Startup of the Week - Lifetise

by Startacus Admin

The financial planning startup that is like "The Sims for your real life".

As we all know, financial planning is vital yet it is something that not all of us do well.  We may share similar financial challenges as we make key life decisions - whether it’s buying our first home, having kids or preparing for retirement, but we may deal with those challenges in very different ways. And since we are currently in pretty uncertain economic times, coping with financial challenges is something that we all ought to make a concerted effort to get much better at. 

Step forward our latest startup of the week which can help us do just that.

Lifetise is an innovative financial planning startup that is on a mission to help us all plan for those big life events.

And if you thought financial planning, whilst necessary, is bound to be dull, then think again because Lifetise have added a gaming function to their platform. The platform basically lets you play out different life scenarios so that you can see clearly how they would affect your finances. It’s been referred to as “The Sims for your real life” and it’s easy to see why!

It’s a pretty simple concept - you choose your life goals and Lifetise provides you with the tools and advice that show you how you can afford those goals.

To start with, they have focused on two key goals - namely buying a home and also calculating the costs of childcare.

“Homefinder” helps users work out how much they can afford to spend on a home, where in the UK they can afford to live and also how much and for how long they’ll need to save to buy that home. Covering everything from stamp duty through to differing mortgage rates, it gives users a clear indication of what every scenario would look like.

Likewise, “Childminder” helps parents work out the true costs of childcare. Taking into consideration salaries, working hours, geographic location and the age of the child, it works out the cost comparisons for all types of childcare - whether that is a nursery, a private childminder or a family member. Parents can then work out what is the most affordable childcare option for them and also weigh up things like part time vs full time working and its impact on the costs.

Over the past few months, Lifetise has also developed a whole heap of resources specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many of us facing unexpected financial challenges this year, they recognised this and immediately put together apps with guides, info and signposting resources to help - on everything from government support through to getting a mortgage holiday.

Lifetise has already proven itself to be invaluable to lots of people and as this is just the beginning, we reckon that it is most certainly one to watch.

 

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Published on: 17th June 2020