This year, we walked alongside people facing some of the toughest financial pressures of their lives, and together we turned small steps into big wins. Through honest conversations, practical money guidance and new pathways into work, we helped people steady their income, build confidence and reclaim the belief that things can get better.
We supported 1,182 people on low-incomes with comprehensive support, with many more receiving light touch and one off help, and reached tens of thousands through our Quids in! guides, magazines and e-newsletters. Clients completing our programmes gained an average of £1,400, putting nearly £900,000 into people’s pockets with even more identified gains on top.
Every drop-in, every workshop, every e-newsletter, every partnership and bit of support was rooted in one promise: helping people become more than better off.
January
We kicked off the year by expanding our services in Gloucestershire through a new three-year programme funded by Barnwood Trust. The programme aims to help residents, especially with disabilities or mental health conditions, to access support with money management, employment and digital skills. Our drop-in services help residents with immediate financial “wins” and our tailored money guidance offer with a Quids in! Coach helps build long-term money management skills and resilience.
A client shared their experience with a Quids in! Coach: “Not only have you put me in all the right directions to help me financially, you have also been a great listener…I felt you were always happy to hear my voice without me ever feeling judged.”
Participants can additionally join Elements, our 12-week paid peer-support programme that offers training, paid experience at our drop-ins, and a pathway into further employment. Read more.
Fourteen people completed the Elements programme this year across Gloucestershire, the West of England and London, with eight more due to start in January 2026. One participant said, “I am so grateful to have a placement with Clean Slate… It gave me confidence when I needed it most. I can’t recommend this course enough.”
February
February further deepened our partnership with the Money Guiders Wales Network as we co-hosted Paving the Path Out of Debt, a practical session designed to help frontline staff (who are not debt advisors) support people through financial crises with confidence and clarity. This webinar was the first of four we delivered together in 2025, marking continued collaboration that continued to grow throughout the year. Watch here.
Among clients who completed our programmes this year, those who said they were free of debt or taking action on arrears rose from 44% to 75% between the start and end of our support – a major shift in confidence and control.
One standout case was Maria, a single mother of three in Bath, who had been borrowing at least £300 a month from friends and colleagues just to cover essentials. With our help, she secured the benefits she was entitled to, increasing her income by £17,411 a year. “This is the first month where I can pay everything on time… Really you saved my life.”
March
As the government set out its Get Britain Working plan, we launched our upgraded ‘money first’ employment support programme, built on the principle that people can only focus on work when financial pressures ease. Developed with the support of housing providers and government agencies, these programmes combine practical money guidance with tailored employability support to help people move forward with stability and confidence. Read more.
To extend this support even further, we introduced our Finding Work Guide, a simple email-based tool offering clear steps, practical tips, and real-life stories to help people prepare for work at their own pace.
Register your interest to request more information about the digital service here.
We also hosted our Maximising Impact Through Digital Comms webinar, sharing insights from our work communicating with social tenants and service users via the Quids in! Readers Club, which has grown to over 33,000 subscribers. We highlighted how clear, accessible digital content can help organisations strengthen the support they offer people under financial strain. Watch here.
Readers Club Impact*
- 95% of readers found our content useful
- 36% felt reassured they weren’t alone
- One in five acted on the advice to improve their finances
*The stats come from our 2025 Cost of Living Survey, with responses from over 1,000 of Quids in! readers
Rounding off the month, we continued our collaboration with Money Guiders Wales Network through the Building Financial Agency webinar, equipping practitioners to help clients stay safe and assert their rights. Watch here.
April/May
Heading into spring, we joined WorkWell West as a key delivery partner in Bristol, providing tailored support for people with long-term health conditions or disabilities who face the highest barriers to work.
This programme marked the first official use of our Job-Readiness Quiz, enabling Quids in! Coaches to create personalised action plans that help participants overcome barriers and begin their 5-6 weeks, one-to-one support journey. Read more.
A client who lacked confidence and had been unemployed for a year used our Job Readiness Quiz and coaching to identify skills and update their CV. They secured work within 3 weeks, increasing their annual income by £18,000.
70 professionals joined us for a webinar sharing the findings from our 2024/5 Cost of Living Survey. Completed by over 1,000 low-income households, the survey revealed the severe pressures people are under; 54% skipping meals, 56% turning off heating despite being cold, and 45% falling behind on bills. These insights are now shaping continual improvement and development in the support offered to people who are being pushed to the edge by rising costs. Watch here.
Alongside this work, we continued to deliver funded community and adviser training across London and the West of England. Our community workshops included 3Bs, which focuses on practical money skills, and 7 Signs, which supports jobseekers to build confidence, recognise strengths and take steps towards work.
For advisers and frontline staff, we delivered three core training courses: Developing the Confidence to Talk Money, Helping Claimants Navigate Universal Credit, and Supporting Clients with Budgeting. Each draws on our frontline experience and offers practical tools staff can use immediately. Read more.
June
We brought our enhanced offer back to Wales in June, launching a 12-week employment programme delivered in collaboration with the DWP through Abergavenny Jobcentre that blends our proven money-first guidance with tailored employability support. This flexible model, offered in-person, remotely, or as a hybrid, aims to recreate the gains we helped people make during the pandemic, when participants became on average £2,220 better off. Read more.
