evaluating the wesley mission - financial capability · evaluating the wesley mission in charge of...
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Evaluating the Wesley Mission In charge of my money
financial literacy program for vulnerable populations
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This publication was made possible by a grant from Financial Literacy Australia
How to cite this publication:
Zanoni, L., Warburton, W., Russell, R., Warburton, M., & Flynn, L. (2016). Evaluating the Wesley Mission In charge of my money financial literacy program for vulnerable populations. Sydney: Wesley Mission
Team involved in this project:
Dr Wayne Warburton, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University
Ms Maisie Warburton, Program Manager Financial Literacy Education, Wesley Training
Ms Lynne Flynn, Financial Literacy Educator and Financial Counsellor, Wesley Financial Literacy Program, Wesley Training
Professor Roslyn Russell, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, College of Business RMIT University
Dr Lee Zanoni, Researcher, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University
Published in September 2016 by Wesley Mission, Sydney, Australia
© Copyright Wesley Mission, Macquarie University, RMIT University 2016 www.wesleymission.org.au 1800 676 039
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Table of Contents
ExecutiveSummary........................................................................................................................................8
KeyFindings...............................................................................................................................................9
Istheprogramcontentrelevantandevidence-based?.........................................................................9
Doestheprogramfacilitatesustainedimprovementinfinancialbehaviours?...................................10
Howmuchknowledgeandunderstandingdidparticipantsretainseveralmonthsaftertheprogram?.............................................................................................................................................................11
Didtextmessageremindersincreasethechanceofsustainedchangeinfinancialbehaviours?.......11
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................12
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................13
ProgramEvaluationBackground..............................................................................................................13
ProgramEvaluationDescription&Aims..................................................................................................13
LiteratureReview.........................................................................................................................................16
Bestpracticeforfinancialliteracyprogramstargetedatvulnerablepopulations...................................16
Istheprogramcontentrelevantandevidence-based?...........................................................................22
Deliveredbytherightpeople..............................................................................................................24
Deliveredattherighttime...................................................................................................................25
Adheretoprinciplesofadultlearning.................................................................................................25
Empowerment&self-efficacy..............................................................................................................27
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................28
UsingTextMessagestoSupportImprovementsinFinancialLiteracy.....................................................28
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................38
TheInChargeofMyMoneyProgram..........................................................................................................39
ProgramBackground................................................................................................................................39
ProgramDescription................................................................................................................................42
InChargeofMyMoneyProgramEvaluation...............................................................................................46
GoalsoftheStudy,KeyFactors&OutcomeMeasures...........................................................................46
ParticipantDemographics........................................................................................................................48
ProgramEvaluationResearchMethodology................................................................................................53
Procedure.................................................................................................................................................53
Attheendoftheprogram(Time1).....................................................................................................53
Several(5-7)monthsaftertheprogram(Time2)................................................................................54
Questionnaires.........................................................................................................................................57
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DataAnalysis............................................................................................................................................59
ProgramEvaluationResults.........................................................................................................................60
ParticipantEngagementwiththeProgram..............................................................................................60
Reasonforattendingtheprogram......................................................................................................60
Mainmoneyissue................................................................................................................................61
Levelofmotivation..............................................................................................................................62
Programattendance............................................................................................................................62
ParticipantFeedbackontheProgram......................................................................................................63
Programratingattheendoftheprogram..........................................................................................63
Recommendingtheprogramtofriends...............................................................................................65
Suggestedareasforimprovement.......................................................................................................68
WhatParticipantsRemembered5-7MonthsAftertheProgram............................................................70
ImprovementinFinancialBehaviours......................................................................................................76
Wasthereevidenceofimprovedfinancialbehavioursforprogramparticipantsimmediatelyafterand5monthsaftertheprogram?........................................................................................................78
Whatdothestatisticsshow?...................................................................................................................79
IdentifyingandAchievingFinancialGoals................................................................................................80
Settinggoals.........................................................................................................................................80
Whatwereparticipant’sgoals?...........................................................................................................81
Didtheprogramhelpparticipantsachievetheirfinancialgoals?........................................................82
Whathelpedparticipantsachievetheirgoalsthemost?....................................................................82
Towhatextentdidparticipantsachievethespecificgoaltheyidentifiedduringtheprogram?........86
ImprovementinFinancialKnowledge,Attitudes,Self-EfficacyandEmotionalSpending........................88
Wasthereevidenceofimprovedgeneralandpersonalfinancialknowledgeforprogramparticipantsimmediatelyafterandfive-sevenmonthsaftertheprogram?..........................................................89
Wasthereevidenceofimprovedfinancialattitudesandfinancialself-efficacy,andlessemotionalspending,forprogramparticipantsimmediatelyafterandfivemonthsaftertheprogram?.............90
Participants’FinancialStrain....................................................................................................................94
Wasthereevidenceoffewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoneyfrombeforetheprogramto5-7monthslater?.......................................................................................................................................94
Wasthereevidenceofreduceddebt5-7monthsaftertheprogram?................................................96
Didparticipantsfeellessstressedabouttheirfuturesincedoingthisprogram?...............................96
Wastheregreaterfinancialinclusionforparticipantsseveralmonthsaftertheprogram?................97
Didmoreparticipantshavemoneysetasideforemergencies?..........................................................99
Wasthereachangeinparticipants’financialresilience?....................................................................99
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Wasthereimprovementinotherindicatorsoffinancialstrain?.......................................................101
ParticipantFactorsMostRelatedtoImprovementsinFinancialBehavioursandStrain.......................104
Improvementinattitude...................................................................................................................105
Improvementinfinancialself-efficacy...............................................................................................105
Programengagement........................................................................................................................106
General&personalfinancialknowledge...........................................................................................106
Emotionalspending...........................................................................................................................107
Participantfactorsnotassociatedwithimprovementinfinancialbehavioursorfinancialstrain.....107
Themostpredictiveparticipantfactors.............................................................................................108
TheEffectivenessofTextMessageNudges...............................................................................................110
Methodology..........................................................................................................................................110
Participants........................................................................................................................................110
Procedure...........................................................................................................................................111
Textmessagedelivery........................................................................................................................111
Textmessagewording.......................................................................................................................111
Measures...........................................................................................................................................113
Examiningtheeffectsoftextmessagesonchangeinbehaviours.....................................................114
TextMessagingResults..........................................................................................................................115
Whatthestatisticsshow........................................................................................................................117
Pearson’scorrelations.......................................................................................................................120
SummaryofResultsandImplications........................................................................................................121
Istheprogramcontentrelevantandevidence-based?.........................................................................121
Isthereevidencethattheprogramfacilitatessustainedimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours?.......126
Isthereevidenceofknowledgeandunderstandingretentionafterseveralmonths?..........................126
Didtextmessagenudgesincreasethechanceofsustainedchangeinfinancialbehaviours?...............127
AdditionalFindings:ImprovementsinAttitudes,Self-Efficacy,EmotionalSpending,andfinancialStrain...............................................................................................................................................................128
AdditionalFindings:ParticipantFactorsThatWereNotAssociatedwithOutcomes............................130
Discussion...................................................................................................................................................132
LimitationsoftheStudy.........................................................................................................................132
Futureresearch......................................................................................................................................133
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................134
References..................................................................................................................................................135
Appendices.................................................................................................................................................139
Appendix1.............................................................................................................................................139
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Appendix2.............................................................................................................................................140
Appendix3.............................................................................................................................................141
Appendix4.............................................................................................................................................142
Appendix5.............................................................................................................................................143
Appendix6.............................................................................................................................................144
ListofTables
Table1:Participantdemographics...............................................................................................................49Table2:Reasonswhyparticipantsattendedtheprogram..........................................................................61Table3:Numberofworkshopsattendedbyparticipants(dosage).............................................................63Table4:Whichpartsoftheprogramneedtobeimproved?.......................................................................68Table5:Evidenceofimprovedfinancialbehaviours5monthspostprogram.............................................78Table6:Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?.............................................................................89Table7:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'financialattitudesovertime?......................91Table8:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'financialself-efficacyovertime?..................92Table9:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'emotionalspendingovertime?...................93Table10:Wasthereasignificantreductioninthenumberofissuesduetoshortageofmoneyovertime?......................................................................................................................................................................95Table11:Wastheresignificantimprovementinfinancialinclusionovertime?.........................................98Table12:Wastheresignificantimprovementsseeminindicatorsoffinancialstrain?.............................103Table13:Theeffectsoftextmessagesonchangeinbehaviour................................................................115
ListofFigures
Figure1:Knowit,understandit,doit,reviewitmodeloflearning.............................................................44Figure2:Ageofparticipants........................................................................................................................50Figure3:Participants'highestlevelofeducation........................................................................................51Figure4:Annualincomeofparticipants......................................................................................................51Figure5:Issuesaddressedbycentrewhereprogramwasdelivered..........................................................52Figure6:Whatwasthemainmoneyissueyouhopedthisprogramwouldhelp?......................................61Figure7:Participants'levelofmotivationduringtheprogram...................................................................62Figure8:Outof10,howwouldyouratethisprogram?..............................................................................63Figure9:Whydidyougivetheprogramthatrating?..................................................................................65Figure10:It'sbeen5monthssinceyoudidtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.Whatdoyourememberfromtheprogram?.......................................................................................................................................71Figure11:Changestomoneybehavioursacrossthethreemeasuredtimepoints.....................................79Figure12:Participantgoalsettingbeforeandaftertheprogram...............................................................80Figure13:Howmuchdidthisprogramhelpyouachieveyourfinancialgoals?..........................................82Figure14:Whatpartoftheprogramhelpedyoutoachieveyourgoalthemost?......................................83Figure15:Onascalefrom1-10,towhatextenthaveyoumadeprogresstowardsthefinancialgoalthatyouhadattheendoftheprogram?............................................................................................................87Figure16:Levelsoftotal(combinedgeneralandpersonal)financialknowledgeacrossthethreemeasuredtimepoints..................................................................................................................................90
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Figure17:Inthepast5months,didanyofthefollowinghappentoyoubecauseofashortageofmoney?......................................................................................................................................................................95Figure18:Overthepastfewmonths,hasyourlevelofdebtincreased,decreasedorstayedthesame?..96Figure19:Doyoufeellessstressedaboutthefuturesincedoingthisprogram?.......................................97Figure20:Doyouhaveanyofthefollowingtypesoffinanceproducts?....................................................98Figure21:Ifyouhad1weektoraise$1000foranunexpectedexpense,howwouldyouraisethemoney?....................................................................................................................................................................101Figure22:Ifyouwerereceivingregularremindertextmessages,howusefuldidyoufindthetextmessage?....................................................................................................................................................114Figure23:Changestomoneybehavioursovertimebytextmessage'nudge'group................................116Figure24:Changestoemotionalspendingovertimebytextmessage'nudge'group..............................116
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Executive Summary
InresponsetoWesleyMission’s2010thirdfinancialstressreport(WesleyMission,2010),
WesleyMissiondevelopedandlauncheditsfinancialliteracyProgramInChargeofMy
Money,targetedatvulnerablepopulations,in2011.Thisreportdetailsthefirstevaluation
oftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram,whichwasconductedbyMacquarieUniversityand
fundedbyFinancialLiteracyAustralia.Inadditiontoexaminingtheeffectivenessofthe
program,thisresearchalsoexploredtheusefulnessoftextmessagereminders(‘nudges’)
aftertheprogram.
Thefourmaingoalsoftheprojectwereto:
- Ensuretheprogramcontentisrelevantandevidence-based;
- Identifywhethertheprogramfacilitatessustainedimprovementinfinancial
behaviours;
- Estimatechangestoparticipantfinancialknowledgeandunderstandingattheendof
theprogram,andestimatetheirretentionafterseveralmonths;
- Ascertainhowincorporatingapracticalstrategy,suchastextmessagereminders,
increasesthechanceofsustainedchange.
Thisprogramevaluationemployedamixedmethodapproach,collectingbothquantitative
andqualitativedata.Participantsweresurveyedtwice-Time1wasimmediatelyafterthe
programandTime2wasapproximatelyfivetosevenmonthslater.TheTime1sample
included113participantsandtheTime2sampleincluded54participants.Studyparticipants
weredrawnfrom11differentnot-for-profitservicesinSydneyandsurroundingregions
addressingdrug,alcoholandgamblingaddictions,homelessness,orfamilydysfunction.
Theseparticipants,onaverage,hadverylowincomes,withgovernmentsupportbeingthe
mainsourceofincomefor85%.Textmessagesaffirmingpositivemoneybehaviourswere
sentevery3-4weekstohalftheparticipantstotestifreminders(a‘nudge’intervention)
hadanimpactonthefinancialbehavioursofparticipants.
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Key Findings
Is the program content relevant and evidence-based?
ThisevaluationfoundbothquantitativeandqualitativeevidencethattheInChargeofMy
Moneyprogramcontentanddeliveryisrelevantforsomeofthemostsociallyand
economicallydisadvantagedandvulnerablepeoplewithintheAustralianpopulation.More
specifically:
• Immediatelyaftertheprogram,participantsratedtheInChargeofMyMoney
programveryhighlyandhadfewcomplaints.
• Whenaskedseveralmonthslateriftheywouldrecommendtheprogramtotheir
friends,themajority(85%)saidtheywouldrecommenditbecauseitwaseasyto
understand,relevant,andhelpful.Thissuggeststhattheparticipants’highopinionof
theusefulnessandrelevanceoftheprogramimmediatelyaftertheprogramdidnot
declineovertime.
Theevaluationalsofoundthattheprogramisevidence-based,conformingtowhathasbeen
identifiedasbestpracticeintheliteraturetodate.Tentativebestpracticeforfinancial
literacyprogramstargetedatvulnerablepopulationsinvolvestailoringthecontentand
deliverystyletotheparticularaudience,havingtheprogramdeliveredbytrainerswhoare
knowledgeableandnon-judgemental,providingtheprogramatanopportunetime,
adheringtotheprinciplesofadultlearning,andempoweringprogramattendees.TheIn
ChargeofMyMoneyprogramisconsistentwithmostoftheseguidelinesforbestpractice:
• ThecontentanddeliverystyleoftheprogramistailoredtotheneedsofWesley
Missionclients.
• Appropriatepracticalexamplesareusedduringthepresentation,andinformationis
oftenpresentedaseasytoremember“rulesofthumb”.
• Thereisanemphasisonteachinggoodmoneymanagementskillsandhabits,rather
thanjustimpartingknowledge.
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• ThelanguageoftheprogrammaterialsissuitableforYear10levelofliteracy,to
ensureitisunderstandablebythosewithrelativelylowlevelsofliteracy.
• InthisstudytheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwasdeliveredbywell-trained,very
financiallyliterate,non-judgementalstaff.Feedbackfromstudyparticipantsshows
thattheyfoundthepresenterstobeknowledgeable,abletoanswertheirquestions,
helpfulandempathic.
• Theprogramisdeliveredwhilstparticipantsareengagedinaservice(e.g.seeking
employmentorhousingorotherservices),thusmakingthemostofwhatcouldbe
considered‘teachablemoments’intheirlife.
• TheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramincorporatedtheprinciplesofadulteducation
intoitsdesign,givingprogramattendeesguidanceratherthaninstruction,
encouragingquestionsanddiscussion,andincludingworksheetstoactivelyengage
attendees.
Does the program facilitate sustained improvement in financial
behaviours?
TherewasevidencethattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramfacilitatedsustained
improvementsinfinancialbehaviours.Statisticalanalysesrevealedasubstantial
improvementinfinancialbehavioursfrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthsafterthe
program.Therewassustainedimprovementoverseveralmonthsin:
• savingbehaviour;
• planningbehaviour;
• monitoringofexpenses;and,
• othermoneybehaviours(e.g.comparingpricestogetthebestdeal,notbuying
thingsifunabletoaffordthem).
Togiveoneexample,overhalfofstudyparticipantssaidthattheprogramhelpedthem
achievetheirfinancialgoals‘alot’or‘verymuch’,andonly11%saiditdidnothelpatall,
indicatingthatmostparticipantsbelievedthattheprogramassistedtheminpracticalways
severalmonthsaftertheprogram.
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How much knowledge and understanding did participants retain
several months after the program?
Therewasevidenceofretentionofknowledgeandunderstandingseveralmonthsafterthe
program.Infact,averylarge,statisticallysignificantimprovementwasfoundinboth
generalfinancialknowledgeandpersonalfinancialknowledge(knowledgeaboutone’sown
financialcircumstances)frombeforetheprogramtoimmediatelyaftertheprogram.These
gainswerestillapparent5-7monthsaftertheprogram,demonstratingthatstudy
participantsretainedmostoftheknowledgetheyhadlearntintheprogramoverseveral
months.
Whenaskedtodescribewhattheyrememberedabouttheprogram5-7monthslater:
• asubstantialproportionofparticipantsrememberedspecificcatchphrases,suchas
“payyourselffirst”;
• justoveraquarterofparticipantsrecalledinformationaboutthedifferenttypesof
loansandhowtomanagedebt;
• approximatelyonequarterrememberedspecificadviceaboutbeingmindfulof
spendinghabits;and,
• onlysixparticipantsreportedrememberinglittleornothingfromtheprogram.
Consideringthatover50%ofparticipantswerelivinginresidentialrehabilitationcentresat
thetimeofcompletingtheprogram,thishighlevelofknowledgeretentionfromthe
programisquiteimpressive.
Did text message reminders increase the chance of sustained change
in financial behaviours?
Sendingeffectivetextmessagenudgesinthispopulationwaschallengingbecausesome
participantsdidnothavereliablemobilephoneaccess.Duringthetrialonly65%oftext
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messageswereactuallyreceivedbyparticipantsinthe‘nudge’group.Threeparticipants
optedout.Thisreducedthe‘dosage’oftheinterventionforsomeparticipantsandresulted
inaslightlysmallerinterventiongroup.
Despitetheseissues,whichwouldhavetendedtoreducetheimpactofthetextmessage
intervention,textmessagenudgesstillhadasignificantandpositiveimpactonparticipants’
financialbehaviours(i.e.,onmoneybehaviour,saving,monitoringofexpensesand
emotionalspending).However,thesebenefitsdidnotextendtoalloutcomes.Textmessage
nudgesdidnothaveanyeffectonparticipants’financialstrain,orhelpparticipantsachieve
theirgoalsorreducetheirdebt.Giventhedifficultiesencounteredusingthenudge
interventioninthispopulation,furtherstudiesshouldattempttoreplicatetheseresultsina
larger,similarpopulation.
Conclusion
ThisprogramevaluationfoundevidencethattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramis
relevantandevidence-based,doesfacilitatesustainedimprovementinfinancialbehaviours,
anddoesproducestrongretentionoffinancialknowledgeandunderstandingforpeople
facingvulnerabilitiesincludingdrug,alcoholandgamblingaddictions,homelessness,and
familystrain.Thisstudyalsofoundtextmessagenudgesmayincreasethechanceof
sustainedchangeinfinancialbehavioursaftertheprogram,butthisfindingneedstobe
replicatedwithalargersample.
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Introduction
Program Evaluation Background
WesleyMissionhascaredforthemarginalisedandvulnerablefor150years,andforthe
past30yearshasdeliveredfinancialcounsellingservices.Forexample,in2014-2015,
WesleyCounsellingServicesprovidedfinancialcounsellingsupportfor1,339people(Wesley
Mission,2015).In2011,WesleyMissiondevelopedafinancialliteracyprogramto
complementitsfinancialcounsellingprogram.Financialliteracyisdefinedhereasthe
developmentofknowledge,understandingandskillsthatassistindividualstomake
informedjudgementsandtotakeeffectivedecisionsregardingtheuseandmanagementof
money(WesleyMission,2010).WesleyMission’sfinancialliteracyprogram,called“In
ChargeofMyMoney”,wonaMoneySmartawardin2013andhasbeendeliveredtoover
4,000peoplesinceitsinceptioninAugust2011(WesleyMission,2016b).
AlthoughprogramparticipantshavereportedpositiveoutcomesinWesleyMission’s
evaluationquestionnairesprovidedattheendofeachsessionoftheprogram,the
program’sefficacyhasnotbeentestedempirically.Theprincipalaimofthisprojectwasto
evaluatetheeffectivenessoftheInChangeofMyMoneyprograminvulnerable
populations,intermsofsustainedpositivechangesinfinancialbehaviourandknowledge
retentioninparticipants.
ThisprogramevaluationwasfundedbyFinancialLiteracyAustralia.
Program Evaluation Description & Aims
AnexternalevaluatorfromMacquarieUniversity,Sydney,wasengagedtoindependently
evaluatetheeffectivenessoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramasafinancialliteracy
educationalresource.MacquarieUniversityresearcherscollaboratedwithWesleyMission
financialliteracyprogramadvisorsandanacademicexpertinthefieldfromRMITUniversity
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inMelbourne,todeveloptwoquestionnaires.Thefirstquestionnairewaspersonally
administeredbyoneoftheMacquarieUniversityresearchersto128programattendeesat
theendofthelastsessionoftheprogramat18programdeliverycentres–NGOsfrom
MetropolitanSydneyorregionalcentreswithina300kmradiusoftheSydneyCBDthat
assistpeoplewithdrug,alcoholorgamblingaddictions,orprovidesupportforthehomeless
orforat-riskfamilies.Betweenfivetosevenmonthsaftertheprogram,thesameresearcher
attemptedtocontactallinitialstudyparticipants,bytelephoneoremail,askingthemto
completeasecondquestionnaireverysimilartothefirst.Sixty-threeparticipantscompleted
thesecondquestionnaire.
InadditiontotheprimarygoalofevaluatingtheeffectivenessoftheInChargeofMyMoney
programinvulnerablepopulations,thisprojectexploredthelinksbetweenvarious
participantfactorsandchangesinfinancialbehaviours,knowledgeandattidudes,inan
attempttoidentifythereasonswhytheprogrammighthaveanimpact.Furthermore,
participantswereaskedhowtheythoughttheprogramcouldbeimproved,sothatWesley
Missioncanrefinetheprogramtobettermeettheneedsoftheirtargetaudience.
Participants’feedbackonwhattheythoughtwasmosthelpfulabouttheprogramandwhat
theyrememberedfromitseveralmonthslateralsoprovidesusefulinformationregarding
theaspectsoftheprogramthatweremostrelevanttothesevulnerablepopulations.Finally,
theprojectinvestigatedwhetherornotregulartextmessagereminders,alsoreferredtoas
“nudges”,wouldincreasethechanceoflong-termimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours.
