so, it aims to help readers improve their general well-being, enhance their financial security, reduce their financial worries, and eliminate their ‘mortgage insomnia’.