Intermediate Budgeting (no numeracy)

Transcription

1 Intermediate Budgeting (no numeracy) Guidance for conversations on budgeting Trainer notes for intermediate budgeting with clients

2 This session pack has been produced as part of Citizens Advice Financial Skills for Life. Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, Citizens Advice assumes no responsibility. The user of the information agrees that the information is subject to change without notice. To the extent permitted by law, Citizens Advice excludes all liability for any claim, loss, demands or damages of any kind whatsoever (whether such claims, loss, demands or damages were foreseeable, known or otherwise) arising out of or in connection with the drafting, accuracy and/or its interpretation, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage and whether arising in tort (including negligence), contract or otherwise. Copyright 2015 Citizens Advice All rights reserved. Any reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited except with the express written permission of Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice is an operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, Charity registration number , VAT number , Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered number England. Registered office: Citizens Advice, 3 rd Floor North, 200 Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4HD. 1

3 Intermediate budgeting with no numeracy trainers notes The aim of this session is to provide guidance to advisors when delivering sessions on budgeting to clients who either have low levels of numeracy or are reluctant to engage with activities that involve any degree of basic numeracy. More advanced sessions are also provided on the Citizens advice website. Objectives for the end of this session are that clients will be able to: Understand that they need budgeting guidance Identify ways to increase their income and reduce expenditure Consider tips to save money Understand what a spending diary is, and why it is useful Understand the basic principles behind making their own budget General Guidance Notes on delivering a financial capability session are available elsewhere on the Citizens Advice website. These provide guidance for setting up and administering sessions. These notes are for the trainers use only. A separate handout pack should be used with every client, whether that is one-to-one or group. Trainers are encouraged to feedback to the Financial Skills for Life team with any feedback about training materials or resources. If you have any comments, please contact: financial.skills@citizensadcvice.org.uk 2

4 Contents Session Specific Guidance 5 Lesson Plan 6 1. Essential or non-essential 7 2. How to reduce my bills 8 3. Top tips loyalty cards 9 4. Budget Building Guide How do I convert between weeks, months and years? Intermediate spending diary What else will help? 13 Evaluation Guidance 14 Trainers notes 16 3

5 Session specific guidance Manage expectations Make it clear to clients that the session is an introduction to budgeting and that if they want more detail, they will have to make that clear to the advisor. Signpost and empower Ensure that clients are aware that after the session they will have a clear idea where to go to answer certain queries and to get further assistance. Timings All times are only guidelines. Trainers are welcome to be flexible; if that means expanding some activities and dropping others, that s up to the trainer. Low-pressure commitments Any agreement from the clients to enact any behaviour-change (large or small) should not act as a deterrent to further attendance. It should be stressed that this is NOT a situation to feel pressure about, and that it is a safe learning environment. Any behaviour changes agreed to but not maintained represent a talking-point and learning opportunity. 4

6 Top tips 5

7 Lesson Plan Adult Financial Capability Framework references: 1 B (c) 1 2 B (e) 2 3 D (e) 2 4 D (e) 4 5 D (e) 5 6 D (e) This session is intended to take around 60 minutes to deliver, if every activity is undertaken. Activities Four, Five and Six all fit together very well and it is highly recommended that if advisors do one, they should do all three. Red activities Are essential to any session on this topic. Amber activities Are highly recommended but not essential. Green activities Are optional activities, if time allows. The size of the bubble indicates roughly how much time, relative to the session, to spend on an activity. 6

8 Activity: Essential or non-essential? AIC 20 - W Use the handout BDB1 as a platform to launch discussion with the clients. The clients should try to split priority and non-priority debts from the list provided. Use a whole-class discussion to generate a list of answers on the flipchart (the word essential is used as simpler vocabulary than priority ). Guide clients into considering what criteria they have applied to make their decision. Clients will often use what they value most as their criterion, whereas it is the trainer s role to ensure they start to consider the effect of non-payment in each case. Priority debts are ones where serious action can be taken against a person if the debt is not paid, such as losing one s home, being disconnected for energy supplies or going to prison. You can't be sent to prison for not paying non-priority debts. But if an offer to pay is not made, the creditors may take that person to court. If the debt is not paid when the court has ordered it, the creditors can take further action. Priority debts usually include things like: Mortgage repayments Secured loans Non-priority debts include things like: Credit card and store card payments Bank loans Rent Council tax Utility bills (excl. water) Court fines Taxes Overdrafts Home-collected credit, for example provident loans Catalogue repayments Money you've borrowed from family or friends Water 7

9 Activity: How to reduce these bills? AIC 20 - W No handout required. Ask the clients to split into groups, with one bill allotted per group (e.g. water, gas, electric). The group is then to come up with a list of ways that particular bills can be reduced. The following is a non-exhaustive list, if examples are needed by clients. Water Showers instead of baths. Fix any leaky taps. Turn off the tap when brushing teeth. Only do full loads of washing. Gas Don t cover your radiators. Lowering your thermostat by 1 degree can save 75 a year. Electric Only put as much water as you need in the kettle. Energy saving lightbulbs. Don t leave appliances on standby. Other Single person discount for council tax. Online streaming does not require TV licence (apart from BBC programmes from the iplayer app, whether they are live or not). Don t have a TV package with channels you don t really watch. Shop around online for your insurance renewals. If this was useful, why not try Budgeting 50 tips to save money 8