Theoutcomesofthisprojectareintendedtoassistthelong-termsustainabilityoffinancial
literacyeducationforvulnerablepopulations.Itishopedthatthelearningswillalsobe
relevanttootherfinancialliteracyprogramstargetingawideraudience.Thisprojectmay
alsoassistthefinancialliteracysectorthroughincreasedaccesstoevidence-basedfinancial
literacyeducationalmaterials.
Thisreportwillcoverthefollowing:
• Aliteraturereviewofbestpracticeforfinancialliteracyprogramstargetedat
vulnerablepopulations.
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• Areviewofhowtextmessagenudgesmaybeabletosupportimprovementsin
financialbehaviour.
• ThebackgroundanddescriptionoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.
• TheaimsoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramevaluation,keyfactorsand
outcomes,andtheparticipants’demographics.
• Theprogramevaluationresearchmethodology.
• Theresultsfromtheprogramevaluation,includingparticipants’engagement
with,feedbackon,andknowledgeretentionfrom,theprogram.
• Changeinfinancialbehaviours,knowledge,attitudes,self-efficacyandemotional
spending,severalmonthsaftertheprogram.
• Theeffectivenessoftextmessagenudges.
• Asummaryofthekeyfindingsfromtheprojectandtheirimplications.
• Thelimitationsofthestudy.
• Suggestionsforfutureresearch.
• Conclusion.
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Literature Review
Best practice for financial literacy programs targeted at
vulnerable populations
Onlyadecadeagotherewaslimitedinterestinthetopicoffinancialliteracy(Miller,
Reichelstein,Salas,&Zia,2014).Now,however,thereareinitiativestoincreasefinancial
literacylevelsworld-wide(Blue&Brimble,2014).Financialliteracycanbedefinedasa
combinationofawareness,knowledge,skills,attitudes,andbehavioursnecessaryto
effectivelymanageone’smoneyandmakesoundfinancialdecisions(Atkinson&Messy,
2011;Collins&Holden,2014).Financialliteracy,therefore,isnotsimplyaboutknowledge
andunderstanding,butimpliestheabilitytotranslatefinancialknowledgeintoeffective
financialdecisionsandbehaviours(Collins&Holden,2014;ConsumerFinancialProtection
Bureau,2015).Theneedforindividualstohavegreaterfinancialliteracyhasgrownfora
numberofreasons.First,therehasbeenashiftinmanydevelopedcountriesfromstateto
individualresponsibilitytoprovideadequateresourcesforoldageandtoprovidefinancial
securityduringsickness,disabilityorunemployment(Atkinson,McKay,Collard,&Kempson,
2007).Furthermore,financialproductsandmarketshavebecomeincreasinglycomplex,and
therehasbeenwidespreadgrowthofalternativeandpredatoryfinancialservices(Blue&
Brimble,2014).Inaddition,thereisevidenceoflowlevelsoffinancialliteracyglobally
(Brimble&Blue,2013).
Althoughfinancialliteracyfocusesonindividualresponsibilitytouseresourceseffectively,it
isimportanttorememberthataperson’sfinancialwell-beingisnotsolelydeterminedby
theirabilitytomanagetheirmoneyandmakesoundfinancialdecisions.Financialwell-being
canbedefinedashavingcontroloverday-to-dayfinances,havingthecapacitytoabsorba
financialshock,trackingtomeetone’sfinancialgoals,andhavingthefinancialfreedomto
makechoicesthatallowapersontoenjoylife(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,
2015).Therearemanyfactorsbeyondanindividual’scontrolinachievingfinancialwell-
being,suchastheglobalandnationaleconomicenvironment,familywealthand
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connections,accesstoeducation,income,andgeographiclocation.Thesefactorscreatea
contextthateitherprovidesorlimitsanindividual’sopportunitiestoputtheirfinancial
literacyintopractice(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).Therefore,thegoalof
financialliteracyeducationistohelppeoplemakethebestoftheirsituationgiventheir
currentfinancialcircumstances(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).Promoting
financialliteracyisnotintendedtoimplythatindividualsarecompletelyresponsiblefor
theirownfinancialsituations,orthatfinancialliteracycaneliminatepoverty,sincesomuch
isoutsidethecontrolofindividuals.Inthismonetisedsociety,financialliteracyeducation
shouldbeseenasabasicright,liketherighttobasicliteracyandnumeracyeducation,so
thateveryonehastheknowledgeandskillstoactintheirbestfinancialinterests,giventheir
backgroundandcontext(Johnson&Sherraden,2007).
Australiareflectstheworld-widephenomenonoftherecognitionoflowlevelsoffinancial
literacyinthegeneralpopulationandtheneedtoimprovefinancialliteracylevels.The
AustralianandNewZealandBank(ANZ)surveysfrom2003and2010showedthatthereisa
substantialdeficiencyintheleveloffinancialliteracyamongstmanyAustralians(Taylor&
Wagland,2013).The“FinancialResilienceinAustralia2015”report,basedona
representativesampleofalmost1,500Australians,foundthatalmosthalfofthepopulation
(48%)reportedthattheyonlyhavea‘basicunderstanding’offinancialproductsandservices
andmorethan9%reportedthattheyhad‘nounderstanding’(Muiretal.,2016).Recent
Australiansocialpolicyhasprioritisedfinancialliteracy,withafocusonmoneymanagement
education,asawaytoaddressfinancialstressandover-indebtedness(Brackertz,2014).The
FinancialLiteracyTaskforceandtheFinancialLiteracyFoundationwereestablishedin2004,
andin2011theNationalFinancialLiteracyStrategywasreleasedbythegovernment
regulator,AustralianSecuritiesandInvestmentsCommission(ASIC)(Brackertz,2014).
AkeystrategytoimprovelowlevelsoffinancialliteracyinAustraliaandworld-wideis
throughadultfinancialliteracyprograms.Theseprogramsusuallyaddresspersonalfinance
topicssuchasbudgeting,saving,andcreditmanagement(Collins&O'Rourke,2012;Fox&
Bartholomae,2008).Financialeducationforadultsisusuallydeliveredthroughcommunity
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oremployerbasedprogramsthatprovideattendeeswithinformation,ontheassumption
thatthisknowledgewillresultinimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours(Collins&Holden,
2014).Althoughtherehasbeenaproliferationoffinancialliteracyprograms,workshops,
andseminars,littleresearchhasmeasuredtheimpactandusefulnessoftheseprograms
(Milleretal.,2014;Vyvyan,Blue,&Brimble,2014).Therearefewfinancialliteracy
programsthathavebeenevaluatedwithrobustresearchdesignsthatdemonstrateifand
howimprovedfinancialknowledgeinfluencesfinancialbehaviourslaterinlife,witha
paucityofstudiesmeasuringbehaviouralchangesoveraperiodoftime(Collins&Holden,
2014).Positivecorrelationshavebeenfoundbetweenfinancialknowledgeandfinancial
practices,butverylittleresearchhasbeenconductedusingexperimentaldesignsthatprove
thatthealteredbehaviourshavebeencausedbytheprogramandnootherfactors(Collins
&Holden,2014;Schuchardtetal.,2009).Inaddition,theliteraturesuggeststhatcombining
financialeducationwithaccesstoappropriatefinancialproductsandservicesisthemost
effectivewaytohelppeopleachievefinancialwell-being(Birkenmaier&Maynard,2016).
Withoutaccesstofinancialproducts,andwithouttheopportunitytosaveduetolowor
unpredictabledisposableincome,theabilityoffinancialliteracyprogramstoproduce
greaterfinancialsecurityislimited(Birkenmaier&Maynard,2016;Kempson&Finney,
2009).
Ofthefinancialliteracyprogramevaluationsthathavebeenconducted,notallhave
demonstratedprogrameffectiveness.Evenprogramsthatarepopularandappeartobe
helpfulmaybefoundtohavenoeffect,orinsufficienteffect,tojustifytheexpenditureof
resources,whentested(Reich&Berman,2015).Ameta-analysisoftheliteraturefoundthat
morethan140ofthe188studiesindicatedthatfinancialeducationcanbehelpfulin
improvingfinancialoutcomes.However,approximately40ofthestudiescitedeitherno
impactoronlyamodestimpactfromtheinterventionthatmaynotbejustifiedrelativeto
thecostoftheprogram(Milleretal.,2014).Thismeta-analysisconcludedthatfinancial
educationcanconsistentlyimprovesomeoutcomes,suchassavingsandrecordkeeping
behaviour,butdoeslesswellinpreventingoutcomessuchasloandefault(Milleretal.,
2014).Anothermeta-analysisshowedthatstudiestendtooverstatetheeffectsoffinancial
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educationonsubsequentbehaviour,withonly0.1%ofthevarianceinfinancialbehaviour
beingattributabletofinancialeducationinterventions(Fernandes,Lynch,&Netemeyer,
2014).Therefore,therearemajorchallengestodrawingconclusionsabouttheeffectiveness
offinancialliteracyeducationanditremainsunclearifandhowincreasedfinancial
knowledgetranslatesintomorepositivefinancialbehaviours(Collins&Holden,2014;Fox,
Bartholomae,&Trombitas,2012;Schuchardtetal.,2009).TheOECDconcludedin2013that
thereisapossiblecausallinkbetweenfinancialeducationandoutcomes,andthatimproved
levelsoffinancialliteracycanleadtopositivebehaviourchange[italicsadded](Brimble&
Blue,2013).
Financialliteracyeducationisbelievedtobeparticularlyimportantforlow-income
populations.Thisisnottosay,however,thathouseholdslivingonlow-incomesare
responsibleforthefinancialhardshiptheyexperience.Indeed,ithasbeensuggestedthat
thefocusofpoliciesshouldbetodirectlyaddresssocietalinequalityratherthanfocusingon
thefinancialincompetenceofthepoor(Johnson&Sherraden,2007).
Asdiscussedpreviously,manyfactorscontributingtofinancialwell-beingareoutsidean
individual’scontrol,limitingtheiropportunitiestobecomefinanciallysecure,despitetheir
leveloffinancialliteracy.Higherincomeandeducationarelikelytoprotectindividuals
againstseverefinancialproblemssincetheyprovideabufferandgreateroptionsintimesof
economicdownturnorpersonaldifficulties(vonStumm,FentonO’Creevy,&Furnham,
2013).
Nevertheless,theresearchdoesshowanassociationbetweenlow-incomesandlow
financialliteracy.Forexample,generalpopulationsurveysintheU.S.havefoundthat
peoplewithlowincomesarelessfinanciallyknowledgeablethanthosewithhigherincomes
(Anderson,Zhan,&Scott,2005).Thosewithlowincomesarealsomoresusceptibleto
paydayloans,pawning,andaccessingother‘predatory’lendersthatchargemuchhigher
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interestratesthanmajorlenderssuchasbanks(Andersonetal.,2005).Studieshavealso
shownthatthoseonlow-incomesarelesslikelytosavemoney(Andersonetal.,2005).
InAustralia,the2003ANZfinancialliteracystudyfoundthatthelowestlevelsoffinancial
literacywereassociatedwiththosehavingloweducationqualification(Year10orless),
thosecategorisedas‘unskilledworkers’,andthosewithlessthan$20,000inhousehold
income(Taylor&Wagland,2013).Thisfindingwasrepeatedinthe2005and2008ANZ
surveys(Taylor&Wagland,2013).Similarly,theFinancialResilienceinAustralia2015report
(Muiretal.,2016)foundthatmostpeoplewithveryloworloweconomicresourcesalso
haveloworverylowlevelsoffinancialknowledgeandbehaviour.GiventhatAustralia’s
NewstartAllowanceisthelowestunemploymentpaymentintheOECD,atjust40%ofalow
full-timewageaftertax,beingabletomanageaverysmallincomewelliscrucialforsurvival
(Brackertz,2014).Infact,someresearchhasshownthatfinancialliteracyprogramsare
particularlyeffectiveforlow-incomeandverydisadvantagedparticipants,sinceevensmall
changesinfinancialbehaviourscanhavelargeimpactsontheirlives(Fry,Mihajilo,Russell,
&Brooks,2008;Grinstein-Weiss,Guo,Reinertson,&Russell,2015).
Althoughanumberoffinancialeducationprogramshavebeendevelopedgloballyto
addressthefinancialliteracyneedsoflow-incomepopulations,thereislittleresearch
measuringtheeffectivenessoftheseprograms(Lyons,Chang,&Scherpf,2006).Oneofthe
mainreasonsforthesparseamountofresearchisthatvulnerablepopulationgroupsmay
bemoredifficulttotrack,theytypicallyhavehighprogramdropoutratesandlowsurvey
responserates(Collins,2010;Lyonsetal.,2006).Forexample,anationalstudyofthe
effectivenessoffinancialcounsellinginAustraliaonlyhada5.3%responseratetothe1,200
questionnairessentoutto48sitesineachstateandterritory(Brackertz,2014).Theauthor
consideredthisasuccessduetothedifficultiesinherentinengagingthemost
disadvantagedmembersofsociety(Brackertz,2014).
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Additionally,mostprogramstargetinglow-incomepopulationsareoperatedbynon-profit
organisationswithlimitedresourcesandresearchcapability(Lyonsetal.,2006).
Furthermore,ithasbeenarguedthatmeasuresof‘success’offinancialliteracyprograms
targetedatlow-incomeclienteleneedtoberealisticandrecognisethatsomefinancial
behaviourscannotchangebecausetheirextenuatingfinancialcircumstanceshavenot
changed(Lyonsetal.,2006).Forexample,someprogramattendeesareunabletosaveas
theirincomeisinsufficienttomeeteventheirbasicexpenses(Brackertz,2014;Loibl,Jones,
Haisley,&Loewenstein,2016).
Ofthemorerecentresearchevaluatingtheeffectivenessoffinancialliteracyprograms
targetedatlow-income,disadvantagedpopulations,twoofthesestudieswereexperimental
indesignandsowereabletoshowcausality.Asmall(N=33)experimentalstudyofa
financialliteracyprogramdeliveredthrougharesidentialserviceforhomelessfamilies
foundthattheprogramincreasedbothfinancialknowledgeandpositivefinancial
behavioursattheendofthefourweeks,comparedtothoseinthecontrolgroupof
residentswhodidnotattendtheprogram(Reich&Berman,2015).However,therewasa
highlevelofattritionfromthestudy,with46%ofthe61initiallyrecruitednotcompleting
thestudyforavarietyofreasons(Reich&Berman,2015).
Anotherexperimentalstudyexaminedtheeffectivenessofafinancialliteracyprogram
designedforanddeliveredto300survivorsofintimatepartnerviolence(Hetling,Postmus,
&Kaltz,2015).Thisstudyfoundastrongprogrameffectonself-reportedfinancial
knowledgeandbehavioursonemonthaftercompletionoftheprogram.Thisstudyalsohad
quiteahighattritionrate,with34%notcontinuinginthestudyatTime2,onlyonemonth
aftertheendoftheprogram.Themainreasonfortheattritionwastheinabilitytocontact
participantsforthesecondinterview(Hetlingetal.,2015).Althoughnotanexperimental
study,Grinstein-Weissetal.(2015)examinedthelongitudinaldataofapproximately2,000
low-incomeparticipantsofamatchedsavingsprogramwithafinancialeducation
componentintheU.S.Theyfoundthatfinancialeducationwasastrongpredictorofsavings
outcomesforlow-incomeprogramparticipants.Theauthorsconcludedthatevenshort
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financialeducationcoursescanprovidelow-incomehouseholdswiththeknowledgeand
motivationtoaccumulatesavings.
Duetothelimitedamountofresearchonfinancialliteracyprogramsdesignedforand
deliveredtolow-incomepopulations,theliteraturehasnotyetconfirmeddefinitebest
practicesinfinancialeducationforthispopulation(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,
2015;Grinstein-Weissetal.,2015;Tuominen&Thompson,2015).Nevertheless,some
tentativebestpracticeguidelinesfordeliveringfinancialliteracyprogramstolow-income
andvulnerableclientshaveemergedfromtheliterature(Robson,2012).Theseguidelines
recommendthatfinancialliteracyprogramsforlow-incomeanddisadvantagedpopulations
aremosteffectivewhenthey:
• aretargeted&relevanttotheiraudience;
• aredeliveredbytherightpeople;
• aredeliveredattherighttime;
• areconsistentwithprinciplesofadultlearning;and,
• empowerattendees.
Is the program content relevant and evidence-based?
Themostimportantbestpracticetobehighlightedintheliteratureistheneedforfinancial
programstobewelltargetedtotheiraudience(Blue&Brimble,2014;Hathaway&
Khatiwada,2008).Intheirreviewoftheliterature,HathawayandKhatiwada(2008)
concludethattheoverallevidencefortheeffectivenessoffinancialeducationremains
unclear;however,inboththeshortandlongterm,highlytargetedprograms,ratherthan
generalprograms,tendtobemoreeffectiveinchangingpeople’sfinancialbehaviours.
Thereisaparticularneedtotailorfinancialliteracyprogramswhentheaudiencearethose
whoaremarginalisedinsocietyanddonothaveaccessto,oropportunitywith,mainstream
financialservices.Sometimesmainstreaminformationandadvicefromfinancialservices
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canbeirrelevantorunhelpfulforvulnerableclients(Robson,2012).Therefore,theprogram
contentneedstobetailoredtoclients’livesandcircumstances,addressingtheirmainneeds
andconcerns(Friedman,2005;Robson,2012).Theinformationprovidedneedstobe
accurateandappropriateforthetargetaudience(Robson,2012).Themorerelevantthe
material,themorelikelyitisthatprogramparticipantswillremainengagedinthetraining
(Friedman,2005).Forexample,someresearchhasfoundthatthosewhoaredependenton
governmentpaymentsarenotawareofthefullservicesandbenefitsavailabletothemand
thereforethisisatopicrelevanttothemostdisadvantagedinsociety(Andersonetal.,
2005).
Inadditiontothecontentoftheprogramneedingtoberelevant,theteachingstyleshould
alsobetargetedtotheaudience.Forexample,usingpracticalexamplestoillustratethe
informationisrecommended,asthisenablesparticipantstopersonalisetheconceptsbeing
taughtandapplythemtotheirownsituations(Friedman,2005).Theuseofrelevant,
practicalexamplesmayalsohelppeoplebetterunderstandfinancialconceptsandretain
whattheyhavelearnt(Friedman,2005).However,anyillustrationsorexercisesneedto
reflectthelimitedeconomicresourcesof,andconstraintsplacedon,peoplelivingonlow-
incomes(Andersonetal.,2005).Aswellasappropriateexamples,teachingsimple“rulesof
thumb”,hasbeenshowntobeveryeffectiveininfluencingfinancialbehaviours(Consumer
FinancialProtectionBureau,2015;Datta&Mullainathan,2014).Thiscanbeaparticular
issueforpeopleinsubstanceabuserehabilitationprograms.Rulesofthumb,suchas“pay
yourselffirst”,areeasytorememberandsoaremorelikelytoberecalledwhenmaking
decisions(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).Furthermore,thelanguageusedto
presentthetrainingmaterialshouldbeconsistentwithparticipants’educationaland
culturalcontexts(Andersonetal.,2005).
Tailoringcontentanddeliverytothetargetaudienceshouldalsoincludeculturaladaptation
(Brimble&Blue,2013).Forexample,afinancialliteracyprogramwasadaptedfordeliveryat
sixindigenoussitesinQueensland(Brimble&Blue,2013).Thisprogramrecognisedthe
culturalandtraditionalvaluesystemsofindigenouspeoples,wheresharingresourceswith
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extendedfamily,kinshipandreciprocityarecentraltoAboriginalidentity.Furthermore,the
programwasadaptedtothelearningstyleofprogramparticipants,withmoretimegivento
groupdiscussionsandstorytelling.Suchculturaladaptationsarevitaltoensuringthatthe
contentanddeliverystyleoftheprogramarerelevantandappropriateforculturallydiverse
groupsinsociety.
Delivered by the right people
Notonlydoesthecontentoftheinformationneedtoberelevantanddeliveredina
culturallyappropriatemanner,butwhodeliversthematerialisalsoimportant.The
trustworthinessoftheprovideroftheprogram,particularlyintheirmotivesandthe
capacitytoprovideaccurateandappropriateinformation,issignificant(Robson,2012;
Russelletal.2011).Financialliteracyprogramsdeliveredbycommunity-basedorganisations
aretrustedthemostbyvulnerableindividualssincetheytendnottoarousesuspicionsthat
therearehidden,self-servingmotivesbehindtheinformationbeingpresented(Friedman,
2005;Robson,2012).Furthermore,targetingthemostvulnerablepopulationsmaybebest
achievedthroughthecommunitysector,sincethissectorunderstandstheneedsand
circumstancesoflow-incomeindividualsbetterthanothers(Russelletal.,2011).
Inadditiontotheprogramprovider,theindividualswhodelivertheprogramandtheir
communicationstylealsomatterstoprogramefficacy.Theliteraturesuggeststhatbest
practiceincludeshavingwell-prepared,well-trainedinstructorswhoarefirstfinancially
literatethemselves(Collins&Holden,2014;Robson,2012).
Additionally,itiskeythatfinancialliteracystaffhaveagoodunderstandingoftheneedsof
vulnerablegroupsandarenon-judgemental(Robson,2012).Therearerealriskstoteaching
financialliteracybadlybyprovidinginaccuratecontent,ordeliveringinsensitiveor
inappropriateguidancetoclients(Robson,2012).Theserisksincludeencouragingchanges
thatareinfactdetrimentaltoparticipants’financialwell-being,discouragingfurther
learningaboutpersonalfinance,causingclientstoviewlearningaboutfinancialknowledge
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asirrelevant,orprovidingapainfulreminderofparticipants’owndisadvantageand
marginalisation(Robson,2012).Therefore,itisimportanttochooseandtrainfinancial
literacyprogramstaffcarefully.
Delivered at the right time
Inadditiontorelevantcontentandappropriatedeliverybytherightpeople,thetimingof
financialliteracyeducationisalsoimportant(Kiviat&Morduch,2012).Peoplearemost
likelytobeattentiveandengagedwithaprogramwhenthecontentisrelevanttotheir
greatestneedsatthetime(Frentzeletal.,2010;Friedman,2005).Conversely,unwanted
informationmaybeneithervaluednoractedupon(Russelletal.,2011).Ithasbeen
suggestedthatfinancialliteracyprogramsaremosteffectivewhentheyinterveneat
“teachablemoments”inparticipantslives(Robson,2012).Theseteachablemomentsare
whenfinancialchoiceisimminentandwhenthecontentoftheprogramhasimmediate
practicalapplications(Robson,2012).
