Money 4 Wellbeing pilot program evaluation

1. Description of the programme
2. The study
3. What are the outcomes?
4. Key findings
5. Points to consider

• Description of the programme
• The study
• What are the outcomes?
• Key findings
• Points to consider
• Full report

Description of the programme

The Money 4 Wellbeing program (M4WB) aimed to develop the financial capability of young people aged between 18 and 24 years from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program supported the development of both emotional and financial literacy by developing positive psychological attitudes, offering a more holistic approach to financial literacy.

A programme pilot was undertaken at two sites in Australia: Ballarat (Victoria) and the Gold Coast (Queensland). Thirty-one young people, aged 18-24 years and from disadvantaged backgrounds, were recruited through The Smith Family L4L scholarship and local community relationships to take part in the pilot.

The programme consisted of six two-hour workshops focused on:

• Getting to know personal spending habits, goals etc (session 1)
• Money management tools, impulse buying, happiness and money (session 2)
• Credit providers, purchasing habits, peer pressure (session 3)
• Understanding money traps, e.g. credit cards, insurance, credit ratings, regulators (session 4)
• Superannuation and long-term financial decisions (session 5)
• Understanding stress, resilience, personal money plan (session 6).

After completion of the six workshops, participants took part in 12-months of one-to-one mentoring to promote opportunities for developing financial capability skills.

The study

The evaluation seeks to:

• Assess the outcomes and impact of the programme for young people
• provide feedback on how to improve the programme and the potential sustainability

All participants who took part in M4WB also took part in the evaluation.

Participant data was collected through a series of three surveys: before and after the education component and after the mentoring phase (N= between 29 and 18 respondents). Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gather additional information alongside the post education and post mentoring surveys.

Mentors feedback was gathered through both a survey (N=22) and a semi-structured interview (N=16), both taking place at the end of the 12 month mentoring element.

Feedback from staff at The Smith Family was gathered through a semi-structured interview at two time points: the completion of the education and completion of the mentoring phases.

What are the outcomes?

• Financial knowledge and money management behaviours
• Confidence in dealing with financial issues
• Attitudes towards financial futures
• Abilities to cope with financial stressors
• Overall life satisfaction

Key findings

• Impact on financial knowledge: Improvements are seen in young people’s knowledge on all topics covered in the programme, with the largest levels of change seen in knowledge of superannuations (35.7% change) and goal setting (23.9% change).Indication of change based on one question.
• Saving behaviour: At the end of the programme (post mentoring), around 50% of participants save a set amount on a regular basis (up from around 10% at baseline). Similarly, at the start of the programme around 22% said they regularly or always set savings goals; this increased to around 65% post-mentoring.
• Managing money: Prior to M4WB, 77% reported they rarely use a budget; whereas by the end of the programme, 71% report they regularly or always use one. This trend was similar for those who report keeping track of expenses (pre: 77% not keeping track ; post: 77% keeping track).
• Knowledge and seeking help with money: M4WB had a positive impact on young people’s financial knowledge, and by the end of the programme:
  • 57% more young people knew where to get help with financial decisions, and 88% of young people felt comfortable speaking with their mentor about finance related questions;
  • 37% increase in those who indicate they know what questions to ask to help make a decision;
  • 52% increase in those with a better understanding of financial products.
• Confidence in dealing with financial issues: 62% more young people reported they were more confident about making financial decisions post-M4WB.
• Attitudes towards financial futures: Around 20% more young people thought the way they manage their finances would have an impact on their future by the end of the programme, with an increase of 46% of young people who feel more motivated to achieve their financial goals after M4WB.
• Abilities to cope with financial stressors: Those who had practical strategies to help deal with stressful events increased between the beginning and end of the programme by 24%, and those who knew how to avoid spending money unnecessarily when feeling stressed increased by 56%. 47% of young people discussed ways of reducing stress in their lives with their mentor.
• Overall life satisfaction and confidence: There was a 22% increase in general confidence after programme completion; the average life satisfaction rating increase from 5.9 (pre) to 7.26 (post) out of 10.
• Feedback on the mentoring element:
  • 71% of mentees and 73% of mentors thought a 12-month period was the right amount of time for the mentoring component;
  • All partnerships used more than one method of communication, with email being the main way mentees and mentors communicated (49%) and telephone contact only being used by 27%.

Recommendations:

The following recommendations are suggested for increasing the effectiveness of M4WB:

• Develop and retain a pool of facilitators who are experts in delivering the financial, psychological and youth oriented dimensions of the programme;
• Use technology more often in the education workshops;
• Promote the link between the L4L scholarship and the M4WB programme;
• Offer follow-up workshops to extend programme impact;
• Offer the mentoring component as optional to the programme and tailor it according to a young person’s specific needs;
• Manage the expectations of the mentors;
• Host an event where mentors and mentees can meet and begin building a relationship;
• Provide more structure around the mentoring programme, with a range of activity options that mentors and mentees can engage in together;
• Provide feedback to mentors after the programme to encourage them to volunteer again.

Points to consider

• Methodological limitations:
  • While this evaluation shows promising results, the data is based on a small group of young people (n=31). It is not possible, therefore, to determine whether or not the evaluation provides robust evidence of change.
  • Many of the young people involved in this evaluation had received previous support from The Smith Family. For example, 61% currently had a L4L scholarship and 20% had some prior contact with The Smith Family. It is difficult to say whether this prior involvement with the delivery organisation had any impact on results and whether other young people who have not had this previous support would experience the same outcomes.
• Relevance:
  • This study will be relevant to those interested in increasing the financial capability of young adults. The inclusion of positive psychology in the workshop programme and the inclusion of follow-up mentoring is particularly interesting.

Full report

Full research report