10 Factsheet: Loyalty cards top tips AIC 20 - W This activity is a conversational activity, and relies on the adviser to discuss the salient points of factsheet BDB3 with the client. Further information and guidance can be found elsewhere among the Citizens Advice resources, or on other websites online, if the client wishes to continue learning about the topic. 9

11 Factsheet: Budget building guide AIC 20 - B This activity is a conversational activity, and relies on the adviser to discuss the salient points of factsheet BDB4 with the client. Further information and guidance can be found elsewhere among the Citizens Advice resources, or on other websites online, if the client wishes to continue learning about the topic. 10

12 Activity: How do I convert between weeks, months and years? AIC 20 - B This activity is a conversational activity, and relies on the adviser to discuss the salient points of factsheet BDB5 with the client. Further information and guidance can be found elsewhere among the Citizens Advice resources, or on other websites online, if the client wishes to continue learning about the topic. 11

13 Factsheet: Intermediate spending diary AIC 20 - B This activity is requires the adviser to go through the key points to remember when starting a basic spending diary, using handout BDB6, with the client. Further information and guidance can be found elsewhere among the Citizens Advice resources, or on other websites online, if the client wishes to continue learning about the topic. 12

14 Activity: What else will help? Using handout BDB7 ask the client to pick which topics they think will help them improve their budgeting skills. Reassure the clients that all these topics are options that they can cover with their local Citizens Advice if they want to. Make sure you take the sheets in from the clients; these can then be kept on their records. They also provide valuable feedback for the Financial Skills for Life team and copies should be returned with the session s feedback forms. If the client finds the following interest, why not try Having cheaper bills Budgeting Maximise income reduce outgoings Energy and Water Saving energy in the home Understanding how to budget Budgeting Budget building guide Knowing where to get the cheapest gas and electricity Energy and Water How to switch energy companies Understanding payslips and job-related paperwork Jobs and Employment Payslips Knowing the best ways to save and to borrow Credit Ten credit tips factsheet Tips to make more money from everyday things Try the Consumer Education pages on the Citizens Advice website 13

15 Evaluation Guidance Areas that underpin client financial capability These are the Citizens Advice Financial Capability Areas that were carefully researched and developed by The Impact Team at Citizens Advice to help local offices measure client financial capability robustly and consistently across services. They were developed in line with the MAS UK Financial Capability Strategy Adult Outcomes Framework. Sample questions and scales can be found overleaf. An Impact Tool is available in Petra for recording responses and progress. Keeping track of money Keep track of money going out, money coming in and calculate what's left over. Check my current balance and keep my papers in order. Having enough money to live Have enough money to cover the basics I need to live like food, housing and electricity. Looking for the best deals Look at different options and buying the best deal for things like food, clothes, large items or services like phone, electricity or insurance. Get different opinions on what I am buying, like from reviews and comparison websites. Controlled spending Spend or save only what I can afford after covering the basics I need to live, like food, housing and electricity. Planning ahead with money Know when my bills and payments are due and keep on top of priority bills, like for electricity, loans and council tax. Put some money aside for big or unexpected costs. Staying informed about money services Read the main information about money services I get like banking, benefits and loans. Stay on top of changes to these or get help when I don t understand. Mindset Confidence about taking action on my money matters. Copyright 2015 Citizens Advice All rights reserved. Any reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited except with the express written permission of Citizens Advice. Please note these areas, questions and scales are owned by Citizens Advice and subject to copyright restrictions so reproduction must include the relevant copyright statement above and no changes to its wording, response categories or layout must be made. For further information please contact Satdeep Grewal on satdeep.grewal@citizensadvice.org.uk or

16 Sample questions and scales for measuring client financial capability These questions can be used to ascertain how good someone s financial capability is and so, what their level of need is. They also allow you to track progress by being used to follow-up with how someone is getting on after you have helped them. Score 1 to 3 Score 4 Score 5 to 7 Low financial capability Average financial capability Advanced financial capability High need Medium need Low need Keeping track of money Calculate money going out, money coming in and what's left over. Check my current balance and keep my papers in order. Rate your knowledge about the above How often do you do the above? No No to some Some Some to Good knowledge knowledge knowledge good knowledge knowledge Good to Excellent Don t know excellent knowledge knowledge Never Never to Sometimes Sometimes Often Often to Very often Don t know sometimes to often very often Staying informed about money services Read the main information about money services I get like banking, benefits and loans. Stay on top of changes to these or get help when I don t understand. Rate your knowledge about the above: How often do you do the above? No No to some Some Some to Good knowledge knowledge knowledge good knowledge knowledge Good to Excellent Don t know excellent knowledge knowledge Never Never to Sometimes Sometimes Often Often to Very often Don t know sometimes to often very often Mindset How much confidence do you have about taking action on your money matters? No No to some Some Some to good Good Good to high High Don t know confidence confidence confidence confidence confidence confidence confidence Copyright 2015 Citizens Advice All rights reserved. Any reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited except with the express written permission of Citizens Advice. Please note these areas, questions and scales are owned by Citizens Advice and subject to copyright restrictions so reproduction must include the relevant copyright statement above and no changes to its wording, response categories or layout must be made. For further information please contact Satdeep Grewal on satdeep.grewal@citizensadvice.org.uk or

17 Trainer notes 16