Ithasalsobeenproposedthatembeddingfinancialliteracyprogramsintootherexisting
programsandservicesmaybeworthwhile,asclientsarepresumablyatavulnerableperiod
intheirliveswhentheyseektheseotherservices,andthereforemaybemotivatedto
improvetheirmoneymanagementskills(Robson,2012).Furthermore,includingfinancial
literacyeducationwithinotherprogramsthatsimultaneouslyaddressmultipleneeds
enablesorganisationstosupportclientsinaholisticmanner(Robson,2012).
Adhere to principles of adult learning
Adultslearndifferentlytochildrenandyouth,sofinancialliteracyprogramsbeingdelivered
toadultsneedtoadheretotheprinciplesofadultlearning(Robson,2012).Thebasic
principlesarethatadults:
• respondtoguidancenotinstruction;
• selectivelyattendtoinformationtheyfeelisrelevanttothem;
• bringindependentideas,previousknowledge,andlifeexperiencetotheirlearning;
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• learnwhentheyaremotivatedtodoso;and,
• learnbestbydoing(Robson,2012)
Themostimportantprinciplefromadultlearningthatappliestofinancialliteracyprograms
isthatadultsdonotwanttobeinstructedorlecturedaboutwhatthey‘should’do.Instead,
adultlearnerswishtoreceiveguidancethatisrelevanttotheircircumstances(Robson,
2012).Adultshaveexistingknowledgeandlifeexperiences,soadaptingprogramcontentto
buildonparticipants’existingknowledgeandinsightsiskeytosuccessfuladultlearning
(Robson,2012).Therefore,amoreparticipatoryandgroupdiscussionstyleofteachingthat
elicitsparticipants’inputandfeedbackislikelytobemoreeffectivethanalecturestyle
method(Robson,2012).Thisalsoallowsthepresentertomoreaccuratelyadaptthe
programmaterialtothecurrentneedsandinterestsofthegroup,therebyincreasing
programrelevance(Andersonetal.,2005).Ithasbeensuggestedthatthestyleoflearning
infinancialliteracyprogramswiththegreatestimpactfordisadvantagedgroupsisamutual
exchangebetweenparticipantsandprogramproviders(Robson,2012).Anotheradvantage
ofgroupdiscussions,andelicitingparticipationandfeedbackfromprogramattendees,is
thatitdemonstratesaninterestintheopinionsandlivesofattendees,andsobuildstheir
confidenceandsupportstheirempowerment(Andersonetal.,2005).
Adultlearnersdobestwhentheyaremotivatedandvolunteertobepartofafinancial
educationprogram(Robson,2012).Mandatoryfinancialliteracyprogramsmaycreate
barrierstolearningandfacilitatorsmayhavetofirstwinoverreluctantparticipants
(Robson,2012),althoughthishasnotbeendemonstratedbyresearchasyet.However,
peoplewithverylowfinancialliteracyhavebeenfoundtolackmotivationtoseekfinancial
counselling,sovoluntaryparticipationamongthispopulationgroupmightresultin
programsnotbeingdeliveredtothosewhoneeditthemost(Frentzeletal.,2010).
Regardingtheprincipleofadultslearningbestbydoing,someresearchhasfoundthat
‘learningbydoing’isthesinglemostimportantfactorinacquiringfinancialcapabilityandis
consideredbysometobeavitalpartoffinancialeducation(Russelletal.,2011).Hence,itis
importantthatfinancialliteracyprogramsprovideactivitiesforparticipantstoengagein
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duringtheprogram,andthatattendeesareencouragedtoactontheirnewknowledge
immediately.Foradults,knowinghowtodothingsisoftenmoreimportantthanthe
knowledgeofparticularfacts(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).Therefore,
teachingfinancialliteracyskills,suchashowtodoabudgetandpracticalwaystoreduce
spending,ismorelikelytoproducechangesinpeople’sbehaviourthanfactualknowledge
(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).
Empowerment & self-efficacy
Finally,theliteraturesuggeststhatitisimportanttoempowerprogramparticipants
(Andersonetal.,2005).Indeed,empoweringindividualshasbeendescribedasbedrockto
theworkoffinancialeducators(Kiviat&Morduch,2012).Byprovidingtoolsandteaching
skills,thepurposeofempoweringparticipantsistobuildtheirabilityandconfidencetobe
abletobettercontrolandmanagetheirfinances(Andersonetal.,2005).Incorporating
empowermentlanguageintoprogramsmaybeespeciallysalientforpeoplewithlow-
incomeswhofeelmarginalisedfromtherestofsociety(Andersonetal.,2005).Forthose
whomaybedependentongovernmentincomesupportand/orcharitiestobeableto
survive,financialliteracyeducationmaypromotesomesenseofself-sufficiencyandcontrol
intheirlives(Tuominen&Thompson,2015).
Relatedtoempowermentistheconceptofself-efficacy(Bandura,1982).Self-efficacyisthe
beliefinone’sabilitytosucceedatperformingaspecifictask(Frentzeletal.,2010).Those
withhigherlevelsofself-efficacyaremorelikelytobeproactiveandtakeinitiativebecause
theybelievetheiractionswillbeeffective(Frentzeletal.,2010).Healthmanagement
studieshavefoundassociationsbetweenhighself-efficacyandincreasedlikelihoodsof
followingadietandexerciseprogram,higherqualityoflifeforasthmaticsandhigher
medicationadherence(Frentzeletal.,2010).Therefore,increasingpeople’sfinancialself-
efficacycouldplayanimportantroleintheeffectivenessoffinancialliteracyeducationin
changingbehaviour(Frentzeletal.,2010).Regardlessofwhethertheterms‘empowerment’
or‘self-efficacy’areused,theimportantpointisthatfinancialprogramsaremorelikelyto
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producechangesinbehaviourifprogramparticipantsbelievetheyhavetheabilityto
changetheircircumstances.
Conclusion
Insummary,thereisevidencethatfinancialliteracyprogramsareeffectiveatcontributing
toimprovedfinancialbehavioursforlow-incomeandmarginalisedpopulations.Recent
experimentalstudieshavedemonstratedcausationbyfindingthatthosewhoparticipated
infinancialliteracyprogramshavebetterfinancialknowledgeandbehavioursafterthe
programscomparedtothosewhodidnotreceivetheeducation.Althoughthereis
insufficientresearchasyettoconfirmasetofbestpracticesforfinancialliteracyprograms
targetingseverelyfinanciallyvulnerableclients,ithasbeenrecommendedthatfinancial
literacyprogramsaremosteffectivewhentheyoffertailored,contentisrelevant,anditis
deliveredinanappropriatemannerbytrustedtrainerswhoareknowledgeableandnon-
judgemental(Robson,2012).
Using Text Messages to Support Improvements in Financial
Literacy
Humansoftenbehaveinwaysthataredetrimentaltotheirownwell-being.Forexample,
despiteincreasededucationandadvertisingefforts,obesity,smoking,alcohol,andlackof
physicalactivity,continuetohaveadeleteriousimpactonpublichealthworldwide
(Marteau,Ogilvie,Roland,Suhrcke,&Kelly,2011).So,howcanpolicymakerschangehuman
behaviourtoimprovewell-beingacrossawholerangeofdomains?Oneapproachis
throughtheuseof“nudges”.
BehaviouraleconomistsRichardThalerandCassSunsteinpopularisedtheterm“nudge”,
whichtheydefinedasanymechanismthataltersorprejudicespeople’sdecisionsand
behaviourinapredictablewaywithoutprohibitinganyoptions(Marteauetal.,2011;
Sunstein,2014;Thaler&Sunstein,2008).Theoriginaldefinitionofnudgingexcluded
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legislation,regulationandinterventionsthataltereconomicincentives(Marteauetal.,
2011).However,thereisnoprecise,operationaldefinitionofnudginganditisbestthought
ofasatypeofbehaviouralchangeintervention(Marteauetal.,2011).Thekeycharacteristic
ofnudgesisthattheysteerpeopleinaparticulardirection,butstillallowfreechoice
(Sunstein,2014).Nudgespromptandactivelyguidechoices,ratherthandictate,byaltering
socialorphysicalenvironmentstomakecertainbehavioursmorelikely(Marteauetal.,
2011).
Theconceptofnudgesdrawsonbehaviouraleconomicsandsocialpsychologythathelp
explainwhypeopleoftendonotbehaverationally(Marteauetal.,2011;Pathak,Holmes,&
Zimmerman,2011).Althoughbasedinbehaviouraleconomicsandsocialpsychology,
Marteauetal.(2011)proposethatnudgingbridgesthegapbetweentwohumansystems,
thegoal-orientedsystemandtheautomatic,affectivesystem.Thegoal-orientedsystemis
drivenbyourcognitivecapacity,ourthoughts,valuesandintentions.Theautomaticsystem,
incontrast,requireslittleornocognitiveengagementandisdrivenbyimmediatefeelings
andistriggeredbyourenvironment.AccordingtoMarteauetal.,nudgingmainlyoperates
throughthisautomatic,affectivesystemandassumesthatalteringenvironmentalcues
shouldalterpeople’schoicesandbehaviours.
Nudgingasawayofchanginghumanbehaviourhasgeneratedgreatinterestamongstpolicy
makersworldwideinrecentyears,withboththeU.K.andU.S.governmentsembracingthis
tool(Marteauetal.,2011).TheU.K.nowhasaBehaviouralInsightsteam(sometimes
referredtoasthe“NudgeUnit”)andtheU.S.hasaWhiteHouseSocialandBehavioural
Sciencesteam(Sunstein,2014).Thegrowinginterestinnudgescanbeattributedtothelow
costoftheinterventions,thepotentiallyfastdeliveryandresults,thepersonalfreedom
theymaintain,andtheireffectiveness(Sunstein,2014).Thereareawiderangeoftypesof
nudges,withSunstein(2014)listingthetenmostimportantnudgesas:
• defaultrules(e.g.automaticenrolmentsinprograms);
• simplification(e.g.thesimplificationofformstoenterprograms);
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• useofsocialnorms(e.g.comparingyourelectricitybilltothatofothersofthe
samehouseholdsize);
• increasesineaseandconvenience(e.g.puttingfruitatthecheckoutcounter
insteadoflollies);
• disclosure(e.g.remindingcustomersoftheinterestrateontheircreditcard);
• warnings(e.g.graphicphotosoncigarettepackets);
• pre-commitmentstrategies(e.g.committingtostopsmoking);
• reminders(e.g.textmessageappointmentreminders);
• elicitingimplementationintentions(e.g.asking“doyouplantoimmuniseyour
child?”);and,
• informingpeopleofthenatureandconsequencesoftheirownpastchoices(e.g.
theirelectricitybillforthesameperiodtheyearbefore).
Remindernudgesareofparticularrelevancetothepresentstudy.Remindersare
hypothesizedtobeeffectivenudgesbecauseoftheireffectonattention(Datta&
Mullainathan,2014;Pathaketal.,2011).Sometimespeoplehavegoodintentionstochange
theirbehaviour,butfollowingthroughonthoseintentionsrequiresrememberingtomake
thenecessarychangesorperhapsprioritisingtheaction(Datta&Mullainathan,2014).A
timelyremindercanmitigatethismemorylapse(Datta&Mullainathan,2014).Reminders
alsoaddressthe‘availabilitybias’,whichisthetendencyforpeopletomakedecisionsbased
onthefrequencyofinformationortheexamplesthemindimaginesorretrieves(Pathaket
al.,2011).Nudgescanbringgoalsandintentionstoone’simmediateattention,makingit
morelikelythattheywillactonthoseintentions(Pathaketal.,2011).Therefore,reminders
canbeusedinsituationswherepeopleforfeitsubstantialbenefitswhentheydonotdo
something,attherighttime(Datta&Mullainathan,2014).
Oneofthemosteconomical,easy,rapidandeffectivewaystosendreminderstoatargeted
groupisthroughtextmessaging(Milward,Day,Wadsworth,Strang,&Lynskey,2015).Easy
touseandinexpensivesoftwareisavailabletofacilitateautomatedtextmessage
communication(Thirumurthy&Lester,2012).Mobilephonesarepervasiveinthe
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developedworld,with91%ofadultsintheU.S.and94%intheU.K.owningamobilephone
(Milwardetal.,2015).StatisticsbytheSwissFederalStatisticsOffice(2014)indicatedthatin
2012,thereweremoremobilephonesubscriptionsthaninhabitantsinmanyEuropean
countries(Billieux,Maurage,Lopez-Fernandez,Kuss,&Griffiths,2015).InAsia,theOfficeof
theCommunicationAuthorityofHongKong(2013)statedthatin2012,theaveragenumber
ofcellularphonesownedwas2.21perperson(Billieuxetal.,2015).Mobilephoneshave
alsohadaconsiderableimpactindevelopingcountries,sincecommunicationbymobile
phoneislessexpensivethanlandlinetelephonesorstandardinternet(Cole-Lewis&
Kershaw,2010b).Approximately75%ofadultsworldwidehaveaccesstoamobilephone,
withthree-quartersoftheworld’ssevenbillionmobilephonesubscriberslivinginlow-and
middle-incomecountries(Kamisetal.,2015).Therefore,textmessagingholdspromiseasa
usefultoolforbehaviourchangeinterventionsworldwide(Cole-Lewis&Kershaw,2010b).
Despitealltheinterestandpotentialadvantagesofusingnudgesinsteadofregulationand
monetaryincentivestoalterbehaviour,theevidencesupportingtheeffectivenessofnudges
isnotstraightforward.Textmessagingisarelativelynewmethodofdeliveryforbehaviour
changeinterventions,andthereforethereisapaucityofresearchontextmessagenudges
(Cole-Lewis&Kershaw,2010b).Todate,textnudgeshavebeenmostlyusedfordisease
preventionandmanagement.Inameta-analysisof12randomisedcontrolledtrialsusing
textmessagingforthemanagementofweightloss,smokingcessationanddiabetes,eightof
thestudiesfoundevidenceofshort-termeffects(Cole-Lewis&Kershaw,2010b).These
effectswerefoundforadolescentsandadults,minorityandnon-minoritygroups,and
acrossnationalities.However,ofthe12studiesinthemeta-analysis,threereportednot
beingstatisticallypowerfulenoughtodetectdifferencesinoutcomesandtherefore
producedinconclusiveresults.
Sincethismeta-analysisbyCole-LewisandKershaw(2010),otherstudiesusingtextmessage
nudgesinthehealthdomainhaveadvancedtheliteratureinthisarea.Forexample,inChina
almost2,000randomlyselectedcommunityresidentswereassignedtoreceivethreeweeks
oftextmessagesabouteitherinfluenzapreventionorstoppingsmoking(Chaietal.,2013).
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Participantswhoreceivedtheinfluenzapreventionmessageshadahigherself-reported
uptakeofinfluenzavaccination,reportedreducedinfluenza-likeillness,andshowed
improvedknowledgeandattitudesaboutinfluenzapreventionandcontrolattheendofthe
studycomparedtothosewhohadreceivedthesmokingmessages.Further,morethan95%
ofparticipantsfoundthetextmessageprogramusefulandtrustworthy.Similarly,two
randomisedcontrolledtrialsinKenyashowedthatregulartextmessagescanimprove
adherencetoantiretroviraltherapyforpeoplewithhumanimmunodeficiencyvirus(HIV)
(Thirumurthy&Lester,2012).Inthefirststudy,textmessagesweresentonceaweek
enquiringaboutpatients’healthandsayingtheycouldreplyandseekadvicefromhealth-
careproviders.Patientsreceivingthisnudgeadheredtotheirtreatmentbetterthanthosein
thecontrolgroup.Inthesecondstudy,aone-waytextmessagewassentremindingpatients
totaketheirmedication.Halftheparticipantsreceivedthismessageweeklyandtheother
halfreceiveditdaily.Surprisingly,thosewhoreceivedthetextsweeklyadheredtothe
treatmentbetterthanthosewhoreceivedthemessagesdaily,suggestingthefrequencyof
thenudgesisimportant.
Ameta-analysisofninetext-messaginginterventionsdesignedtopromoteadherenceto
antiretroviraltherapydemonstratedthattextmessaginginterventionssignificantly
improvedHIVtreatmentadherencecomparedtocontrolconditions(Finitsis,Pellowski,&
Johnson,2014).Themeta-analysisalsofoundthatmessagingparticipantsonceormore
timesadayresultedinlessadherencecomparedtosendingmessagesafewtimesaweekor
weekly.Largeradherenceeffectswerealsofoundwhenthetextmessagessupported
bidirectionalcommunication,includedpersonalisedmessages,andwerematchedto
participants’dosingschedule.Implicationsfromthismeta-analysisarethattextmessages
shouldbetailoredtotheindividual,encouragetherecipienttoreplytothetext,andbesent
lessfrequentlythandaily.
Incontrasttothesepositivefindings,otherstudiesoftextmessageinterventionshave
demonstratedmixedresults.Forexample,astudyontextmessageremindersafterrapid
diagnostictesting(RDT)foralmost700peopleseekingtreatmentformalariaatdrugstores
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inNigeriafoundthattheeffectsofthetextmessagesdifferedforchildrencomparedto
adults(Liu&Modrek,2016).Inthisstudy,participantswererandomlyassignedtothree
groups;thosewhoreceivedabasictextreminderrepeatingtheRDTresultandappropriate
treatmentaction,thosewhoreceivedanexpandedtextmessageindicatingthatthe
governmentmightallowchemiststodoRDTs,oracontrolgroupthatdidnotreceiveany
textmessages.Thestudyfoundthatthetextremindersincreasedtreatmentadherencefor
RDT-positiveadultsanddecreasedtheuseofunnecessaryanti-malarialsforRDT-negative
adults.However,thebasictextreminderinterventiondidnothaveanimpactontreatment
adherenceortheuseofunnecessaryanti-malarialsforcaregiversofsickchildren.Infact,
theexpandedtextmessageactuallyledtopoorertreatmentadherenceandincreaseduse
ofunnecessaryanti-malarialsforsickchildren.
Mixedresultswerealsofoundinarandomisedcontrolledtrialstudywhereapproximately
800collegefreshmanweresent12personalisedtextmessagereminderseverycoupleof
weekspromptingthemtore-applyfortheFreeApplicationforFederalStudentAid
(FAFSA)(Castleman&Page,2015).Thestudyfoundlargeandpositiveeffectsamong
freshmanattendingcommunitycolleges,witha14%increaseinthoseremainingenrolledin
college.Theimpactoftheinterventionwasparticularlystrongforcommunitycollege
freshmanwithlowergradesinhighschool.Incontrast,thetextmessagesdidnotimprove
enrolmentcontinuanceamongfreshmanatfour-yearinstitutions.Inthecontrolgroup,
freshmanfromcommunitycollegeswerenearlythreetimesmorelikelytofailtoreapplyfor
theFAFSAcomparedtofreshmanoffour-yearcollegeswheretherateofpersistencewas
alreadyhigh(87%).Therewasalsoevidencethatthetextmessageshaddifferenteffectsfor
maleandfemalefreshmanatfour-yearinstitutions.Comparedtothecontrolgroup,thetext
messagesincreasedtheprobabilitythatmalefreshmanwouldremaininfour-year
institutions,butactuallydecreasedtheprobabilitythatfemalefreshmanwouldremainin
four-yearinstitutions.Therefore,thisstudy,aswiththestudyinNigeria,suggeststext
messagesmayhavedifferentialeffectsondifferentsub-groupswithinapopulation.
Otherstudieshavefoundthattextmessageremindershadnostatisticallysignificanteffects.
Forexample,anexperimentalstudyof63universitystudentsinEuropefoundthatdailytext
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messageremindersencouragingparticipantstobephysicallyactivedidnotincrease
students’levelofphysicalactivity(Schwerdtfeger,Schmitz,&Warken,2012).However,this
wasonlyasmallandbriefpilotstudy,sothesefindingsneedtobereplicated.Alargescale
randomisedevaluationofarecyclingprograminPerualsofoundnoeffectfortextmessages
onbehaviour(Chong,Karlan,Shapiro,&Zinman,2015).Inthisstudythetreatmentgroup
wasdividedintosubgroupsthatreceivedarangeofdifferenttextmessagewording,but
noneofthemessageswereeffectiveinchangingrecyclingbehaviour.Incontrast,thestudy
foundthatprovidinghouseholdswitharecyclingbindidimpactonrecyclingbehaviour.The
authorscommentthatmanyofthetextmessagesweresimilartomessagesfoundtobe
effectiveinothercountries,andsotextmessaginginterventionsmaynotgeneraliseacross
contextsandcountries(Chongetal.,2015).Inaddition,textmessageremindersmaynotbe
thebestinterventiontoalterbehaviourinsomecontexts,withotherinterventions,suchas
providingarecyclingbin,beingmoreeffective.
Asimilarlydisappointingresultwasfoundinarecentexperimentalstudytestingthe
effectivenessofnudgeremindersonincreasingthechildsupportpaymentsfrom
noncustodialparents(Baird,Cullinan,Landers,&Reardon,2016).Noncustodialparentsnot
currentlypayingchildsupportthroughincomewithholdingwererandomlysplitintothree
groups:acontrolgroupthatwasnotsentanyreminders,atextgroupthatwassenttwo
textmessagereminderseachmonth,andamailinggroupthatwaspostedamonthly
redesignedremindernotice.Althoughboththemailingandtextmessagereminders
increasedthepercentageofparentswhomadeapaymentbyastatisticallysignificant
amount,thisincreasewassmall(anincreaseof3.2%forthemailinggroup,and2.5%forthe
textinggroup).Furthermore,thetotalamountscollectedperparentdidnotincreasefor
eitherremindergroups.Therewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferenceineffectiveness
betweenthemonthlymailednoticesandthetwiceamonthtextmessages.Hence,it
appearsthattextmessagenudgesarenotalwaysaneffectivetoolforbehaviourchange.It
isimportanttoconsiderthattextmessagesaremeantonlyasreminderstobringadesired
behaviourintofocusandshouldnotbeexpectedtochangealltypesofbehaviour.Withall
interventions,itisimportanttoknowwhatworksforwhomandunderwhatcircumstances.
