This article is one of four published to mark the Money and Pensions Service’s Talk Money Week 2023. Its theme is ‘Do One Thing’ and Clean Slate* is calling on all stakeholders to encourage people in financial hardship to take the Quids in! Future-Proof Finance Quiz (a handy shortlink is available: qimag.uk/quiz). This plain English survey asks 25 simple yes/no questions to generate a customised action plan with ways for participants to reduce their spending, increase their income, reduce their borrowing and increase their savings.
Nobody in the Dark
It has not always been clear how digital inclusion improves communities’ financial wellbeing. During the pandemic however, Clean Slate worked with Good Things Foundation, with support from Mastercard, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Lloyds Bank, on a campaign called Nobody in the Dark, to support people in financial hardship to explore ways to be better off by being online. We developed the Quids in! Future-Proof Finance Quiz as a coaching tool. Its 25 questions identified when someone had not checked their benefit entitlement, or when they did not open their post or know exactly how much money was coming in and going out. Each ‘No’ answer triggered guidance including links to online resources. It led them to benefits calculators and budgeting tools, to debt and housing advice, and to comparison websites. The Quiz is publicly accessible but was highly impactful as a tool for community-based coaches with no money guidance experience. This is how people on low incomes take control and become better off.
Mastercard organised a website and a PR campaign over two years, at one point lighting up tower blocks with messages of hope in South London and Bristol. The creation of a network of partners across the UK was funded, to whom Clean Slate licensed its money Quiz, provided staff training and tech support, and monitored take-up and impact. Together, we supported 2,000 people to get online, uncover the financial benefits waiting for them, and increase their financial resilience.
Integrating money guidance and digital inclusion
Integrating digital inclusion activity into money guidance is a strategic approach that can significantly enhance financial resilience and social inclusion. As the world goes online, there are both opportunities and challenges. Many lower-income individuals require support to develop the skills to navigate the digital landscape, manage their finances, and cope with the cost of living. Blending money guidance to promote digital inclusion empowers people to improve their financial wellbeing while enhancing their digital literacy. It doesn’t feel like learning, but rather a means to an end. It leaves participants feeling more included in a technology-driven society.
1. Improving financial resilience through digital literacy
Digital literacy is now an essential skill for good management of personal finances. By integrating money guidance into digital inclusion initiatives, individuals can learn how to access financial resources online, compare prices, manage budgets, and make informed financial decisions. Dr. Laura Davis, a digital literacy expert, states: “Enhancing digital literacy empowers individuals to use online financial tools effectively, ultimately boosting their financial resilience.”
2. Improving digital literacy by addressing the cost-of-living crisis
The opposite approach to (1) is also true: Integrating digital literacy into money guidance means people gain confidence using online tools and apps to meet their financial needs. The cost of living is a pressing concern for many individuals in financial hardship and can be a powerful motivator for entrenched non-engagers with digital to change their mindset. Dr Sophia Turner, a financial consultant, says: “Addressing the cost of living through digital platforms incentivises individuals to engage with online resources, helping them make financially sound decisions.” The prospect of gaining financial knowledge and skills, which are directly applicable to their daily lives, motivates people to participate in digital literacy programmes. As Dr James Peterson, an educational psychologist, notes: “Providing incentives in the form of financial empowerment encourages individuals to take the necessary steps towards digital inclusion, recognising its tangible benefits.”
The case for strategic alliances
Clean Slate’s work with Good Things Foundation during the pandemic uncovered a need for closer working between money guidance and digital inclusion initiatives. One often excludes the other, with service providers feeling unconfident about their knowledge for extending their brief. However ‘digital financial exclusion’ compounds the separate negative impacts of both. As people are left behind by the digital age, they miss out on the financial benefits the rest enjoy. As people become poorer, they cannot afford the means to get online with data and devices. Quids In’s 2023 Cost of Living survey found, for example, that 9.9 per cent of people on low incomes self-disconnected from broadband on account of money worries.
Integrating money guidance and digital inclusion initiatives in the UK is a strategic approach to enhancing financial resilience, bridging the digital divide, promoting social inclusion, and addressing the cost of living for individuals facing financial hardship. By blending financial education with digital literacy initiatives, individuals can acquire essential skills to navigate the digital world while managing their finances effectively. This integrated approach offers a pathway towards financial empowerment and inclusion, creating a more informed and financially resilient society.
*Clean Slate helps people on low incomes become better off. We do this by coaching them to re-organise their money and maximise their income, find work or better work, and get online. Quids in! is our money guidance initiative and in 2022, its materials – magazines, guides, personal finance emails and interactive tools – reached 240,000 people on low incomes across all nations of the UK. People we engaged one to one enjoyed financial gains on average of £1,224.
Main image: Jud Mackrill / Unsplash
