- Description of the programme
- The study
- Key findings
- Points to consider
Description of the programme
The Dollars Making Sense (DMS) programme was a pilot developed by the Noosa Library Service and funded by Financial Literacy Australia (FLA). The DMS programme goals were to:
- Improve people’s understanding of money;
- Make informed decisions about their current and future financial needs; and
- Maintain and improve their standard of living and quality of life.
The programme targeted adults who might be struggling to understand money and perform everyday transactions and those with low-level literacy skills. It used money as a topic within literacy and numeracy tuition. The programme used trained volunteer tutors to provide one-to-one tuition to participants.
The study
The evaluation aimed to:
- Provide preliminary feedback on the programme’s progress;
- Measure the effectiveness, impact and outcomes of the programme;
- Develop a programme logic; and
- Contribute to the programme’s reporting requirement.
The study used a mixed methods approach, including:
- A review of key documents and questionnaires in the financial literacy field;
- A survey of 12 participants pre and post programme;
- A qualitative focus group with tutors in the early stages of the programme;
- A qualitative one-to-one interviews with a key expert in the field, a participant who exited the programme early and Noosa Library representatives; and
- Case studies with a mix of three different types of learners, their tutors and third parties.
Key findings
Overall, 12 participants from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and abilities participated in the programme. Prior to the programme, participants had low financial confidence and many lived from one pay day to the next, were concerned about debt, and were unable to budget or save.
The post-survey results indicated positive improvements in 12 of 30 attitudinal and behavioural areas. The areas where participants experienced the most change were:
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Financial capability (mindset):
- Worrying less about debt: before = 14%; after = 75%
- Being more of a saver than a spender: before = 10%; after = 60%
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Financial capability (ability):
- Confidence in ability to manage finances: before = 10%; after = 60%
- Not making impulse or snap purchases: before = 40%; after = 100%
- Knowing how much is needed for living expenses: before = 30%; after = 50%
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Other outcomes:
- Improvements in health
- A pathway to secure housing
- Monetary benefits
- Securing government and medical benefits
- The programme had limited impact in areas where participants said they were already capable, e.g. making major purchases and buying items on credit.
- Participants who did not achieve their goals tended to have expectations outside of the objectives of the programme or were not able to form a workable relationship with their tutor.
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Some benefits were attributed to the delivery style:
- The model of one-on-one tutoring was highly successful and attributed to positive outcomes.
- Efforts were made to appropriately match tutors and participants.
- The relationship between tutor and learner was reported to be key to success.
- Benefits of one-to-one sessions included improved privacy and confidentiality, a flexible response to individual learning needs and areas of financial literacy need.
- Challenges included:
- Participant numbers were lower than anticipated and not all participants were from a target group with low literacy.
- It became evident that in order to successfully navigate and manage financial management, learners often needed to develop their skills in other areas, such as using the internet and building their self-confidence in dealing with large organisations. In response to learner requests, the programme developed beyond the domain of financial literacy.
Points to consider
-
Generalisability/transferability:
- One of the identified key strengths of the programme was its ability to be flexible and respond to the individual needs of learners.
- The participants relationship with their tutor appeared to be a success factor.
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Methodological limitations:
- The study is limited by a very small sample size.
- The evaluation did not explore causality.
Full report
Evaluation of the Dollars Making Sense Programme - full report