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Usingtextmessagingshouldinthefirstinstancebeappropriatetothebehaviouralcontext.
Therefore,testingtheuseoftextmessagingasanudgeindifferentcontextswillhelp
produceanunderstandingofwhentextmessagingcanbemosteffective.
Inthedomainoffinancialliteracy,theevidencefortheeffectivenessoftextmessage
nudgesinchangingpeople’sfinancialbehavioursisalsomixed.Inafieldexperimentwith
almost900microentrepreneurswhohadopenedbankaccountsinChile,participantswere
randomlyassignedtoreceiveaweeklytextmessagegivingpersonalisedtransaction
feedbackontheiraccount,ortoreceivenoreminders.Thestudyfoundsignificanteffects
forthosereceivingweeklytextmessages,withalmosttriplethenumberofweeklydeposits
comparedtothecontrolgroup.However,oncethetextmessagesstopped,therewasno
significantdifferenceinsavingsbehaviourbetweenthetreatmentandcontrolgroups,
demonstratingthattheeffectsdidnotpersistaftertreatment(Karlan,McConnell,
Mullainathan,&Zinman,2010).
Similarly,fieldexperimentswithdifferentbanksinthePhilippines,BoliviaandPeru
investigatedtheeffectofremindersonsavings(Karlanetal.,2010).Ineachexperiment,
afterindividualsopenedsavingsaccounts,thebankrandomlyassignedsomeindividualsto
receivemonthlyremindersviatextmessageorletter,ortoreceivenoreminders.Overall,
reminderssignificantlyincreasedthelikelihoodofreachingasavingsgoalby3%,and
marginallysignificantlyincreasedthetotalamountsavedinthebankby6%(Karlanetal.,
2010).InPeru,whereclientsstatedaspecificsavingsgoal,remindersthatmentionedthe
specificgoalincreasedsavingsbyanestimated16%comparedtothecontrolgroup,while
generalremindersthatdidnotmentionthespecificgoalhadnoeffectonsavingsamount.
Inaddition,neitherspecificnorgeneralremindershadaneffectongoalattainment.
Inanotherfieldexperiment,thistimeinUganda,arandomisedcontroltrialcomparedthe
impactofthreedifferentincentivesforloanrepayment(Cadena&Schoar,2011).Borrowers
wererandomlyassignedtoeitherreceivealumpsumcashrewarduponthecompletionof
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theloan,a25%reductionintheinterestrateforthenextloantheborrowertakesfromthe
bank,oramonthlytextmessagereminderthreedaysbeforeeachloanpaymentduedate.
Thestudyfoundthattheaveragesizeofthetreatmenteffectwassimilaracrossall
treatmentconditions,suggestingthattextmessagereminderscanbeaseffectiveas
monetaryincentivestohelpborrowersbettermanagetheirloanrepayments.Moreover,
textmessageremindersshowedsignificantlystrongereffectsforborrowersbelowtheage
of30yearsoldcomparedtoolderborrowers,suggestingthattheeffectivenessoftext
nudgesmightberelatedtoage(Cadena&Schoar,2011).
Otherstudieshavefoundmixedsupportfortheeffectivenessoftextmessagenudgeson
financialbehaviours.Inanotherfieldexperimentexaminingtheeffectivenessofreminders
forloanrepaymentsinthePhilippines,textmessagereminderswereonlyfoundtobe
effectiveunderonecondition(Karlan,Morten,&Zinman,2012).TwolargePhilippinemicro
lenderssentrandomlyassignedclientsweeklytextmessageremindersabouttheirweekly
repaymentobligation.Thecontentandtimingofthemessageswerevaried.Themessages
weresenteitherontheduedateoracoupleofdayspriortotheduedate,andthecontent
ofthemessagewaseitherframedinlossorgainterms,andeitherincludedtheloan
officer’snameornot.Therewasnooveralltreatmenteffect,withnoevidencethatthe
averagemessageimprovedrepaymentperformancerelativetothecontrolgroup.Theonly
treatmentconditionthatshowedanyeffectwasmentioningtheloanofficer’sname,which
significantlyimprovedrepaymentperformance.Eventhiseffectwasonlysignificantfor
borrowerswhohadbeenservicedbythementionedloanofficer.Theauthorssuggestthat
thisdifferentialeffectcanbeexplainedbythemessagestriggeringpersonalrelationship
schemas(Karlanetal.,2012).Itispossiblethatthiseffectisatleastpartlyculturalandmay
notoccurinothercountries.
AU.S.fieldexperimentexaminedtheeffectoftextmessageremindersoncreditscoresof
low-to-moderate-incomeindividuals(Bracha&Meier,2014).Approximately250individuals
wererandomlyassignedtoreceiveeithermonthlytextmessagereminderscontaining
individualizedfinancialinformationornomessages.Thetextmessagesremindedpeopleto
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paybillsontime(andatleasttheminimumamount),remindedthemoftheirtop-priority
financialgoalfortheyear,andgavetheircreditscorerange.Thisstudyfoundnooverall
effectoftextmessageremindersonchangeincreditscores.However,whenthe
participantsweredividedintosubgroupsaccordingtotheirinitialcreditratingscores,itwas
foundthattextmessageshadapositiveandsignificanteffectonindividualswhoinitially
hadlowcreditscores.Incontrast,thetextmessageshadamarginallysignificantnegative
effectonindividualswhoinitiallyhadhighcreditscores.Theauthorsofthestudysuggest
thattheremindersmayhavecausedhigh-credit-scoreindividualstolosesomefinancialself-
discipline,leadingtoincreasedcollectionaccounts.Therefore,thesefindingssuggestthat
textremindersmayhelpthosewhoneeditthemost,thatis,individualswithlowcredit
scores,buttheymayhaveanegativeeffectonpeoplewhodonotneedreminders.The
authorscautionthatnudgeremindersarenotamagicpillbutratheratoolthatcanhave
bothpositiveandnegativeeffects(Bracha&Meier,2014).
RodriguezandSaavedra(2015)conductedafieldexperimentwithlow-incomeyouthsin
Colombia.Approximately10,000youthswithbankaccountswererandomlyallocatedinto
oneoffourexperimentalconditions:
• Group1received12,monthlytextmessagescontainingfinancialeducationasthe
content.Eachmonththemessagevaried,andincludedthemessuchasthe
differencebetweenwantsandneeds,reducingunnecessaryexpenses,developinga
savingshabit,andsavinginsecureplaces.
• Group2received12,monthlysavingsreminders,allwiththesamewording,
“RemembertosaveyourTuticuenta!Thiswayyouwillbeonestepclosertoyour
goalsandmakeyourdreamscometrue.BancoCajaSocial”.
• Group3received24savingsreminderstwiceamonth,usingthesamemessageas
forGroup2.
• Group4wasthecontrolgroupthatreceivednomessages.
After12months,thestudymeasuredtheimpactoftextmessagesonaccountclosings,
accountdormancy,depositsandwithdrawals,andnetaccountbalance.Noneofthetext
messagingconditionseffectedaccountclosingsoraccountdormancycomparedtothe
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controlgroup.However,therewerelargedifferencesovertimeinaveragenetaccount
balancesbetweenyouthsassignedtoeitherofthetwosavingsremindergroups,compared
tothecontrolgrouporthefinancialeducationgroup.Therewasnostatisticallysignificant
differenceinthenetaccountbalancesbetweenmonthlyandtwice-monthlyreminder
treatmentgroups.Interestingly,however,theincreasesinnetaccountbalancesinboth
remindertreatmentgroupswasmainlyduetoasignificantdecreaseintheamountof
moneywithdrawnfromaccountscomparedtothecontrolgroup.Noneofthetextmessage
treatmentshadasignificanteffectonthenumberofwithdrawalsoronthenumberor
amountofdeposits.Furthermore,theeffectsoftheremindersonbehaviourdidnotlast
oncetheremindersceasedbeingsent,withparticipantsreturningtosimilaramountsof
withdrawalsoncethestudyended(Rodriguez&Saavedra,2015).
Conclusion
Insummary,theresearchevidencefortheeffectivenessoftextmessagenudgesacrossthe
domainsoffinancialbehaviours,educationandpublichealth,isquitevariable.Indeed,
insteadofaskingwhetherornotnudges‘work’,amoreappropriatesetofquestionsare
whatworks,forwhom,inwhatcircumstances,andforhowlong(Marteauetal.,2011)?The
timing,content,andfrequencyoftextmessagescanimpactontheeffectivenessofnudges.
Theage,gender,culturalbackgroundandsocioeconomicstatusoftherecipientsofthe
nudgescanalsodeterminetheirusefulness.Importantly,theactualbehaviourthatthe
nudgeisaimedatchangingisperhapsthemostcriticalelementtoconsider.Forexample,
somebehaviourssuchasnotpayingchildsupportisreflectiveofarangeofotherissuesthat
cannotbechangedbytextmessages.Finally,itisimportanttobecognizantofthefactthat
textmessagenudgescanhaveunintentional,adverseeffectsonsomesubgroupswithina
population.Overall,then,textmessagenudgescanbeausefultoolforshortterm
behaviouralchangeinsomesituations,forsomepeople,someofthetime,andfurther
researchisrequiredtoidentifyasetofguidelinesfortheiruse.
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The In Charge of My Money Program
Program Background
TheWesleyFinancialLiteracyProgramInChargeofMyMoneywasdevelopedandlaunched
in2011.ThecatalystfordevelopingtheprogramwasWesleyMission’s2010ThirdFinancial
StressReport(WesleyMission,2010).Theaimofthisreportwastounderstandhow
financialstresshadchangedsincethepreviousreportsin2006and2008,andtoidentify
whowasmostatrisk,andwhy.Dataforthereportwasgatheredfromanumberofsources,
includingfocusgroupswithWesleyMissionfinancialcounsellorstodiscussexperienceswith
theirclients,aquantitative,onlineandtelephonesurveyof621adultsinNSW,andcase
studyinterviewswithpeoplewhosoughtfinancialcounsellingfromWesleyMission(Wesley
Mission,2010).Theonlineandtelephonesurveydatawasweightedbyhouseholdincome
andlocationtomoreaccuratelyreflecttheNSWpopulation.
Keyfindingsfromthe2010reportwerethatmorethanathirdofrespondentsreported
beingfinanciallystressed,morethanhalfreportedfeelinganxiousabouttheirabilityto
meettheirfuturefinancialobligations,andcreditcarddebtwastwotothreetimeshigher
amonghouseholdsunderfinancialstress.Theseresultsrepresentedanincreaseinfinancial
problemsinNSWcomparedtoearlieryears.Thereportfoundthatmoneymanagement
skillswerenotwelldeveloped,with40%ofhouseholdsnothavingabudget,andathirdof
thosewithbudgetsnotadheringtothemandoverspending.Attitudestomoneywerefound
tobeunhelpfulinmanycases,with80%ofpeoplenothavingasavingsmindset,andmany
strugglingwiththeconceptofreducingexpensestodealwithfinancialhardship.
Inaddition,the2010surveyfoundthatfinancialstressisnotjustaboutmoney.Almosthalf
ofthoseunderfinancialstressinthesurveyhadsufferedfromillhealth,bothphysicaland
mental,andathirdexperiencingrelationshipissues,suchasdivorceanddomesticviolence.
Aquarterofrespondentsturnedtoalcoholanddrugstocopewiththefinancialstrain,and
onein10exacerbatedtheirfinancialproblemsbygambling.Themajorityofthosesurveyed
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didnotseekassistancewhenexperiencingfinancialstress,ordelayedobtaininghelpuntilit
wastoolate(WesleyMission,2010).
Thekeyrecommendationfromthe2010“MakingEndsMeet”reportwastheneedto
increasepeople’sabilitytoself-managetheirfinancesbyenhancingfinancialliteracyin
NSW.Thereportrecommendedaneedfortargetedstrategiestoassistthosestrugglingwith
financialproblems.WesleyMissionrecognisedtheneedformorefocusedfinancialliteracy
trainingandresourcestobedisseminatedthroughcommunityservicesthatcareforthose
experiencingthegreatestfinancialstress.SinceWesleyMissionwasnotabletofindan
existingfinancialliteracyprogramthatspecificallyaddressedtheneedsoftheirmarginalised
clients,theydecidedtocreateaconsistentcommunityeducationprogramforWesley
Missionfinancialcounsellorsandfinancialliteracyeducatorstodeliver.
In2011,WesleyMission,togetherwithStGeorgeBank,begantheprocessofcreatinga
financialliteracyprogramtargetedatvulnerablecommunitieswheretherewerecomplex
problemsincludingaddictions,mentalandphysicalhealthissues,homelessness,
unemployment,anddomesticviolence.ThegoalofthisWesleyMissionandStGeorgeBank
financialliteracyeducationprojectwasto:
- provideeducation,materialsandresourcesthatwouldbuildbasicknowledge,
understandingandfinancialmanagementskills;
- developsociallyresponsiblebehavioursinpersonaldecisionmakinginmanaging
theirmoney;and,
- assistpeopletomakeinformedjudgementsandeffectivefinancialdecisions,
leadingtoimprovedself-managementoffinancesovertime.
ThefinancialliteracyeducationprojectwaspartoftheStGeorgesustainabilityagendaand
wasanextensionofthepartnershipwhichalreadyexistedbetweenStGeorgeBankand
WesleyMissionthroughdonationstofinancialeducation.TheInChargeofMyMoney
programwasbasedonarangeofexistingresourcesandgovernmentproducedmaterials
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whichweremodifiedandextendedtoaddressthemoreacuteneedsofWesleyMission’s
clientele.
WesleyMission’sfinancialcounsellorsworkingacrosstheSydneymetropolitanand
Newcastleareaswereconsultedtoobtainanaccuratepictureoftheneedsoftheirclients.
Thefinancialcounsellorsidentifiedthemajorcontributortofinancialstressasbeingpoor
moneymanagementthroughtherelianceoncreditcards.Furthermore,aninternetsurvey
wasdevelopedtoexplorewhatsupportfinancialcounsellorsneededtodeliverafinancial
literacyeducationprogramandalsotoidentifywhatareaofunderstandingwasapriority
forthedevelopmentofprogrammaterials.Thesurveyhighlightedthatpersonalmoney
managementandmanagingdebtneededtobeapriorityforinitialprogramdevelopment.
TheprogramwasdevelopedusingtheadultlearningprinciplesofKnowles(Knowles,
Holton,&Swanson,1998)andfacilitatorsweretrainedtoincorporatethismodelintheir
deliveries.Theprogramwaspilotedfora12monthperiodinliaisonwithfinancial
counsellorsandcommunitygroups.WesleyMission’sfinancialcounsellorsweretrainedto
familiarisethemwiththenewmaterialsandresourcesforeffectivedeliverytomeetthe
needsofWesleyMission’sclients(WesleyMission,2011).
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Program Description
InChargeofMyMoneywasdesignedbyMaisieWarburtonandlaunchedin2011.Theprogram
providesinformationabouthowtobettermanagemoney.Itisdesignedtobepractical,easyto
understand,andensureparticipantsareequippedwiththerelevantskillstomanagetheir
money.Thematerialsforpresentersincludefacilitatorguides,PowerPointslides,andaDVD.
Programparticipantsaregivenworksheets,acalculator,apen,amoneybox,andasmall
notebook.ThelanguageusedinthematerialsisataYear10literacylevel.In2013this
programreceivedtheHighlyCommendedAwardfortheannualASICMoneySmartAwards
(WesleyMission,2016b).
ThecontentofWesley’sfinancialliteracyprogramisarrangedintothreemodulesandeach
modulehascorrespondingworksheetstoengageparticipants.Thematerialsincorporate
informationfromtheMoneySmartwebsitewithpermissionfromAustralianSecuritiesand
InvestmentCommission(ASIC)(WesleyMission,2016a).
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Thethreeindependentmodulesoftheprogramare:
Module1:Knowit—Yourincomeandexpenses
Thissectionexaminessourcesofincomeandexpenses,whatpeoplespendtheirmoneyon
andhowtheypayforthings.
Part1:Knowyourincomeandexpenses
Part2:Knowwhereyourmoneygoes
Part3:Knowhowyoupayforthings
Module2:Doit—Managingyourmoney
Thissectionexamineshowtomanagemoneybyidentifyingpersonalgoals,saving,planning
andpreparingabudget.
Part1:Knowwhatyouwant—goalsetting
Part2:Payyourselffirst—savings
Part3:Planningandbudgeting—manageyourmoney
Module3:Reviewit—Managingyourdebt
Thissectionexploreshowpeoplemanagetheirdebtthroughexaminingtheirloansandthe
costofborrowing.Itprovidesanopportunitytoreviewexpensesandmanagedebtthrough
budgeting.
Part1:Gettingintoandoutofdebt
Part2:Knowtherealcostofborrowing
Part3:Monitorandmanageyourdebt
Part4:Wheretogoforhelp
Thekeymessagetoprogramattendeesistoapplywhattheylearntoeverydaylife.The
underlyingrefrainthatappearsconsistentlythroughoutallworksheetsis:Knowit,
Understandit,Doit,Reviewit.Thispracticalandsimplestructureisintendedtoreinforce
thelearningduringtheprogram(WesleyMission,2016a).
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Figure1:Knowit,understandit,doit,reviewitmodeloflearning
Theprogramalsoprovidesinformationon“wheretogoforhelp”andhighlightsthe
availabilityoffreefinancialcounsellingservices.Thereisanaddedbenefitofexposing
vulnerablepopulationstofinancialcounsellorsthroughthefinancialliteracyprogramas
manydonotknowthisfreeserviceexists.Thefacetofacecontactandexposureofthe
programencouragesprogramattendeestoaccessfinancialcounsellingandmakesitless
threateningtoseekthesupporttheyneed.
Programdelivery
TheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramisdeliveredbyqualifiedtrainingprofessionals,usually
financialcounsellors,andallmaterial,toolsandresourcesareprovidedfortheattendee.During
theevaluationstudy,allprogrampresenterswereeithercurrentWesleyMissionfinancial
counsellorsortheprogramdeveloperwhoisalsoafinancialliteracyeducator.Thepresentersare
trainedtodelivertheprograminanon-judgementalandnon-patronisingmanner,offering
Knowit
DoitUnderstand
it Reviewit
“TheprogramgotmethinkingaboutmoneyandhowIusedit.BeforeIjustuseditwithoutthinking,butnowIthinkaboutwhatIneedthemoneyfor.Inevertookthatintoaccountbefore.NowI'mholdingontomymoneymore.Itusedtoallbegonein2-3days,butnowmyunemploymentbenefitlastsaweekanda
half…”
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informationandsuggestionswithouttellingattendeeswhatthey‘should’do.Thepresentersare
carefultorespecttheagency,opinions,andlifesituationsofprogramattendees.Flexibilityof
deliveryisalsocrucialtotakeintoconsiderationtheattentionspanofclientswithmentalhealth,
disability,addictionandgamblingissues.Presentersencourageparticipantstoaskquestionsand
discusstheirlifesituationsduringthesessions.Theprogramcanbedeliveredinoneday,butis
mostcommonlydeliveredweeklyinthreesessionsofthreehourseach.Eachsessioncoversone
module.Duringthisstudy,however,theprogramwasdeliveredinfoursessionsratherthan
threetoallowtimeattheendofthelastsessionforthestudytobedescribedandfor
participantstocompletethequestionnaires.
Informalprogramevaluationshavesuggestedthattheprogramiswell-receivedbyattendees.
However,thisprogramhasneverbeenempiricallyevaluatedforitsefficacy.Thepurposeofthis
studywastoascertainwhetherthisprogramiseffectiveandwhereitsstrengthsandweaknesses
lie.
“TheprogramshowedmewhereIwasgoingwrongandmademethinkaboutit,beresponsibleforwhatIwasdoingand
thinkingabouthowtousemymoney,beconsciousofthebillsIhave,puttingawayextra,learningtomanagemymoney.Idon'ttakemoneywithmewhenIwalkpasttheshopsnow.Iusedtobuy6-7coffeesaweek,nowIonlyhave1or2aweek,andnowI
knowIcanaffordit.”
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In Charge of My Money Program Evaluation
Goals of the Study, Key Factors & Outcome Measures
TheprimarygoalofthisstudywastoassesstheoutcomesofWesleyMission’sfinancial
literacyprogramintermsofpositivechangestofinancialbehaviourinalow-income,
vulnerablepopulation.
Morespecifically,thisstudyaimedto:
- Ensuretheprogramcontentisrelevanttothecohortandevidence-based.
- Identifywhethertheprogramfacilitatessustainedimprovementinfinancial
behaviours.
- Estimatewhetherparticipantknowledgeandunderstandingareretainedafter
severalmonths.
- Ascertainhowincorporatingapracticalstrategy,suchastextmessagereminders,
increasesthechanceofsustainedchange.
Inordertoachievethesegoals,avarietyofparticipantfactorswereinvestigated,suchas:
• Demographics(gender,age,countryofbirth,highestlevelofeducation,income
bracket,mainsourceofincomebeinggovernmentbenefits).
• Programengagement(i.e.howmanyworkshopsattended,levelofmotivationduring
theprogram,whetherattendingtheprogramwascompulsory,andparticipants’
programrating).
• Changeinfinancialknowledge,attitudes,self-efficacy,andemotionalspending.
Themainquantitativeoutcomesthatweremeasured5-7monthsaftertheprogramwere:
• Changesinfinancialbehaviours:
- Changeinmoneymanagementbehaviour
- Changeinlevelofsavingbehaviour
- Changeindegreeofplanningbehaviour
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- Changeinlevelofmonitoringexpenses
• Changeinreachingfinancialgoals:
- Howmuchtheprogramassistedinachievinggoals
- Theextentofprogresstowardsthespecificgoalidentifiedduringthe
program
• Changeinfinancialstrain:
- Thenumberofproblemsduetolackofmoney
- Thedegreeofdifficultyinpayingbills
- Howmuchmoneyisleftoverbythenextpayday
- Frequencyofaskingfamilyformoney
- Numberoffinancialproducts(i.e.financialinclusion).
• Changeinlevelofdebt
Thestudyinvestigatedalltheseparticipantandoutcomefactors,andtherelationships
betweenthem.