We also ran a webinar with Money Guiders Wales Network, supporting frontline workers to help ESA claimants transition to Universal Credit, focusing on common pitfalls and practical strategies to avoid income disruption Watch here.
Among clients completing our programmes in 2025, confidence in knowing they were receiving all the support they were entitled to rose from 51% to 90% (from start to end of programme), helping people navigate welfare changes with far greater clarity and stability.
July
July was a milestone month as we were reappointed, after a competitive tender, to deliver Stonewater’s refreshed Financial Wellbeing Service. Building on a four-year partnership, the new service integrates money guidance, employment support, benefits advice, and FCA-accredited debt advice, together in one place. Read more.
The positive feedback from clients has been deeply motivating, with one client saying “Thank you for your kindness and care. I really feel like somebody now and aim to conquer my debts.”
Another Stonewater Client commented on the improvement in their financial anxiety “You were not judgmental, even when I didn’t want to pick up your first call—so glad I did. Your wealth of knowledge is amazing, and I never felt like I was being told what to do.” Over 5-6 weeks, the client gained a total financial saving over one year of £3,536.
We also celebrated being named one of NatWest’s SE100 Top Social Enterprises for the fifth consecutive year, recognising our long-term impact on low-income communities. Read more.
August
In August, our work in Wales took a big step forward as we were appointed to lead the Mid & South Wales Financial Wellbeing Forum, commissioned by the Money and Pensions Service. Building on our experience hosting webinars on themes shaped by frontline money guidance, the Forum offers a dedicated space for practitioners, specialists, managers, strategy and policy leads to create collaborative, localised learning communities and strengthen support for people across the region. Read more.
September
September was a standout month as we launched Take What’s Yours, our stigma-busting campaign with Thrive LDN, co-designed with 51 Londoners who shared honest, powerful insights into how shame and judgement stop people from seeking help.
Their voices shaped every element of the campaign, which reached more than 386,000 residents across ten boroughs and directed them to practical local support on money, benefits, and wellbeing. Read more.
We also launched a new money guidance pilot in Stroud, funded by Stroud District Council through the Household Support Fund, to support residents who regularly rely on emergency or crisis help. The service offers both in-person and remote appointments to make early, tailored guidance easier to access. Read more.
To close the month, we hosted our Income Maximisation and Steps Into Work webinar with Money Guiders Wales Network, sharing practical approaches to helping people boost their income, reduce financial stress, and build confidence as they start thinking about future work opportunities. Watch here.
People who moved into work after our support achieved an average additional income of £13,437.
October
We expanded our support for Bristol residents through the Household Support Fund, offering drop-ins and tailored money guidance to help people manage rising costs. As part of this work, we also introduced CashPointers, a tablet-based self-assessment and action planning tool based on our flagship Money Health Check (MHC), designed to help residents build confidence with budgeting and day-to-day financial decisions.
Over the summer, we piloted a CashPointer at a London community space to explore how residents navigated the tool and what their interactions highlighted for future refinement.
Then in October, we hosted a community event at Hillfields Park in Bristol where partners and residents came together to test the tool and share their feedback.
We’re now working with organisations across Bristol and London to embed CashPointers in more local spaces. Read more.
November
We joined a new London-wide climate action and mental wellbeing coalition led by Thrive LDN, backed by £1.5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund to help the city respond to the growing links between climate stress, mental health, and financial pressure.
You can read more about the coalition here. For information about referrals or getting involved, email emmie.jenkinshill@cleanslateltd.co.uk
December
In early December we hosted the first event of the Mid & South Wales Financial Wellbeing Forum bringing together members to explore the barriers that prevent people from claiming or accessing the support they are entitled to, including stigma and lack of awareness, and the role members can play in breaking down these barriers. The session featured insights into emerging evidence on unmet entitlement, the impact of stigma on take-up, and the current benefits landscape in Wales.
Some feedback from our session:
- “Very informative, relevant and up to date – thank you”
- “Excellent information as always”
- “Really interesting topics, could have gone on longer!”
In 2026, we look forward to hosting three further forum events (including one Pan-Wales ), two of which are in the room, each exploring key themes shaping financial wellbeing in Wales. For more information or to join this forum email lisa.woodman@cleanslateltd.co.uk.
We rounded off the year publishing the 2026 edition of Quids in! Magazine‘Bigger, Bolder, Brighter’ which brings together the lessons and successes of thousands of Money Health-Check users.
The edition showcases the small steps that led to big financial wins for readers and offers practical advice on everything from checking benefits to managing food budgets, tackling debt and taking steps toward work.
It is a proud reflection of the work our staff and service users have achieved together. Download a watermarked version here.
The New Year
Looking forward we will continue to run money guidance drop-ins and accept referrals across London, the West of England and Gloucestershire, and provide remote support for Stonewater and L&Q tenants, making our services accessible wherever people are based. For more information, visit our contact page here.
We remain committed to expanding what works, reaching those who need us most and helping people shape futures that are stronger and fairer, and ensuring that all of those we support are more than better off.
As one client we supported put it, “It means a lot to know great people are still out there fighting the good fight for those who truly need it.”
Happy new year!