A third of British adults prefer not to think about planning their finances and nearly a third of British adults are frightened of dealing with banks and financial firms, according to the FSA. With this in mind, the Financial Healthcheck - developed jointly by the BBC and the FSA - is a straightforward and user-friendly guide to help people gain control of their finances.

BBC News Interactive editor Pete Clifton says, "This is a fantastic interactive tool which will make a real difference when people are trying to fathom out their financial situation. We pride ourselves on the quality of our news coverage, and this kind of additional service is exactly what the BBC should be helping to provide."

FSA consumer director Anna Bradley says, "The FSA wanted to offer a way for consumers who lack confidence and know-how with money to start to think about their finances and begin to take control. This is the first initiative from the Advice Working Group – part of the National Strategy for Financial Capability - and shows how we are working with other organisations across the UK to help consumers to gain confidence and capability to manage their money."

By answering a few simple questions - about their age, whether they pay a mortgage and how far their current budget stretches - the Financial Healthcheck gives a diagnostic report of the areas of someone's personal finance that might need attention.
There will be no need to dig out old payslips, receipts or bank statements - the healthcheck only takes five minutes to complete.