Inadditiontothesequantitativeoutcomes,participantsansweredseveralquestionsintheir
ownwords,therebycontributingrichqualitativedataasasupplementtothequantitative
data.Theoutcomesthatwereabletobededucedfromparticipants’qualitativeresponses
were:
- Theprogramelementsthatweremostrelevantto,andusefulfor,program
attendees.
- Programcomponentsthatwerebestremembered.
- Howtheprogramcanbeimproved.
Obtainingtheopinionsofprogramattendeeswascrucialinthisevaluationstudybecause
theprogramistargetedataspecificaudience(i.e.themostvulnerableinsociety).Aswillbe
demonstratedinthefollowingsection,studyparticipantsweredrawnfromvery
disadvantagedandmarginalisedgroupswithinthegeneralpopulation.
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Participant Demographics
Ofthe128participantswhowererecruitedintothestudyatTime1,63completed
questionnaires5-7monthslater.Datafromninestaffparticipantswereexcludedfromthe
analysesbecausethosestaffweresosocio-demographicallydistinctfromtheother
participants.Hence,thefinalsamplesizeforthefullevaluationwas54.Therewereslightly
moremalesthanfemales,duetosomeprogramsbeingrunthroughservicestohomeless
men.TheparticipantsweremostlyborninAustraliaorborninEnglish-speakingcountries
(78%and92%respectively).ThenumberofparticipantsidentifyingasAboriginal(11%)was
overrepresentedcomparedtotheNSWstateaverageof3%(AustralianBureauofStatistics,
2013).NoparticipantsidentifiedasbeingTorresStraitIslander.Participantshadlowerlevels
ofeducationcomparedtotheaverageAustralian.In2015,26%oftheAustralianadult
population’shighesteducationalattainmentwasYear11orless,comparedtoatleast41%
ofparticipantsinthisevaluation(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2015a).Fiftyninepercent
oftheAustralianadultpopulationcompletedanon-schoolqualification,comparedto45%
ofstudyparticipants(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2015a).
ParticipantsreceivedfarlowerincomesthantheaverageAustralian.Mostparticipants
(77%)receivedanannualincomeoflessthan$32,000in2016.Thisissubstantiallylower
thantheaveragegrosshouseholdincomeforNSWin2013-2014,whichwas$111,280,and
theaverageequivalisedannualdisposablehouseholdincomeforAustraliansin2013-2014,
whichwas$51,896(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2015b).Governmentbenefitswerethe
mainsourceofincomefor85%ofparticipants,comparedto25%ofhouseholdsinAustralia
in2013-14(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2015b).Whenaskedaboutdebt,70%of
participantssaidtheywereindebtwhentheycommencedtheprogram.Mostdidnothave
childrenlivingwiththem.Participantsweredrawnfromprogramsdeliveredincentres
addressingissuesofdrugandalcoholabuse,gamblingaddiction,homelessnessandfamily
dysfunction.Someofthesecentreswereresidentialrehabilitationcentres,asshownin
Table1.Morethanhalfthestudyparticipants(54%)weredealingwithsubstanceabuse
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and/orgamblingaddictions.Thirtyfivepercentofparticipantswerehomeless,and11%
werereceivingassistanceintheirabilitytocarefortheirchildren.
Table1:Participantdemographics
Participantcharacteristic Numberofparticipants
Percentageofparticipants
Gender
Male 32 59%
Female 22 41%
BorninAustralia 39 78%
BorninAustralia,NewZealand,UK,Ireland,USorCanada
46 92%
Aboriginalorigin 6 11%
Agebracket
21-25 7 13%
26-30 10 19%
31-35 6 11%
36-40 13 24%
41-45 6 11%
46-50 3 6%
51-55 4 7%
56-60 3 6%
61-65 2 4%
Highestlevelofeducation
Year7-10 22 41%
Year11-Year12 7 13%
TAFEortechnicalcollege 16 30%
Universityundergraduate 7 13%
Universitypostgraduate 1 2%
Incomebracket(annual)
Noincome 1 2%
$1–10,399 2 4%
$10,400–15,599 12 26%
$15,600–20,799 15 32%
$20,800–31,199 6 13%
$31,200–41,599 3 6%
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Participantcharacteristic Numberofparticipants
Percentageofparticipants
$41,600–51,999 2 4%
$65,000–77,999 1 2%
$78,000–103,999 2 4%
$104,000+ 3 6%
Mainsourceofincomeisthegovernment 45 85%
Typeofcentre
Addictionrehabilitation 29 54%
Homelessness 19 35%
Familysupport 6 11%
Numberofchildrenunder18yearsoldlivingwithyou
0 36 69%
1-2 11 21%
3-4 4 8%
5-6 1 2%
Figure2:Ageofparticipants
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
46-50
51-55
56-60
61-65
Percentageofparvcipants
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Figure3:Participants'highestlevelofeducation
Figure4:Annualincomeofparticipants
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Year7-10
Year11-Year12
TAFEortechnicalcollege
Universityundergraduate
Universitypostgraduate
Percentageofparvcipants
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Noincome
$1–10,399
$10,400–15,599
$15,600–20,799
$20,800–31,199
$31,200–41,599
$41,600–51,999
$65,000–77,999
$78,000–103,999
$104,000+
Percentageofparvcipants
Insum,theparticipantsofthisevaluationwereamongstthe
mostsociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedandvulnerablewithintheAustralianpopulation.
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Figure5:Issuesaddressedbycentrewhereprogramwasdelivered
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Homelessness
Substanceabuse-residenval
Substanceabuse-non-residenval
Substanceabuse&gambling-residenval
Familysupport
Percentageofparvcipants
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Program Evaluation Research Methodology
Procedure
Studyparticipantsweresurveyedattwoseparatetimes:
• Attheendofthelastsessionoftheprogram(Time1)
• 5-7monthsaftercompletingtheprogram(Time2).
At the end of the program (Time 1)
BetweenJulyandDecember2015aresearcherfromMacquarieUniversityattended18
programdeliveriesinmetropolitanareasofSydneyandalsoinCessnockandWollongong.
TheseprogramsweredeliveredbyWesleyMissionfinancialliteracyeducatorsandfinancial
counsellorsatcollaboratingresidentialanddrop-inrehabilitationcentresforaddiction,
homelesscentres,andfamilysupportcentres.Theprogramswerealsodeliveredtosome
MissionAustraliaandWesleyMissionstaff,sothesewereincludedintheTime1data
collection.
Attheendofthelastsessionoftheprogram,aftertheprogramfacilitatorhadfinished,the
facilitatorinvitedtheresearchertojointhegroup.Theresearcherthenexplainedthestudy,
answeredanyquestions,andhandedoutconsentformsandpaperstudyquestionnaires.
Onceparticipantshadcompletedtheconsentformsandquestionnairesbyhand,theygave
thembacktotheresearcher.Theresearcherhandedeachparticipanta$20groceryonlygift
voucherinappreciationoftheirtime.Thequestionnaireswerelaterenteredintoa
computerforanalysisbytheresearcherwhoattendedtheprogramsessions.
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Time1Participants
Atotalof128participantscompletedquestionnairesatTime1,including15staff(12%).It
wasexplainedthatparticipationinthestudywasvoluntaryandthreepeoplechosenotto
participate,givinga97.71%studyparticipationrate.
Several (5-7) months after the program (Time 2)
BetweenFebruaryandMay2016thesameresearcherattemptedtocontactallTime1
participantsbyemailand/ortelephone,atleastfivemonthsfromthetimeofthefirst
survey.Ifanemailaddresshadbeenprovidedthenparticipantswereemailed,requesting
thattheyparticipateinthesecondpartofthestudy.Intheemailparticipantswereasked
whenwouldbethebesttimefortheresearchertocall,andaskingthemtoconfirmtheir
telephonenumber.Alinktotheonlinesurveywasalsoprovidedintheemailsotheycould
completeitonlineiftheypreferredthattocompletingitbytelephone.Eachemailwas
individualisedasparticipantshadtobegiventheiruniqueidentificationnumberforthe
survey.Toensureconfidentiality,identificationnumberswereusedtomatchparticipants’
responsesfromTime1toTime2ratherthannames.Ifamobilephonenumberwasgivenat
Time1,thentheresearchersentatextmessageremindingtheparticipantoftheirinclusion
inthestudyandaskingwhenwouldbethebesttimetocalltodothesurveyoverthe
phone.Afewdayslater,theresearchertriedcallingtheparticipant,regardlessofwhether
ornottheyrespondedtothetext.
Forthetelephonesurvey,theresearcheraskedparticipantsthequestionsandrecorded
theiranswersdirectlyintoacomputer.Thistookapproximately15minutes.Participants
alsohadtheoptionofdoingthesurveyonlinebythemselves,butnotmanyexercisedthis
option.Eachparticipantwassenta$30groceryonlygiftvouchertothankthemfortheir
time,whethertheycompletedthesurveybytelephoneoronline.
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DifficultiescontactingparticipantsatTime2
Itprovedverychallengingtocontactstudyparticipantsafewmonthsaftertheyhad
completedthefinancialliteracyprogram.Manyoftheemailaddresses‘bounced’andmany
ofthephonenumbersweredisconnectedornotreceivingincomingmessages.Oftheemail
addressesthatdidnotbounce,fewpeopleresponded,andofthephonenumberswhereit
waspossibletoleaveamessage,fewreturnedthecall.Theresearcherresentemailsatleast
twiceandtriedcallingeachparticipantatleastthreetimesatdifferenttimesofthedayand
overaperiodofafewweeks.Sinceparticipantsinrehabilitationresidentialprogramswere
onlypermittedtousetheirphonesonweekends,theresearchermademanyofthephone
callsafter5pmonFridays,inthehopeofincreasingthechancesofmakingcontact.
Althoughthisrepeatedemailingandcallingseemedtoirritatesomeoftheparticipantswho
werecharitystaffmembers,itdidnotappeartobothertheotherparticipants,mostlikely
becausetheydidnotreceivetheearlieremails,textsorvoicemessages.Acoupleof
participantsmentionedthattheyhadbeeninrehabilitationformonthsandhadabacklogof
hundredsofemails.Oneparticipantcompletedthesurveyonlinetwomonthsafterthelast
attempttocontacthim.Someparticipantswerehappytocompletethesurveywhenthe
researcherfinallymadecontactbymobilephone,eventhoughshehadhadnoresponseto
textmessagesandvoicemessages.Otherparticipantsaskedtheresearchertocallbackata
certaintime,butthendidnotanswertheirphoneatthattimeorinthedaysafterwards.
Twoparticipantswereinhospitalwhentheresearchercalled,oneofthembeingunableto
dothesurveyduetopain.Anotherparticipantwasreportedbyhismothertobenon-
contactablebecausehewasinprison.Therewasconfusionabouttheidentityofone
participantbecauseanotherstudyparticipanthadgivenhimhismobilephoneafterthe
program,andtheyhappenedtohavethesamefirstname.
Time2participants
Ofthe128Time1participants,only63completedtheTime2telephone/onlinesurvey.Four
peopleansweredtheirtelephonebutdeclinedtoparticipateintheTime2survey.The
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responserateforTime2is49%ofthosewhocompletedtheTime1questionnaire.
However,itisunknownhowmanypeopledidnotparticipateatTime2duetochoiceand
howmanysimplydidnotreceiveanymessage,despiterepeatedandvariedattemptsto
contactthem.
Itwasapparentfromcommentsmadebyparticipantsthattheonlyreasonasmanyas49%
agreedtocompletethesurveyatTime2wasbecausetheywantedthe$30giftvoucher.
Withoutthatincentive,theresponseratewouldhaveundoubtedlybeenmuchlower.
Itwasdecidedthatthestaffparticipantsweretoodemographicallydissimilartotheother
participantsinthestudytobeabletocombinetheirresults,sothedatafromtheninestaff
whocompletedtheTime2surveywasexcludedfromfurtheranalyses.TheTime2sample
sizewasthereforereducedto54.
TheTime2participantswerenotreliablydifferentfromthosestudyparticipantswhoonly
completedtheTime1questionnaireonage,income,ormotivationlevel.However,those
participantswhocompletedTime2questionnairesweremarginallymorehighlyeducated
thanthosewhoonlycompletedTime1questionnaires(t(124)=-1.86,p=.065).
Consent,confidentiality,andvouchers
ThequestionnairesandstudyprocedurewerereviewedbytheMacquarieUniversityHuman
EthicsCommitteeandtheprojectwasgrantedethicsapproval(ethicsapprovalnumber
5201500453).AtTime1theMacquarieUniversityresearcherexplainedthestudyandits
purposetothoseattendingtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram,andstatedthat
participationinthestudywasvoluntaryandthatparticipantscouldwithdrawatanytime.
Programattendeeswerethenaskedtosignandreturnaconsentformiftheywishedtobe
involvedinthestudy.
Names,contactnumbersandemailaddresseswerecollectedatTime1sothatthe
researchercouldcontacttheparticipantsinseveralmonths’time.Toprotectparticipants’
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confidentiality,thesecontactdetailswerewrittenonaseparatesheetofpaperandentered
intothecomputerindependentlyofthesurveyresponses.Eachparticipantwasassigneda
uniqueIDnumbersothattheirresponsesatTime1couldbecomparedwiththoseatTime
2,withoutusingnames.PostaladdresseswereonlycollectedatTime2sothatthe$30gift
vouchercouldbeposted.
Vouchersweresentviaregisteredmail,toensuretheirdelivery.Despitethis,fivevouchers
werereturnedtosenderandparticipantsneededtobecontactedagainandthevouchers
resent.Oneparticipantaskedforhisvouchertobesenttothehospitalwherehewas
currentlyapatient.TwoparticipantsaskedtocollectthevouchersfromWesleyMission,
onebecauseheneedediturgentlyandtheotherbecausehewashomelessandhadno
address.
Questionnaires
ThequestionnairesatTime1andTime2werealmostidentical.Themaindifference
betweenthemwasthattheTime1demographicquestionswerenotrepeatedintheTime2
questionnaire.Thecontentofthequestionnairesdrewuponvalidatedinstrumentsusedin
long-runningfinancialliteracyprogramssuchasSaverPlus(Russell,Stewart,Cull,2015)and
theUKfinancialcapabilitysurvey(Atkinson,2011).Relevantadaptationsweremadetosuit
thecohortandcontextoftheInChargeofmyMoneyprogram.
Theareascoveredbythequestionnaireswere:
• Demographics(gender,age,placeofbirth,highestlevelofeducation,numberof
childrenlivingwithyou,mainsourceofincome,incomebracket)
• Reasonsforattendingtheprogramandmotivationlevel
• Programratingandfeedback
• Financialself-efficacy(i.e.self-confidenceinthefinancialdomain)
• Moneybehaviour
• Generalfinancialknowledge
• Personalfinancialknowledge
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• Degreeofemotionalspending
• Financialstrain
• Howoftenparticipantsaskfamilyorfriendsformoney
• Financialinclusion(i.e.thenumberoffinancialproducts)
• Financialresilience(i.e.couldparticipantsraisemoneyforanunexpectedexpense)
• Howdifficultithasbeentopaybillsandcoverexpenses
• Howtheparticipanthasbeenmonitoringtheirspending
• Howtheparticipanthasbeensavingtheirmoney
• Howfarinadvancetheparticipantplanstheirspending
• Howoftentheyhavemoneyleftoverbythenextpayday
• Questionsaboutfinancialgoals
• Whetherornottheyhavemoneyputasidetocoverexpensesinanemergency
• Changeindebtfivemonthsaftertheprogram.
Thequestionnairescollectedinformationthatwasbothquantitative(i.e.abletobe
measuredinnumbers)andqualitative(i.e.quotesfromparticipants).Bygathering
quantitativedata,improvementsinfinancialbehaviours,knowledge,attitudes,self-efficacy
andemotionalspendingwereabletobemeasuredandstatisticallyanalysedtoascertainif
thechangeswerestatisticallysignificantandthuslikelytobegenuinechanges.
Thequalitativedataprovidedrichinformationregardinghowtheprogramactuallyimpacted
participants’livesandabouttheaspectsoftheprogramthatweremostrelevantand
helpful.AtTime1participantswrotetheiranswerstothequalitativequestionsonthe
questionnaire,andatTime2thosewhocompletedthesurveyonlinetypedintheiranswers.
ForthosewhodidtheTime2surveyviathetelephone,theMacquarieUniversityresearcher
typedparticipants’wordsintothecomputerastheywerespeaking.
ThesewerethequalitativequestionsparticipantswereaskedatTime1:
• Whydidyougivetheprogramthisscore(rating)?
• Howcouldtheprogrambeimproved?
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• Whatisyourfinancialgoal?
AtTime2participantswereasked:
• Whatdoyourememberfromtheprogram?
• Whywouldorwouldn’tyourecommendthisprogramtoyourfriends?
• Whatpartoftheprogramhelpedyouachieveyourgoalsthemost?
Data Analysis
ThequantitativeanalyseswereconductedusingtheSPSS21statisticalprogram.Descriptive
statisticswereusedtofindthepercentagesofparticipantsthathadparticular
characteristicsandtheaveragescoresforthemeasures.RepeatedMeasuresANOVAswere
usedtodetermineifchangesinthefactorsmeasuredovertime(e.g.,tofinancial
behaviours)werestatisticallysignificant(i.e.thattheyhada95%probabilityofnot
occurringbychance).Pearson’scorrelationswereconductedtoexploreassociations
betweenparticipantfactorsandimprovementsinfinancialliteracy.Multipleregressionwas
employedtoascertainwhichparticipantfactorsweremoststronglyrelatedtothefinancial
literacyoutcomes,afteraccountingforotherfactors.Thequalitativedatawereanalysedby
themesandbycountingthenumberoftimeseachtopicwasmentionedbyparticipants.
Quotesfromstudyparticipantsareprovidedasexamplesoftheirfeedback.Aplainlanguage
explanationofthemeaningofeachstatisticaltestwillbeprovidedwiththestatistical
analyses.
Inshort,thereareanumberofdifficultiesandcomplicationsconductingresearch
withdisadvantagedandvulnerablecohorts
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Program Evaluation Results
TheprimaryaimofthisstudywastoevaluatetheeffectivenessoftheInChargeofMy
Moneyprogramforvulnerablepopulations.However,otherareasofinterestwerealso
explored.
Theresultswillbepresentedinfivemainsections:
• Participantprogramengagement,feedbackandknowledgeretention
• Changesinfinancialbehavioursandreachinggoals
• Changesinfinancialknowledge,attitudes,self-efficacyandemotionalspending
• Changesinfinancialstrain
• Theparticipantfactorsmostrelatedtochangesinfinancialbehavioursandstrain
• Theeffectivenessoftextmessagenudgesinmaintainingbehaviourchangeover
time
Participant Engagement with the Program
ThereasonswhyparticipantsattendedtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwerecollected
toinvestigatewhetherornottherewereoutcomedifferencesbetweenthosewhoattended
theprogramvoluntarilyandthosewhoseattendancewascompulsory.
Reason for attending the program
AsseeninTable2,theprimaryreasonwhyparticipantsattendedtheInChargeofMy
Moneyprogram(65%)wasbecauseitwasacompulsorypartofanotherprogramtheywere
enrolledin.Someparticipants(18%)attendedbecauseitwassuggestedbytheircase
worker.
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Table2:Reasonswhyparticipantsattendedtheprogram
Reasonforattendingtheprogram Numberofparticipants
Percentageofparticipants
ItwasacompulsorypartofanotherprogramIwasattending
35 65%
Itwassuggestedbymycaseworker 10 18%
Itwassuggestedbymyemployer 1 2%
Iheardaboutitandwantedtoattend 8 15%
Main money issue
Attheendoftheprogram,participantswereaskedwhatthemainmoneyissuewasthat
theyhadhopedtheprogramwouldassistthemwith.AsseeninTable3below,themain
moneyissuesrelevanttotheparticipantswererelatedtobudgetingandmoney
management.
Figure6:Whatwasthemainmoneyissueyouhopedthisprogramwouldhelp?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Helpmetomakeendsmeet
Helpmewithbudgevng
Helpmetosave
Helpmetosetmoneygoals
Helpmetoreducedebt
Helpmetomanagemoneybexer
Helpmetotrackexpenses
Other
PercentageofParvcipants
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Level of motivation
Approximatelyhalftheparticipantsweremoderatelymotivated,withnearlyonequarter
onlybeingalittlemotivated,andonefifthbeingextremelymotivated(seeTable4).
Therefore,themotivationlevelofparticipantswasgenerallyquitegood.Itwaspredicted
thatparticipantswithhigherlevelsofmotivationwouldhavebetteroutcomesthanthose
withlowerlevelsofmotivation.
Figure7:Participants'levelofmotivationduringtheprogram
Program attendance
Thenumberofprogramworkshopsattendedwasofinterestbecauseitwassurmisedthat
themoreworkshopsaparticipantattended(i.e.thegreatertheprogramdosage),thebetter
theoutcomeswouldbe,astheprogramwouldhaveagreaterimpactonparticipants.As
showninTable5,themajorityofparticipants(67%)hadattendedallfourworkshops,and
onlyfiveparticipantshadonlyattendedoneworkshop.Therefore,programattendance
ratesweregenerallyquitehighandtherewasnotmuchvariationinprogramdosage.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Notatallmovvated
Alixlemovvated
Moderatelymovvated
Extremelymovvated
Percentageofparvcipants
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Table3:Numberofworkshopsattendedbyparticipants(dosage)
Numberofworkshopsattended
Numberofparticipants
Percentageofparticipants
1 5 9%
2 7 13%
3 6 11%
4 36 67%
Participant Feedback on the Program
Program rating at the end of the program
Attheendofthelastworkshopoftheprogram,participantswereaskedtoratetheprogram.Participantsratedtheprogramveryhighly,withanaveragescoreof8outof10(seeTable6).
Figure8:Outof10,howwouldyouratethisprogram?
Whenaskedwhytheyhadgiventheprogramthatscore,29participants(54%)commented
thattheinformationwashelpfulorinterestingorrelevant.Forexample:
“Allusefulinformation”
“Bearinginmindthetargetaudienceitiswellsuited”
“BecauseitwasinformativeandmademethinkbeforeIspent”
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Num
bero
fparvcipants
Score
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“Itwasclear,conciseandbestofall,relevant”
“Ifoundittobeinformative,andinsomecases,confronting”
“Ifounditveryinformativeanduseful”
“Iknewalotoftheinformationalready,butrevisitingitwashelpful”
“Itgavemeideasaboutgettingmyfinancesbackinorder”
“Ithasalotofusefulinformationtohelpthosewhowanttohelpthemselves”
“Wasveryinformativeandcoveredabroadrangeofareas”
“Veryinformativeaboutdebt,interestratesanddifferentformsofdebt/credit”
Eightparticipantscommentedthattheprogramhelpedthemlearnspecificmoneymanagementskills:
“ItwasveryinterestingandIlearnedalotofinformationabouthowtoreallymanagemymoneybetterthanIhavebeen”
“Ithelpedmetolearnaboutmanagingmymoney”
“BecauseIlearntalotofskillssurroundingmydebts”
“Gavemeincentivetosave,thinkwhatIamspendingon(Iamanimpulsiveandcompulsivespender)andbudgetinginformation,whichIwilluse”
“Becausetheprogramhelpedmelearnhowtosavemoney”
“HelpmerealizehowIcanmanagemymoney”
“Becausetheygavemetheinformation.Learnaboutbudgetingandmanagingmoney”
Severalparticipantsmadepositivecommentsregardingthepresentersorpresentation:
“[Facilitator’sname]’sknowledge”
“Facilitatorwasveryinformativeandusedeasilyunderstandableterms”
“Greatpresenter,presentation”
“Itwasveryeducationaland[facilitator’sname]presenteditreallywell.Answeredallmyquestions”
“[Facilitator’sname]wasgreat”
“Veryinformative,wellpresentedandspokenby[facilitator’sname]:)”
“Itwasverywellconstructedandinformative.Verywellpresented”
“Visualtools,lecturer,andinformation”
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Sevenparticipantsgavelesspositivereasonsfortheirscore:
“BecauseIwasn'tthatinterested”
“Wasn'trelevantatallforme”
“Ibasicallyknowalltheinfo”
“Becauseitneedssomegames,moreinteractive”
“Itmaybeexplainedinalittlemoredetail”
“Itonlyhelpedmeabitsofar”
“Speakercouldbetterexplainthings.Savingmentionedbutnotreallyhowtoorhowmuchyoushouldsave”
Figure9:Whydidyougivetheprogramthatrating?
Recommending the program to friends
Severalmonthsaftercompletingtheprogram,participantswereaskediftheywould
recommendtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramtotheirfriends.Themajority(85%)said
thatyes,theywouldrecommendtheprogramtotheirfriends.Onlyfourparticipants(7.5%)
saidtheywouldnotrecommendittotheirfriends.Anotherfourparticipants(7.5%)saidit
woulddependonwhetherornottheirfriendsneededtheprogramorwereinterestedinit.
Thefactthat85%ofparticipantswouldrecommendtheprogramtotheirfriendsis
consistentwiththehighprogramratingnotedearlier.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Informavonrelevant/interesvng/helpful
Learntmoneymanagementskills
Goodpresentavon/presenters
Notinterested/helpful
Percentageofparvcipants
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Whenaskedwhytheywouldorwouldnotrecommendtheprogram,participantsgavethe
followingresponses,consistentwiththecommentsontherelevanceandusefulnessthe
programmadebyparticipantsseveralmonthsearlier:
Yes,Iwouldrecommendtheprogramtomyfriends
“Definitely,itjustsortofhitshome,makesyouthinkaboutthingsmore.Iusedtoliveonedayatatime,butnowI’mthinkinginthenext20years”
“Forsure,becauseitislesssortoftextbook,it’smorerelevantthansomeoftheothercoursesI’vedone(I'vedonebusinesscoursesbefore)butthiswasmorerelevanttomySES
level”
“Yesasitwasveryinformative”
“Yesbecauseitmakesfinancialplanningeasierandlessstressful,andalsoinformsyouofhiddeninterestinplaces”
“Yesbecauseitmayhelpthem”
“YesIsupposeIwould.Iworkedinthebankfor10yearsbutIstilllearntstuff”
“YesIwould,becauseit'spracticallikealotofpeopledon'tthinkaccordingtowhatwe'velearnt,notmanythinklikethat,theyjustspendwhattheygetwithoutthinkingaboutit.This
programteachesyoutothinkabouthowyouspendyourmoney”
“Yes,becauseIthinkI'mmoneywisebuttherearealotofpeoplethataren't.It'sgoodbasicinformationthateveryoneshouldknow”
“Yes,becauseitdoesgiveyouaninsightintowhatyouweredoingwrong,spendingmoremoneythanyou'vegot”
“Yes,becauseitwasbeneficialtomesoitmightbebeneficialtothem”
“Yes,becauseitwaseasytounderstand,helpful,simpleandclear,nottoocomplicatedatall”
“Yes,I’vetoldmysonanddaughteraboutit.Becauseit’suseful,theneedtobudgetandsticktoit”
“Yes,Ithoughtitwaswonderful,quickandsimplebutlearntindepthhowtomanageyourmoney,andtolearnaboutthebudgetwebsite”
“Yes,I’vetoldafewpeopleaboutit.Iunderstoodit.It’seasiertounderstandthanotherprograms”
“Yes,wastalkingtomynieceaboutittheotherday.Atthetimeitwasveryhelpfulanditdidmakemethinkaboutthings”
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“Yes!Asitreallymakesyouthinkaboutthemoneyyou’respendingandhownottogetintomoredebt”
“Yes.ItwasprettybasicbutIneededtohearit”
“Yes.Itwasveryinformative,withuseful&practicaltipsonmoneymanagement”
No,Iwouldnotrecommendthisprogramtomyfriends
“Ihavealotoffriendswhoarebusinesspeoplesotheydon'tneedit”
“No,ithasn'tgotenoughstrategies”
“Nobecausemostofmyfriendsworkandhavetheirownfinancialplanners–theydon'tneedit”
“Nottomyfriends,butbeneficialforthoseongovernmentbenefitsorthosewhoconsistentlystrugglefinancially”
“Mostdefinitely.Ifoundwithmedoingthecourseit'staughtmetofocusonwheremymoneyisgoingandwhereI'mspending.Idon'tjustthrowcrapinthetrolley,likechocolatesandlollies,anymore.NowIaskmyself,‘doIneedthat?’andIthink,‘noIdon’t’,soIputitback.It'salsotaughtmetoplanmymeals.”
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Itdepends
“IftheyneededhelpIwould,becauseitgivesadviceaboutmoney”
“IftheywereinterestedIwould”
“Itdependsonthem-ontheircircumstances,iftheyneedit”
“Possibly,ifavailable,theyshoulddoit,mostarealreadyawareoftheirspending,butlittle
thingshelpevenpeoplewhoareOKwithmoneye.g.budgeting,beingmoreconsciousof
whatyouarespending,thenitbecomesahabittothinkbeforespendyourmoney”
Suggested areas for improvement
Whenasked“WhichpartsoftheInChargeofYourMoneyProgramneedtobeimproved”,
halfansweredthatnoimprovementisneeded,theylikeditjustthewayitis(seeTable4).
Table4:Whichpartsoftheprogramneedtobeimproved?
Areasforimprovement Numberofparticipants
Percentageofparticipants
Noimprovementneeded,Ilikeitjustthewayitis
28 52%
ThePowerPointslides 8 15%
Theinformationcouldbemorerelevant 6 11%
Other 5 9%
Thepresenters 4 7%
Theworksheets 3 6%
Theknowit,understandit,doit,reviewitstructure
0 -
Insum,most(85%)ofparticipantssaidtheywouldrecommendtheprogramto
theirfriendsbecauseitiseasytounderstand,relevant,andhelpful.
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TheeightpeoplewhothoughtthePowerPointslidesneededtobechangedsaidthefollowing:
- “Addpictures/videosforstimulation”- “Couldbeeasiertoreadandunderstand”- “Icouldn'tseethem-toosmall”- “Lesscreditcardinfonoteligible”- “Morepictures”- “MostIcouldn'tread-toosmall”- “Theyarequiterepetitive”
Thoseparticipantswhoticked“other”asneedingimprovement,said:
- “Session3wasinformationoverload”- “Games,prizes”- “Moregroupparticipation”- “Theinformationcouldbemoreindepth”- “Toomuchrepetition”
Commentsfromthefourwhosaidthepresenterneededimprovement,were:
- “Boringandnotwellsuitedforpublicspeaking”- “explainedmore”- “Repeatsthemselvestoomuch”
Twoofthethreepeoplewhosuggestedtheworksheetsneededtobeimprovedsaid:
- “Iwasn'tsurewhattowrite”- “Therearen'tenoughnotesintheworksheets”
Nocommentsweremaderegardinghowtoimprovetherelevanceoftheinformation,
exceptthatcreditcardinformationwasnotrelevanttomostparticipantsastheywerenot
eligibleforacreditcard.
Insum,participantswereverysatisfiedwiththecontent,relevanceand
presentationoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram,ratingitveryhighly,onaverage,
andhavingfewcomplaints.
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What Participants Remembered 5-7 Months After the
Program
Knowledgeandunderstandingretentionfromtheprogramseveralmonthslaterwasakey
areaofinterest.Aneffectivefinancialliteracyprogramisonewherethebenefitsofnew
knowledgeandunderstandingendureovertimeratherthanbeingquicklyforgotten.In
ordertoexaminethisretention,participantswereasked5-7monthsaftercompletionofthe
InChargeofMyMoneyprogram,“Whatdoyourememberabouttheprogram?”
Almosttwothirdsofparticipants(65%)rememberedthattheprogramwasaboutbudgeting
andmoneymanagementgenerally,withnospecifics.Justoveraquarterofparticipants
recalledmoredetailedinformationaboutthedifferenttypesofloans,howtomanagedebt,
andthedangerofpaydayloans.Approximatelyonequarteralsorememberedspecific
adviceaboutbeingmindfulofspendinghabits,includingimpulsebuying,spending“leaks”,
askingoneself“doIreallyneedthis?”,onlytakingthemoneythatyouneedtotheshops,
andplanningwhatyouwillspendbeforegoingtotheshops.Almostaquarterrecalledtips
abouthowtosave,suchas“payyourselffirst”,putchangeinthemoneybox,saveevery
dollar,andeverylittlebitcounts.Fourparticipants(7%)mentionedresourcesandnow
knowingwheretogetfinancialhelp,suchastheMoneySmartwebsiteandawarenessof
financialcounsellors.Onlysixparticipants(11%)rememberedlittleornothingfromthe
program.
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Figure10:It'sbeen5monthssinceyoudidtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.Whatdoyourememberfromtheprogram?
N.B.Thesepercentagesdonotaddupto100%becausesomeparticipantsrememberedmultipleaspectsoftheprogram.
BudgetingandMoneyManagementGenerally
Sixty-fivepercentofstudyparticipantsrememberedthattheprogramwasaboutbudgetingandmoneymanagementingeneral,asshownintheseexamples:
“Budgetingandbeingmoreawareofwhat'sgoingoutversuswhat’scomingin”
“Budgetingreally,andtryingtostartsaving”
“Irememberittellingmehowtohandlemyfinances,thingstolookoutfor,likefees,andhowtocreateyourownbudget”
“Howtobudget”
“Reinforcingthefactthatmanagingmoneyneedsagoodbudget-differencebetweenincomeandexpenses.I’llnevergetapaydayloanafterthecourse”
“Howtoplanabudgetandkeepitsimple”
“Ittaughtmehowtofocusonwhatwasimportantandnot,andhowtobudgetbetterthanIwas”
“Itwaslikeabasiconhowtomanagemoney”
“Learningaboutdifferentwaystomanageyourmoney”
“Moneymanagement,saving,budget,saveadollareveryday”
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Budgevng&moneymanagement
Spendinghabits
Loans&managingdebt
Howtosave
Resources
Notmuch
Percentageofparvcipants
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SpendingHabits
Twenty-sixpercentofparticipantsrecalledlearningaboutspendinghabitsorbecomingmoreawareofhowtheyspenttheirmoney:
“Basicallypointstothinkaboutwhenbuying,likeimpulsebuyingwasthebigthingItookawayfromthat”
“IrememberthatIwasshockedtoseejusthowmuchmoneyIwastedonthingsIdidn'treallyneed”
“BasicallysortofIsupposebemorecarefulwhenIspendmymoney.Insteadofbuying2ofsomethingonlybuyone.SonowIonlybuy1packofsmokesinsteadof2,soI’msmoking
lesstoo”
“Discoveringwheremymoneyleaks”
“Learningtobemoremindfulofspendinghabits”
“ThesedaysIhavemoneyleftover.IttaughtmehowtobudgetandhowtobemorecarefulinwhatIspendmymoneyon”
“Yougottoplanwhatyou'regoingtospendbeforeyougototheshops.NowIavoidgoingtoshopsthatsellavarietyofthings.Askyourself,like,doIreallyneedthis,question
yourselffirst”
Alot’shappenedsincethen(theprogram)asIwasinrehab.It’shardtobudgetbecauseI’mstillonlimitedmoney.Carproblems
havebeenexpensive.Irememberthespreadsheetandthewebsitetodoyourbudgetandenterexpenses.Iremember
[facilitator’sname],she’saverygoodpresenter.AlotwasstuffIalreadyknew,butit’shardtogettothepointofbeingabletohaveabudget.Ihadsomecreditcards,whichIamnowpayingoff.I’vereducedmydebtbyhalfbecauseIpaiditoffinonego.I
saved$450dollarsbydoingthat(insteadofpaying$10perfortnight).”
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Loans&ManagingDebt
For28%ofparticipants,informationabouthowtoreducedebt,thedifferencebetweenthetypesofloansandbeingmoreawareofinterestrates,werethetopicstheyremembered:
“AdsaboutbaddebtonTV,steerclearofthem,paydayloans,steerclearofthem,howimportantitistodoabudget”
“Gettingtoknowwhatourneedsare,andthetypesofloans,goodandbadloans”
“Learningaboutdifferenttypesofloansandwhatnottotouch”
“Someaccountsthatyoucanopenup,smallloansprogram(NILS)-IendedupgettingaNILSloan”
“Irememberthebudgetingaspectofit,abitaboutthehelpfinancialcounsellorscangiveyou,differentaccountsandwhattheirbenefitsare,andalsolookingatwhereyourmoneyisgoingandhowmuchisspentonthingsyoudon'tneedorotherpeople”
“Irememberitbeingmorehelpfulthananyotherprogramandhelpedmegetfamiliarwithinterestandcreditcards.Themostmemorablethingwasaboutdebt,it’snevertoolatetosortout
debt”
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HowtoSave
Tipsonhowtosavemoneywererememberedby24%ofstudyparticipants:
“Alotofdetailaboutsavings,alotaboutpayingyourbills,likeputtingmoneyasideand
workingoutabudget,avoidingloans(especiallythoseonTV),budgetingmainly.Iwantedto
learnhowtosavebecauseI’veneverbeengoodatdoingthat.”
“Howtosavemoney,howtobudget”
“Justaboutpayingyourselffirst,makingsureyouhavemoneyforyourbills.BecauseI’mon
thepension,Ihavebillstakenoutfirst.WhenIgoshopping,IonlytakewhatIneed(cash)
andusemycardaslittleaspossible.It’sgoingwell,I’mevensavingabit”
“Justthatyou'reincontrolofyourownmoney.Payyourselffirst”
“Irememberittaughtushowtolookatourfinancesandhowtore-evaluateitandhowto
setgoals”
“Justabouthowyousavemoneyandwhatnotandmakeaplan,stufflikethat”
“rememberbudgetingandpayingmyselffirstandstoppingimpulsebuying,puttingloosechangeinmymoneybox.EverydayIputaside$3atleast,soIcanpaythebills.It’sworkingformereallywell,especiallybecauseI'monalimitedbudget.I’m
notgoingintodebt,I’mnotborrowinganymore.””
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ResourcesAvailable
Sevenpercentofstudyparticipantsrecalledinformationaboutwhereandhowtofindfinancialhelpandresources:
“Writingdownyourincomeandexpensesandseeingwhetheryouspendmorethanyou
earn.Irememberthewebsiteswhereyoucangotoseeifyouborrowmoneyhowlongthe
loanwilllastandhowmuchyou’llhavetopay”
“Avenuesforfinancialhelpandsupportcreditratings-howtheywork,howtoviewand
updateloans-shorttermloanpitfallsetc.”
RememberedVeryLittlefromtheProgram
Only11%ofparticipantsreportedrememberingnothingorverylittlefromtheprogram:
“Notmuchatall”
“Notmuchreally,justthateverylittlebitcounts”
“Ididitinrehab,I’mnotthereanymore.Ican'trememberalot”
“Notmuch”
“Notmuchtobehonest,somethingaboutbudgeting”
“Ican'trememberwhatitwasabout”
Inshort,mostparticipantsrememberedthattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwasaboutbudgetingandmoneymanagement
generally,andmanyparticipantsalsorememberedspecificknowledgeandspendingorsavingtips.Onlysixparticipantssaidtheyremembered
littleornothingfromtheprogram.
Consideringthatmostofthesestudyparticipantswereinresidentialdrug,alcoholorgamblingaddictionrehabilitationcentresorhomelessatthetimeofdoingtheprogram,thislevelofknowledgeretentionis
impressive.
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Improvement in Financial Behaviours
Themainaimofthisevaluationprojectwastoidentifytheoutcomesoftheprogramon
participants’financialknowledge,attitudesandbehaviours,andwhethertherewas
sustainedchangeovertime.Consistentwiththeconceptualmodelforfinancialcapability
(Kempson,Collard,&Moore,2006),changeinactualmoney-relatedbehaviourwas
consideredthemostimportantindicatorofprogrameffectivenessandwastheprimary
focusofthisevaluation.Toassessimprovementinfinancialbehaviours,thefollowing
specificfinancialbehavioursweremeasured:
MoneyBehaviour
Participantswereaskediftheystronglydisagreed,disagreed,neitheragreednordisagreed,
agreedorstronglyagreedwithfourstatementsrelatingtomoneybehaviours.Theywere
askedthesequestionsinrelationtothreepointsintimes;beforetheydidtheprogram,
immediatelyaftertheprogram,and5-7monthsaftercompletingtheprogram.Asking
participantsattheendoftheprogramtoanswersomequestionsastheybelievetheywould
havebeforetheydidtheprogram,isreferredtoas‘retrospective’questioningandis
consideredsuitableforlow-incomepopulationswhereresearchparticipationisdifficultto
obtain(Lyonsetal.,2006).Thestatementsmeasuringmoneybehaviourwere:
• BeforeIbuysomethingIcarefullythinkaboutwhetherIcanaffordit
• WhenIshopIspendtimecomparingpricestogetthebestdeal
• IbuythingsevenwhenIcan’treallyaffordthem
• Ibuythingsoncreditratherthanwaitingandsavingup
MonitoringExpenses
Tomeasurethedegreetowhichparticipantsmonitoredtheirexpenses,bothbeforethe
programandthen5-7monthsaftertheprogram,theywereaskedthisquestion:
• Whichoneofthefollowingbestdescribeshowyoumonitoryourexpenses?
o Idon’tkeepaneyeonexpensesatall
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o Ikeepmyeyeonexpensesabit
o WithoutkeepingwrittenrecordsIkeepafairlycloseeyeonexpenses
o Iusewrittenrecordstokeepaneyeonexpenses
SavingBehaviour
Tomeasureparticipants’moneysavingbehaviour,bothbeforetheprogramandthen5-7
monthsaftertheprogram,theywereaskedthisquestion:
• Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesyoursavingbehaviour?
o Isaveasetamountonaregularbasis
o Isavewhatisleftoveronaregularbasis
o IsaveoddamountswhenIcan
o Iamunabletosave
PlanningBehaviour
Tomeasurethewayparticipants’plantheirspending,bothbeforetheprogramandthen5-
7monthsaftertheprogram,theywereaskedthisquestion:
• Howdoyouplanyourspending?
o Overthenextweekorfortnight
o Overthenextfewmonthsto1year
o Overthenext2-4years
o Overthenext5yearsormore
o Idon’tplan
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Was there evidence of improved financial behaviours for program
participants immediately after and 5 months after the program?
Asthetablebelowshows,therewassignificant,positivebehaviourchange5-7monthsaftertheprogramacrossallfourbehaviouraldomains.Theeffectsizesofthesechangesweresubstantialandrobust.
Table5:Evidenceofimprovedfinancialbehaviours5monthspostprogram
Measure Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime? Fstatistic EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Moneybehaviour
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweenbehaviourbeforetheprogramandattheendoftheprogram,andbeforetheprogramandafterseveralmonths.Therewasnosignificant
differencebetweenimmediatelyaftertheprogramandseveralmonthslater,indicatingthattheimprovementsweresustainedovertime(see
Figure11
F(2,94)=15.71
p<.0005
n=48
.250
(verylarge)
Monitoringexpenses
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweenmonitoringexpensesbehaviourbefore
theprogramandafterseveralmonths.
F(1,53)=24.35
p<.0005
n=54
.315
(verylarge)
Savingbehaviour
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweensavingbehaviourbeforetheprogramand
afterseveralmonths.
F(1,53)=6.09
p=.017
n=54
.103
(medium)
Planningbehaviour
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweenplanningbehaviourbeforetheprogram
andafterseveralmonths.
F(1,53)=6.74
p=.012
n=54
.113
(medium)
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Figure11:Changestomoneybehavioursacrossthethreemeasuredtimepoints
What do the statistics show?
TheF-Statisticisameasureofhowdifferenttheaveragescoreforameasuredfactor(for
example,financialbehaviour)isatthedifferenttimesitwasmeasured.AlargerF-statistic
numbermeansthedifferenceisbigger.Thep-valueindicateshowlikelyitisthatthis
differenceisduetochance,withalowerp-valueindicatingalowerlikelihood.Theeffect
sizenumberreflectshow‘strong’androbusttheeffectis(e.g.,thedifferenceinaverage
scoresatthe3times).Aneffectsizebetween.01and.05isconsideredasomewhatweak
effect;between.06and.13amedium(moderatelystrong)effectandover.14astrongand
robusteffect.Thestrongeraneffectisthemorelikelyitwouldbefoundagainifthesame
studywererunagain(forexample,withadifferentgroupofprogramparticipants).
Thus,thefindingsforfinancialbehaviours(seeTable5andFigure11)showthat:
• Therewasaclearimprovementinfinancialbehavioursfrombeforetheprogramto
immediatelyafterit;
• Fivetosevenmonthslater,thosegainsinpositivebehaviourshadnotdeclined;
• Thelikelihoodthesegainswereduetochanceisverylow(lessthan1in1000);
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• Thesizeofthiseffectwasverylargeandrobust;
• Togetherthesestatisticssuggestthattherewasasignificantimprovementin
financialbehavioursduringtheprogram,thatthisimprovementwasretainedover
time,thattheimprovementwassubstantialandrobust,andthattheresultscanbe
trusted;
• MonitoringexpensesandMoneybehaviourswerethemostimprovedbehaviours.
Identifying and Achieving Financial Goals
Beingabletoidentifyafinancialgoalandsuccessfullyworktowardsitisconsideredakey
indicatoroffinancialcapability.Therefore,whetherornotparticipantshadidentifiedagoal,
howmuchtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramhelpedthemachievetheirgoals,andthe
extentofactualprogresstowardsthespecificgoaltheyhadchosenduringtheprogram,
wereinvestigated.
Setting goals
Ofthe38participants(70%)whodidnothaveafinancialgoalbeforedoingtheprogram,30
ofthese(79%)hadagoalbytheendoftheprogram.AsshowninTable10,onlyeightstudy
participants(15%)didnothaveafinancialgoalbytheendoftheprogram.
Figure12:Participantgoalsettingbeforeandaftertheprogram
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Nogoalbeforeprogram,nogoalazerprogram
Nogoalbeforeprogram,goalazerprogram
Hadgoalbeforeprogram,hasgoalazerprogram
Percentageofparvcipants
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What were participant’s goals?
DuringtheInChargeofmyMoneyprogram,participantsareaskedtoidentifyafinancial
goaltoworktowards.Thegoalstendedtofallintothreecategories:
• Tosavemoneyortosaveforsomethinginparticular,forexample:
o “tosave”
o “TosaveandhaveaccesstomyownmoneyifandwhenIneedit”.
o “trytosavealittle”
o “Savecloseto30%ofmoneyIearn.15%emergency15%luxuries”
o “Saveforahouse”
o “saveforanoverseasholidayin2016”
o “Savemoneyformynewhome,likefurniture,bondmoney,etc.”
o “Savemoneytogoawayforaweekend”
o “Buynewelectricshaver”
o “GobacktoThailand”
o “Newcar”
50%ofparticipantsidentifiedsavingmoneyorsavingforsomethingspecific,astheir
goal.
• Toreducedebt,forexample:
o “Addressdebts”
o “Bedebtfree”
o “Contactfinancialcounsellortorepayandmanagedebts”
o “Payloans”
o “payoffmortgage”
o “Reduceallmydebt”
Tenparticipants(19%)saidthatpayingofftheirdebtswastheirgoal.
• Tobeabletobudgetandgenerallymanagetheirmoneybetter,forexample:
o “Budgetandsave”
o “Budgetbetter”
o “Getmorefinanciallystable”
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o “Keepabettereyeonthings”
o “Tomanagemymoneybetterandstoplending”
Sevenparticipants(13%)reportedthatbudgetingandimprovedmoney
managementwastheirgoal.
Did the program help participants achieve their financial goals?
Toanswerthatquestion,participantswereaskedseveralmonthsaftertheprogram:
• Howmuchdidthisprogramhelpyouachieveyourfinancialgoals?
Only6participants(11%)saidtheprogramdidnothelpthemachievetheirfinancialgoalsat
all,andmorethanhalf(56%)saidtheprogramhelpedthem‘alot’or‘verymuch’.
Figure13:Howmuchdidthisprogramhelpyouachieveyourfinancialgoals?
What helped participants achieve their goals the most?
Whenaskedwhichpartoftheprogramhelpedthemtoachievetheirfinancialgoalsthe
most,participants’responsesfellintofivemaincategories:
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Notatall
Alixle
Alot
Verymuch
Percentageofparvcipants
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• Becomingawareoftheirspendinghabitsandtheneedtoplanandprioritizetheir
spending
• Budgetingingeneral
• Informationaboutloans,debtandcredit
• Goalsettingandhowtosave
• Theprogramdidnothelpverymuchortheycouldnotremember.
Figure14:Whatpartoftheprogramhelpedyoutoachieveyourgoalthemost?
N.B.Thepercentagesdonotaddupto100%becausesomeparticipantsrespondedwithmorethanone
partoftheprogram.
Spendingbehaviour
Thirty-fivepercentofparticipantsreportedthatlearningpositivespendinghabitsandbecomingmoreawareoftheirownspendinghabits,wastheaspectoftheprogramthattheyfoundthemosthelpful.Forexample:
“Thinkbeforeyouspend–IonlytakethemoneyIneedtotheshopsnow”
“Understandingmyspendingpatterns”
“NotspendingonthingsIdon'tneed”
“Notusingyourmoneywastefully,havingpriorities”
“Prioritizingandthinkingahead(e.g.prepayingbillsinsteadofspendingthemoney)”
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Spendingbehaviour
Budgevng
Loan&debtinformavon
Goals&howtosave
Nothingmuch
Percentageofparvcipants
Partso
fthe
program
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“ThehandoutsreflectingbackandhowIcanchangemyhabits”
“Idon'tspendasmuchoncoffeeandcigarettesnow”
“IthinkjustwritingeverythingdownthatIspend,keepingreceipts-Ispendalotofmoneyonfood”
Budgeting
Twenty-eightpercentofstudyparticipantssaidtheinformationonbudgetinghelpedthemachievetheirgoalthemost:
“Definitelythebudgetingone,nowIwriteashoppinglistandmakesureIworkitallout”
“Creatingandworkingtoabudget”
“Budgetingbasically”
“Justbudgeting,weeklyandfortnightly”
“Thebudgetingpartandhowtosavemoney”
Loananddebtinformation
Thesamenumberofparticipants(i.e.28%)reportedthatitwastheinformationabouthowtoreducedebtandunderstandinghowdifferentloansworkedthatmosthelpedthemachievetheirfinancialgoal:
“Learningaboutloansandhowbadtheyare”
“Wheretogetinterestfreeloans(Ihadtoborrow$500)-Ididn'tknowaboutthatbefore”
“Gettingtoknowthetypesofloanswehave,thegoodandbadloans”
“Notgettingintotroubleloaningmoneywithhighinterest”
“LookingatwhatIspendmymoneyone.g.takeawaycoffee,
watchingwhatIspendmymoneyone.g.doIneedthismagazine?”
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“Debt,budgeting,paydayloaninformationinparticular”
“Toknowthatyoucanringandaskforextensionsandaskforapayplan”
“Waystomanagemydebt”
Howtosave
Someparticipants(17%)recountedthatitwassettingsomegoalsandlearningabouthowtosavethatmostassistedtheminachievingtheirgoal.Forexample:
“Savingacertainamountofmoneyeachweek”
“Savings”
“KnowingthatIcanhaveasavingsaccountthatIcan'ttouch”
“I’vestartedputtingmoneyintoasavingsaccount.BeforeIwithdrewthemoneybeforeI
sawit.Ididn'twanttodothecoursebecauseIthoughtIknewitall.ButIstartedputting
moneyasidethatI’veneededandI’vealreadyusedit(foranunexpectedexpenses)”
“Ithelpedalotbecauseitputsyouinabettermindset,notwastingyourmoney,heading
towardsyourgoalsbetter.Idon'twanttogointodebt,soI’lljustwaitandsaveandpayfor
thingsoutrighte.g.carandholiday”
“Putitinperspective,payingoffasmallamountisbetterthanbecomingoverwhelmedandnotdoinganything”
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Nopartoftheprogramhelpedmuch
Only13%ofstudyparticipantsstatedthattheprogramdidnothelpthemachievetheirgoal:
“Nothing”
“Notatall”
“Can'trecallthatmuchaboutitspecifically”
“Idon'tremember”
To what extent did participants achieve the specific goal they
identified during the program?
Severalmonthsaftertheprogram,participantswerealsoaskedtorateonascalefrom1-10
howmuchprogresstheyhadmadetowardsthespecificfinancialgoalthattheyhad
identifiedduringtheprogram.
ItcanbeseeninFigure15thatactualprogresstowardsaspecificgoalwasmorechallenging
forparticipants,withanaveragescoreof5.7outof10.Someparticipantswhenaskedthis
questionexplainedthatprogresshadbeenhamperedbyunexpectedexpenses(e.g.car
repairs)orpersistentunemployment,orotherissuesoutsidetheircontrol.
“I’msavingeveryfortnightnow,andhavesaved$2000.I’mveryhappywiththat.AndIstillhavemybillspaid,I’mnotshort,asIhavedirectdebitcomingoutofthebank.Idon'twastemoneyonthingsIdon'tneedanymore.I’mactuallybecomingabitofa
miser”
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Insummary,theInChargeofMyMoneyprogramhelpedthemajorityofthoseparticipantswithoutfinancialgoalstoidentifyone,andoverhalfsaidtheprogramhelpedthemachievetheirfinancialgoals‘alot’or‘verymuch’.Adviceonhowtochangespendinghabitswasreportedtobethepartoftheprogramthatmostassistedparticipantsachievetheirgoals.However,theextentofactualprogresstowardstheirspecificgoalwasoftenhamperedbyunexpected
and/oruncontrollablecircumstances.
Figure15:Onascalefrom1-10,towhatextenthaveyoumadeprogresstowardsthefinancialgoalthatyouhadattheendoftheprogram?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Num
bero
fparvciaptns
Score
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Improvement in Financial Knowledge, Attitudes, Self-Efficacy
and Emotional Spending
Theneedforincreasedfinancialknowledgeandimprovedattitudestowardspersonal
financesinordertodeveloppositivefinancialbehaviourshasbeenrecognised(Robson,
2012).Factualknowledgebyitselfisnotenoughtoproducechangesinbehaviour.Thelink
betweenknowledgeandbehaviourismediatedbypersonalcharacteristicssuchasattitudes
andself-efficacy(ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau,2015).
Inthisevaluationstudy,financialknowledgewasdividedintotwotypesofknowledge;
generalfinancialknowledgeandpersonalfinancialknowledge.
Bothtypesofknowledgeweremeasuredbyaskingparticipantstorespondtocertain
statementsona5-pointscale,where1=stronglydisagreeand5=stronglyagree.They
wereaskedthesequestionsinrelationtothreepointsintimes;beforetheydidthe
program,immediatelyaftertheprogram,and5-7monthsaftertheprogram:
Thegeneralfinancialknowledgestatementswere:
• IknowwheretogethelpifIhavefinancialproblems
• Ihaveagoodunderstandingofthedifferenttypesoffinancialproducts(suchas
loans,creditcards,paydayloansorsavingsproducts)
• WhenIwanttoborrowmoneyIknowthemostimportantquestionstoask(suchas
findoutthecostofborrowing)
Thepersonalfinancialknowledgestatementswere:
• IknowhowmuchIneedformydailylivingexpenses
• IknowhowmuchmoneyIowe
• Iknowwhenmybillsaredue
• Iknowhowtobudget
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Was there evidence of improved general and personal financial
knowledge for program participants immediately after and five -
seven months after the program?
Ascanbeseeninthetablebelow,therewasstatisticallysignificantimprovementinbothgeneralandpersonalfinancialknowledgefrombeforetheprogramtoimmediatelyaftertheprogramandtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.Theeffectsizesoftheseimprovementswereverylargetoextremelylarge.
Table6:Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Generalfinancialknowledge
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweengeneralfinancialknowledgebeforetheprogramandattheendoftheprogram,andbeforetheprogramandafterseveralmonths.Therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenimmediatelyaftertheprogramandseveralmonthslater,indicatingthattheimprovementsweresustainedovertime.Theeffectsizeofthisdifferencewasextremelylarge.
F(2,98)=104.27
p<.0005
n=50
.680
(extremelylarge)
Personalfinancialknowledge
Yes,therewasasignificantimprovementbetweenpersonalfinancialknowledgebeforetheprogramandattheendoftheprogram,andbeforetheprogramandafterseveralmonths.Therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenimmediatelyaftertheprogramandseveralmonthslater,indicatingthatthechangesweresustained.Theeffectsizeofthisdifferencewasverylarge.
F(2,96)=24.09
p<.0005
n=49
.334
(verylarge)
AsTable6aboveandFigure16belowshow,participants,onaverage,hadaconsiderableincreaseinfinancialknowledge,bothgeneralfinancialknowledgeandknowledgeabouttheirownfinancialsituation,thatwasretained5-7monthsaftertheprogram.Theincreaseingeneralfinancialknowledgewasbothsubstantialandveryrobust,andmusthavebeenexperiencedbymostoftheparticipantstoproducesuchstrongstatisticalresults.Again,the
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tinyp-valuesshowthatthereisanextremelylowlikelihoodthatthesefindingswereduetochance.
Figure16:Levelsoftotal(combinedgeneralandpersonal)financialknowledgeacrossthethreemeasuredtimepoints
Was there evidence of improved financial attitudes and financial self-
efficacy, and less emotional spending, for program participants
immediately after and five months after the program?
AttitudestoMoney
Attitudestomoneyweremeasuredbyaskingparticipantsiftheystronglydisagreed,
disagreed,neitheragreednordisagreed,agreedorstronglyagreedwiththefollowingthree
statements.Theywereaskedthesequestionsinrelationtothreepointsintimes;before
theydidtheprogram,immediatelyaftertheprogram,and5-7monthsaftertheprogram:
• Ibelievemoneyistheretobespent
• IbelievethewayImanagemymoneytodayaffectsmyfuture
• Iammoreofasaverthanaspender
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Thetablebelowshowsthatnosignificantimprovementwasfoundinthefinancialattitudes
ofparticipants,onaverage,frombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.
Table7:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'financialattitudesovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Financialattitudes
Althoughtherewasasignificantimprovementinattitudesbeforetheprogramcomparedtoattheendoftheprogram(seestatistics),therewasnosignificantimprovementfrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthslater.Furthermore,therewasasignificantdeclineinattitudebetweenimmediatelyaftertheprogramandseveralmonthslater,indicatingthattheimprovedattitudesfromtheendoftheprogramwerenotsustainedovertime.
F(2,98)=18.26
p<.0005
n=50
.271
(verylarge)
Althoughnosignificantimprovementwasfoundinfinancialattitudesofparticipantson
average,datapresentedintheforthcomingsection(“Participantfactorsmostrelatedto
improvementsinfinancialbehavioursandstrain”)showsthatchangeinattitudeswas
significantlycorrelatedwithchangeinfinancialbehaviours,suggestingthatwhenprogram
participantsdidhaveimprovementsinfinancialattitudestheyalsohadmorepositive
financialbehaviours.
FinancialSelf-Efficacy
Higherlevelsoffinancialself-efficacy,definedashavingconfidenceinone’sabilitytodeal
withvarioussituationsinthefinancialdomain,havebeenshowntobeassociatedwith
betterfinancialoutcomesinpastresearch(Lown,2011).TheFinancialSelf-Efficacy(FSE)
scalewasusedtomeasurethisfactorinthepresentstudy,andhasbeenfoundtohave
adequatereliabilityandvalidity(Lown,2011).Itiscomprisedofsixstatementsand
participantswereaskediftheystronglydisagree,disagree,neitheragreenordisagree,agree
orstronglyagree,withthefollowingstatements:
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• Itishardtosticktomybudgetwhenunexpectedexpensescomeup
• Itishardtomakeprogresstowardsmyfinancialgoals
• WhenIhaveunexpectedexpenses,Iusuallyhavetousecredit
• WhenIhavefinancialproblems,itishardtoworkoutasolution
• Ilackconfidenceinmyabilitytomanagemyfinances
• Iworryaboutrunningoutofmoneyinretirement
ItcanbeseeninTable8belowthatnosignificantimprovementinfinancialself-efficacy,on
average,wasfound.However,similartofinancialattitudes,whilenosignificant
improvementwasfoundforparticipantsonaverage,thisfactorwassignificantlycorrelated
withimprovedfinancialbehaviours(seesectiontitled“Participantfactorsmostrelatedto
improvementsinfinancialbehavioursandstrain”),suggestingthatwhenprogram
participantsdidhaveimprovementsinfinancialself-efficacytheyalsohadmorepositive
financialbehaviours.
Table8:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'financialself-efficacyovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Financialself-efficacy
Onaverage,therewasnosignificantimprovementinfinancialself-efficacyfrombeforetheprogramtotheendoftheprogram,norbeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthslater,norfromtheendoftheprogramtoseveralmonthslater.However,theimprovementinfinancialself-efficacyfrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogramdidapproachsignificance,withp=.066.Itispossiblethatwithalargersamplesizeasignificantimprovementacrosstimemayhavebeenfound.
F(2,86)=2.107
p=.128
n=44
.047
Emotionalspending
Somepeoplespendmoneyforpsychologicalreasons,suchastorelievestressor
unhappiness(e.g.,Desarbo&Edwards,1996).Therefore,wemeasuredtheextentof
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emotionalspendingbyaskingparticipantsiftheystronglydisagreed,disagreed,neither
agreednordisagreed,agreedorstronglyagreedwiththefollowingtwostatements:
• WhenI’mfeelingdownIspendmoneytofeelbetter
• WhenI’mfeelingstressedIspendmoneytofeelbetter
Thefollowingtableshowsthat,onaverage,therewasnostatisticallysignificant
improvementinemotionalspending.
Table9:Wastheresignificantimprovementinparticipants'emotionalspendingovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Emotionalspending
Therewasnosignificantimprovementinemotionalspendingfrombeforetheprogramtotheendoftheprogram,norbeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthslater,norfromtheendoftheprogramtoseveralmonthslater.
F(2,96)=1.48
p=.233
n=49
.030
Althoughthestatisticsshowthat,onaverage,therewaslittledeclineinemotionalspending,
itisimportanttonotethatthisfindingislikelyanartefactofthedifferingresultsofthe
groupswhodidanddidnotreceiveatextmessagenudge.Participantswhoreceivedthe
textmessagenudgehadadecreaseinemotionalspendingduringthecourseoftheprogram
andthenafurtherdecrease5-7monthslater(seeFigure24,insection“Theeffectivenessof
textmessagenudges”).Incontrast,thosewhodidnotreceivethenudgehadadecreasein
emotionalspendingacrossthecourseoftheprogrambut5-7monthslaterhadreturnedto
emotionalspendinglevelssimilartothoseatthestartoftheprogram.Thusitseemsthat
thedifferingresultsforthesetwogroupsmayhave‘cancelledeachotherout’whenthe
datawerecombined.Nevertheless,itseemstheprogramdidnotfacilitatereductionsin
emotionalspendingwithoutbeingcomplementedwithafurtherintervention.
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Insummary,therewaslittlestatisticalevidenceofsustainedchangeinfinancialattitudes,financialself-efficacy,and
emotionalspending,aftertheprogram.
Participants’ Financial Strain
Aswellasexaminingparticipantschangeinfinancialbehaviours,knowledge,attitudes,self-
efficacyandemotionalspendingseveralmonthsaftertheprogram,thisstudyinvestigatedif
participantsexperiencedchangestolevelsoffinancialstrainbyaskingparticipantsseveral
questionsregardingtheircurrentfinancialcircumstances.
Thefirstquestionaskedparticipantsiftheyhadexperienced,overthepastfewmonths,a
numberofindicatorsoffinancialstrain.
Was there evidence of fewer problems due to a shortage of money
from before the program to 5-7 months later?
ItcanbeseenfromTable10thattherewasasubstantialdecreaseinthenumberof
problemsduetoashortageofmoneyfrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthsafterthe
program,with26%ofparticipantsnowreportingthatnoneofthesethingshappenedto
themduetoashortageofmoney,comparedto11%inthefewmonthsbeforethey
commencedtheprogram.Thereweredecreasesacrossallindicatorsoffinancialstrainfrom
beforetheprogramtofivetosevenmonthsaftertheparticipantscompletedtheprogram.
Forthiscohort,thisisanimportantoutcome.Althoughthereareanumberoffactorsthat
mayhavecontributedtothisimprovementinfinancialcircumstances(e.g.beingfreeof
addiction,nowhavingajob),itdoessuggestthattheprogrammayhavehadapositive
impactonparticipants’financialcircumstances.
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Figure17:Inthepast5months,didanyofthefollowinghappentoyoubecauseofashortageofmoney?
Table10:Wasthereasignificantreductioninthenumberofissuesduetoshortageofmoneyovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Numberofissuesduetoshortageofmoney
Yes,participantsreportedsignificantlyfewerissuesduetoashortageofmoneyfrombeforetheprogramcomparedtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.Theeffectsizeofthisimprovementwasmoderate.
F(1,53)=4.55
p=.038
n=54
.079
(medium)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Couldnotpayelectricity,gasortelephonebills
Couldnotpaytherentormortgageonvme
Pawnedorsoldsomething
Wentwithoutmeals
Askedforfinancialhelpfromfamilyorfriends
Askedforhelpfromwelfareorcharives
Wenttoashopfrontpaydaylender
Usedanonlinepaydaylender
No,noneofthesethingshappenedtome
Percentageofparvcipants
Beforeprogram 5-7monthsazerprogram
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Was there evidence of reduced debt 5-7 months after the program?
ReducingdebtisaprimaryfocusoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramandimportantin
reducingfinancialstress.
After5-7months,participantswereasked:
• Overthepastfewmonths,hasyourlevelofdebt:
o Increased
o Stayedthesame
o Decreased?
AscanbeseeninFigure18,ofthe70%ofparticipantswhocommencedtheprogramwith
debt,almosthalf(47%)hadreducedtheirdebtseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.
Figure18:Overthepastfewmonths,hasyourlevelofdebtincreased,decreasedorstayedthesame?
Did participants feel less stressed about their future since doing this
program?
AsreportedinWesleyMission’s2010thirdfinancialstressreport(WesleyMission,2010),
financialstressimpactsonpsychologicalstressaboutthefuture.Therefore,participants
wereaskediftheyfeltlessstressedaboutthefutureafterdoingtheInChargeofMyMoney
program.ItcanbeseenfromFigure19belowthatalmosttwothirds(63%)ofparticipants
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Increased
Stayedthesame
Decreased
Percentageofparvcipantswhocommencedprogramwithdebt
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saidtheyfeltlessstressedaboutthefuturesincedoingtheprogram,suggestingthatthe
programmayhavehadsomeeffectongeneralstressaboutthefuture.
Figure19:Doyoufeellessstressedaboutthefuturesincedoingthisprogram?
Was there greater financial inclusion for participants several months
after the program?
Financialinclusionreferstohavingaccesstoarangeoffinancialproductsandservices,and
isanindicatorofavailablefinancialresources(Muiretal.,2016).Inthisstudy,financial
inclusionwasmeasuredbyaskingparticipantsiftheyhadanyofalistoffinancialproducts,
thensummingthenumberofproductstocreateafinancialinclusionscore.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
No Yes
Percen
tageofp
arvcipants
Answer
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Figure20:Doyouhaveanyofthefollowingtypesoffinanceproducts?
Table11:Wastheresignificantimprovementinfinancialinclusionovertime?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Financialinclusion
Yes,participantsreportedsignificantlymorefinancialproductsseveralmonthsaftertheprogramcomparedtoattheendoftheprogram.Theeffectsizeofthisincreasehoweverwassmall.
F(1,53)=12.23
p=.001
n=54
.019
(small)
AscanbeseeninFigure20,oneparticipant(2%)didnotknowwhatfinancialproductsthey
had.Only8participants(15%)hadacreditcard,andthisdidnotchangeovertime.Five
people(9%)hadamortgage,andthisdidnotchangeoverseveralmonths.Onlythree
participants(6%)hadapersonalorcarloan5-7monthsaftertheprogram,comparedtosix
people(11%)beforetheprogram.Forallotherfinancialproductstherewassignificantly
greaterinclusionseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.Asshownintheabovetable,therewas
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Transacvonaccount(e.g.everydayaccount)
Savingsaccount(notusedforeverydaycosts)
Mortgage
Creditcard
Superannuavon
Personalloanorcarloan
Insurance(e.g.car,home)
Visa/Mastercarddebitcard
Idon'tknow
Percentageofparvcipants
Financialprodu
ct
Beforetheprogram 5-7monthsazertheprogram
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significantimprovementinfinancialinclusionforstudyparticipants5-7monthsafterthe
program.
Did more participants have money set aside for emergencies?
Havingmoneyavailableincaseofemergenciesisanindicatorofparticipants’financial
resilience.Participantswereasked,“Doyouhavemoneyputasideforemergenciesand/or
savingstocoveryourexpensesifyougotsickorlostyourjob?”
Attheendoftheprogram,35%ofparticipantssaidtheyhadmoneysetasidefor
emergencies,but5-7monthsaftertheprogram,52%ofparticipantssaidtheyhadmoney
reservedforemergencies,showingsubstantialimprovement.Havingafinancialbufferisa
keycomponentoffinancialwell-beingandservestoreducestress.Individualsliving
financiallyprecariouslivesareatmostriskofpoorhealthandlong-termfinancialhardship.
Was there a change in participants’ financial resilience?
Participantswereaskedthefollowingquestioninordertogaugeanunderstandingoftheir
financialresilience(abilitytocopewithfinancialshock):“Ifyouhad1weektoraise$1,000
foranunexpectedexpense,howwouldyouraisethemoney?”
AsseeninFigure21,noparticipantssaidtheywoulduseacreditcard,ateithertimepoint.
Noonesaidtheywoulduseanonlinepaydaylenderseveralmonthsaftertheprogram,
whichwasaslightdecreasefromtwowhosaidtheywouldusethismethodattheendof
theprogram.Thenumberwhosaidtheywouldborrowfromashopfrontpaydaylender
decreasedmarginallyfromthreetotwoparticipants.Therewasanincreasein‘usemy
savings’and‘borrowmoneyelsewhere’fromtheendoftheprogramtoseveralmonths
aftertheprogram.Ofthefive(9%)whosaidtheywouldborrowmoneyelsewhereseveral
monthsaftertheprogram,threeparticipantssaidtheywoulddoovertimeatworkorobtain
themoneyfromworkinotherways,suggestingsomeparticipantshadfoundemployment
betweentheendoftheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramandthesurvey5-7monthslater.
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The“FinancialResilienceinAustralia2015”report(Muiretal.,2016),basedona
representativesampleof1,496Australians,foundthat17%ofAustralianswouldnotbeable
toraise$2,000withinaweekincaseofanemergency,comparedto37%ofparticipantsin
thepresentstudyatTime1.However,atTime2,only20%ofstudyparticipantswouldnot
beabletopayanunexpectedexpense,whichissimilartotheAustralianaverage,although
theamountinthisstudywasonly$1,000not$2,0001.Inthepresentstudy50-54%of
participantswouldusetheirsavingstopayforanunexpectedexpense,comparedto83%of
Australians(Muiretal.,2016).Furthermore,31%ofAustralianswoulduseabankloanor
creditcardtopayforanunexpectedexpense,comparedtonostudyparticipantswhowould
useacreditcard.Thesefindingsreflecttheverylimitedresourcesofsavingsandcredit
cardsavailabletothesestudyparticipants,comparedtotheaverageAustralian.
1Theloweramountof$1,000waschosenforthisstudygiventhedifficultfinancialcircumstancesofthecohort.If$2,000wasusedasintheABSmeasure,therewouldbelittletonochangeinparticipants’abilitiestoraisetheamount.
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Figure21:Ifyouhad1weektoraise$1000foranunexpectedexpense,howwouldyouraisethemoney?
Was there improvement in other indicators of financial strain?
Otherindicatorsoffinancialstrainandhardshipwerethefrequencythatparticipantsasked
familymembersformoney,thelevelofdifficultlyinpayingbillsandcoveringexpenses,and
howoftentheyhadmoneyleftoverbythenextpayday.
Askingfamilymembersformoney
Participantswereasked:
• Howoftendoyouaskotherfamilymembersformoney(notincludingyourpartnerorchildren)?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
AdvanceonCentrelinkbenefit
Usemysavings
Usemycreditcard
Borrowmoneyfromfamilyorfriends
Nointerestloanscheme
Shopfrontpaydayloan
Onlinepaydayloan
Iwouldn'tbeabletopayit
Borrowmoneyelsewhere
Percentageofparvcipants
Attheendoftheprogram 5-7monthsazertheprogram
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Participantscouldanswerwithoneofthefollowing:
• Never• Occasionally(aboutoncepermonth)• Regularly(aboutevery2weeks)• Frequently(everyweek)
Difficultypayingbills
Participantswereasked:
• Inatypicalmonth,howdifficultisitforyoutocoveryourexpensesandpayallyourbills?
Participantscouldanswerwithoneofthefollowing:
• Notatalldifficult• Alittledifficult• Moderatelydifficult• Verydifficult• Extremelydifficult
Moneyleftover
Participantswereasked:
• Inatypicalmonth,howdifficultisitforyoutocoveryourexpensesandpayallyourbills?
Participantscouldanswerwithoneofthefollowing:
• Always• Mostofthetime• Sometimes• Rarely• Never
Asseeninthetablebelow,althoughparticipants,onaverage,askedfamilyformoneyless
frequently,founditlessdifficulttopayalltheirbills,andhadmoremoneyleftover5-7
monthsaftertheprogramthanbeforetheprogram,theseimprovementsdidnotreach
statisticalsignificance.Theseresultsshowthatimprovingfinancialliteracycannotbea
stand-alonestrategyforimprovingthefinancialwell-beingofindividuals,especiallythose
whoareexperiencingpoverty.Sufficientincomeiscriticaltobeabletoputintopracticethe
behavioursnecessaryforfinancialwell-being.
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Table12:Wastheresignificantimprovementsseeminindicatorsoffinancialstrain?
Measure
Wastheresignificantimprovementovertime?
Fstatistic
EffectSize
(partialeta2)
Askingfamilyformoney
Participantsaskedfamilymembersformoneylessfrequentlyseveralmonthsaftertheprogramcomparedtoattheendoftheprogram,butthisdifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant.Thisimprovementapproachedsignificanceandmayhavebeensignificantifthesamplesizewaslarger.
F(1,52)=3.07
p=.086
n=53
.056
Difficultypayingbills
Participantsfounditlessdifficulttopaytheirbillsandmeettheirexpensesseveralmonthsaftertheprogramcomparedtoattheendoftheprogram,butthisdifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant.
F(1,53)=2.52
p=.118
n=54
.045
Moneyleftover
Participantshadmoremoneyleftoverbythenextpaydayseveralmonthsaftertheprogramcomparedtoattheendoftheprogram,butthisdifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant.
F(1,53)=1.86
p=.179
n=54
.034
Insummary,theresultsforimprovementsinfinancialstrainandhardshipseveralmonthsaftertheprogramweremixed.Therewasevidencethatparticipantsexperiencedfewerproblemsduetoa
shortageofmoney,hadreduceddebt,feltlessstressedaboutthefuture,hadmorefinancialproducts,andweremorelikelytohavemoneysetasideforemergencies,5-7monthsaftertheprogramcomparedtobeforetheprogram.However,therewasnostatisticallysignificantimprovementinaskingfamilyformoney,difficultypayingbills,or
havingmoremoneyleftover.
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Participant Factors Most Related to Improvements in Financial
Behaviours and Strain
Inadditiontoexaminingwhetherornotthereweresignificantandsustainedchangesin
participants’financialbehavioursandfinancialstrainseveralmonthsaftertheInChargeof
MyMoneyprogram,wewereinterestedinwhichparticipantfactorsweremostclosely
associatedwiththesechanges.Thisisdonebymeasuringthecorrelationbetweentwo
measuredfactors–thedegreetowhichonefactorchangessystematicallywithchangesin
another2.
Identifyingsignificantassociationsbetweenparticipantfactorsandoutcomessuggests
whichfactorsweremostinfluentialonparticipants’subsequentchangesinbehaviour.Using
correlationalanalyses,thefactorsmostcloselyassociatedwiththefollowingoutcomesas
measuredatTime2(5-7monthsaftertheprogram)wereinvestigated:
• Improvedmoneybehaviours
(i.e.thinkingcarefullyaboutwhetherIcanaffordsomethingbeforebuyingit,
spendingtimecomparingpricestogetthebestdeal,notbuyingthingsifIcan’t
reallyaffordthem,andwaitingandsavingupratherthanbuyingthingson
credit)
• Improvedlevelofsavingbehaviour
• Improvedlevelofplanningbehaviour
• Improvedlevelofmonitoringofexpenses
• Howmuchtheprogramhelpedachievefinancialgoals
2Correlationscanrangefrom-1.0to+1.0,withnumbersclosertozeroshowingalowcorrelationandnumberscloserto+/-1ahigher
correlation.Forexample,thecorrelationofheightwithagemightbeveryhighinchildhood(say.70orgreater)becauseaschildrengrow
theygenerallyalsogettaller.Oncepeopleareadultshowever,heightwouldchangeverylittlewithage,andsothecorrelationwouldbe
verysmall(maybe<.03)andreflectonlytinydecreasesinheightwitholdage.Correlationsarethoughtofasweakiftheyarelessthan.30,
moderatebetween.30and.60,andstrongabove.60.Itisimportanttobeawarethatcorrelationalanalysesdonotshowcausation(i.e.if
twofactorsarecorrelated,itdoesnotmeanthatonecausestheother,asfactorAcouldcausefactorB,factorBcouldcausefactorA,or
therecouldbeanotherfactorthatcausestheassociationbetweenfactorsAandB).
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• Theextentofprogressmadetowardsthespecificfinancialgoalchosenduringthe
program
• Fewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoney
• Lessdifficultypayingbills
• Moremoneyleftoverbythenextpayday
• Lessfrequentlyaskingfamilyformoney
• Reduceddebt,forthosewhohaddebtatthecommencementoftheprogram.
Improvement in attitude
AsshowninAppendix1,ofalltheparticipantfactorsinvestigatedinthisstudy,
improvementinattitudestospending(i.e.degreeofagreementtothestatements,‘Ibelieve
moneyistheretobespent’,‘IbelievethewayImanagemymoneytodayaffectsmyfuture’,
and‘Iammoreofasaverthanaspender’)wasthemostreliablystatisticallysignificantly
factorrelatedtoimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours.
Specifically,improvedattitudesweresignificantlyandmoderatelyrelatedtoimprovements
inmoneybehaviour,savingbehaviour,monitoringexpenses,achievinggoals,andreducing
debt.Attitudestospendingwerealsomarginallyassociatedwithimprovedplanning
behaviour.Itisinterestingthatimprovedattitudeswereconsistentlyassociatedwitha
rangeofimprovedfinancialbehavioursconsideringthat,onaverage,theimprovementin
attitudesattheendoftheprogramwasnotsustainedovertime(seep.91).These
correlationssuggestthateventhoughtherewasnosustainedimprovementinattitudes
overseveralmonthsforstudyparticipantsonaverage,therewasarelationshipbetween
improvedattitudestospendingandimprovedfinancialbehavioursovertimeforthose
participantswhodidexperiencechange.
Improvement in financial self-efficacy
Improvementinfinancialself-efficacy,whichisconfidenceintheabilitytomanagefinances,
wassignificantlyandmoderatelyrelatedtoimprovementsinmoneybehaviourand
monitoringexpenses,howmuchtheprogramhelpedthemachievetheirgoals,progress
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towardsaspecificfinancialgoal,andfewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoney.Similarto
improvementinattitudes,findingthatimprovedfinancialself-efficacywasassociatedwitha
numberofimprovedfinancialbehaviourswassomewhatsurprisinggiventhat,onaverage,
nostatisticallysignificantimprovementinfinancialself-efficacywasfoundaftertheprogram
(seep.92).Thesecorrelationssuggestthateventhoughtherewasnosustained
improvementinfinancialself-efficacyoverseveralmonthsforstudyparticipantson
average,therewasastatisticallysignificantrelationshipbetweenimprovedfinancialself-
efficacyandimprovedfinancialbehavioursovertimeforthoseparticipantswhodid
experiencechange.
Program engagement
Howhighlyaparticipantratedtheprogramattheendofthelastsessionoftheprogram
wasconsistentlyandmoderatelyassociatedwithimprovedfinancialbehaviours,butitwas
notrelatedtoreducedfinancialstrain.Specifically,higherratingsoftheprogramwere
linkedtoimprovedmoneybehaviours,improvedplanningandmonitoringbehaviours,and
theperceptionthattheprogramhadhelpedthemachievetheirfinancialgoals,several
monthslater.Thelevelofmotivationduringtheprogramwassignificantlyandmoderately
relatedtoonlyoneoutcome;improvedmoneybehaviours.Thesefindingsdemonstratethat
theextentthatprogramattendeesbelievedtheprogramwasbeneficialattheendofthe
programwasassociatedwithhowmuchtheirfinancialbehavioursimprovedmonthslater,
andthatmotivationduringtheprogramappearedtohavelittleinfluenceonmost
subsequentbehaviours.
General & personal financial knowledge
Verylargestatisticallysignificantandsustainedimprovementsinbothgeneralandpersonal
financialknowledgefrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthslaterwerefound.The
subsequentquestion,however,waswhetherornottheserobustimprovementsin
knowledgewereassociatedwithimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours,sinceincreased
knowledgedoesnotreducefinancialstrainexceptthroughchangedbehaviours.Asshown
inAppendix1,improvedfinancialknowledge,combininggeneralandpersonalfinancial
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knowledge,weremoderatelysignificantlycorrelatedwithimprovedmonitoringofexpenses
andhowmuchtheprogramhelpedparticipantsachievetheirfinancialgoals.Financial
knowledgewasalsomarginallyrelatedtoimprovedmoneybehaviourandhavingmore
moneyleftoverbythenextpayday.Thesesignificantassociationsbetweenknowledgeand
financialoutcomessuggest(butdonotprove)thatincreasedfinancialknowledgemayplay
anecessaryroleinchangingfinancialbehaviours.
Emotional spending
Somewhatsurprisingly,giventhattherewasnodecreaseinemotionalspendingfiveto
sevenmonthsaftertheprogram,reducedemotionalspending(i.e.lessspendingmoneyto
feelbetterwhenfeelingdownorstressed)wasmoderatelysignificantlyassociatedwith
improvedmoneybehaviour,howmuchtheprogramhelpedtheparticipantachievetheir
financialgoals,andfewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoney.Thesefindingssuggestthat
addressingemotionalspendingmaybeimportantinfinancialliteracyprograms,butthatthe
benefitsmaybemostsignificantforthoseforwhomemotionalspendingisanissue.
Participant factors not associated with improvement in financial
behaviours or financial strain
Itisimportanttonotethoseparticipantfactorsthatwerenotsignificantlyassociatedwith
improvementsinfinancialbehavioursaftertheprogramasthesemayalsoprovideuseful
informationforfinancialliteracyprograms.Nodemographicfactors,includinggender,
countryofbirth,age,highestlevelofeducation,andincome,werestatisticallysignificantly
associatedwithanyimprovementsinfinancialbehavioursorreducedfinancialstrain.These
findingssuggeststhattheinfluenceoftheprogramonimprovedfinancialbehaviourswas
notrelatedtogender,age,nationality,educationlevelorincome,andthereforetheIn
ChargeofMyMoneyprogrammayberelevanttoabroadrangeofpeoplewithinvulnerable
populations.However,itshouldberememberedthattherewaslittlevariationincultural
andlinguisticbackgroundinthiscohort,withmostbeingborninAustraliaorotherEnglish
speakingcountries.Thestudyparticipantswerealsoquitehomogenousonindicatorsof
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socioeconomicstatus,withgovernmentbenefitsbeingthemainsourceofincomefor85%
ofparticipants.Therefore,thisevaluationcannotcommentontheeffectivenessofthe
programforculturallyandlinguisticallydiversepopulations,orforthosefromhigher
socioeconomicpopulations.
Inadditiontodemographicfactors,twoprogramengagementfactorswerenotstatistically
significantlyassociatedwithanyimprovementsinfinancialbehavioursorreducedfinancial
strain.Thenumberofworkshopsattended,alsoreferredtoastheprogram‘dosage’,was
notrelatedtoprogramoutcomes.However,themajorityofparticipants(78%)attendedall
orthreeofthefourworkshops,sotherewaslittlevariationinthisfactor.
Theotherprogramengagementfactorthatwasnotrelatedtoimprovementsinfinancial
knowledgeorbehaviours,ortoreducedfinancialstrain,waswhetherornotparticipants
attendedtheprogrambecauseitwasacompulsorypartofanotherprogramtheywere
involvedin,suchasadrugandalcoholrehabilitationprogram.Thisknowledgeisrelevant
becauseitsuggeststhatthosepeoplewhodonotvoluntarilychoosetodotheInChargeof
MyMoneyprogram,maybenefitfromittoasimilarextentasthosewhochoosetoattend
voluntarily.Thisisconsistentwiththefindingthatmotivationlevelduringtheprogramwas
onlyrelatedtooneoutcomevariable,asnotedpreviously.Takentogether,thesefindings
suggestthatincludingtheprogramasacomponentofotherprogramsandservicesmaybe
aneffectivewaytoimprovethefinancialliteracyofalargenumberofmarginalisedand
vulnerablepeople.
The most predictive participant factors
Inadditiontodiscussingthesignificantassociationsbetweenparticipantfactorsandarange
ofprogramoutcomes,itisalsousefultoidentifywhichparticipantfactorsremain
significantlyassociatedwiththeoutcomesaftertakingtheotherfactorsintoaccount.
Appendix2showsthatsomeparticipantfactorsaresignificantlyandmoderatelycorrelated.
Thetwoprogramfactors,motivationlevelandprogramrating,werestronglycorrelated(r=
.66,p<.0005),aswerethetwoknowledgefactors,generalandpersonalknowledge(r=.61,
p<.0005).Multipleregressionswereconductedasawayofworkingoutwhichfactorsmost
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stronglypredictedbetteroutcomeswhenallthefactorswereconsideredtogether.
Improvedgeneralfinancialknowledge,improvedpersonalfinancialknowledge,improved
attitudestospendingmoney,improvedfinancialself-efficacy,lessemotionalspending,
programratingatcompletion,andlevelofmotivationatthebeginningoftheprogram,
wereallinitiallyenteredintoastepwise,backwardmultipleregressionforeachofthekey
outcomemeasures.TheresultsofthesemultipleregressionsaregiveninAppendix1.
Consistentwiththecorrelationalresults,financialself-efficacyandattitudestowards
spendingwerethemostfrequentlyindependentlypredictiveparticipantfactorsinthefinal
models.Theotherfactorsthatwereimportantpredictorsofgoodoutcomesinsome
analyseswereprogramrating,personalfinancialknowledge,andemotionalspending.
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The Effectiveness of Text Message Nudges
Withtheubiquitoususeofmobilephonesandtextmessaginghascomeanincreased
interestinhowtextmessagescanbeusedtoprompt,or‘nudge’,peopletowardspositive
behaviours.Forexample,textmessaginghasbeenusedtoincreasetheuptakeofinfluenza
vaccinations(Chaietal.,2013),helppeoplestopsmoking,encouragemorephysicalactivity,
reminddiabetespatientstotaketheirmedications,assistinweightloss(Cole-Lewis&
Kershaw,2010a;Fjeldsoe,Marshall,&Miller,2009),encourageadherencetoadaily
medicationregimenforthoselivingwithHIV(Finitsisetal.,2014),remindschoolleaversof
therequiredtasksneededtoentercollege(Castleman&Page,2015),promotesexual
healthinyoungpeople(Gold,Lim,Hellardetal.,2010),improvecreditscoreratings(Bracha
&Meier,2014),andimproveloanrepayment(Karlanetal.,2012).
Sincetherehasbeenevidenceofsuccessinusingtextmessagenudgestoencourageawide
rangeofdesirablebehaviours,itwasdecidedtotrialtheuseoftextmessagereminders
aftertheInChargeofMyMoneyprograminthisstudytoinvestigateifthosewhoreceived
textnudgeshadbetterfinancialoutcomesthanthosewhodidnot,severalmonthsafterthe
program.
Methodology
Participants
The128initialparticipantsintheprojectwererandomlyassignedtoeitherreceivetext
messageremindersinthefollowingfivemonthsortoreceivenotexts.Ofthe54
participantswhocompletedthesecondquestionnaireatTime2andwereincludedinthe
dataanalyses(i.e.excludingstaffdata),24participants(44%)receivedatleastonetext
message.Threeofthe54participants(6%)optedout(i.e.askednottoreceiveanymore
textmessages)duringthestudy,includingonewhooptedoutbeforethefirsttextmessage
wassent.
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Procedure
Participantsweresentsevendifferenttextmessagesinthefivemonthsaftercompletionof
theInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.Onetextmessagewasaccidentallysenttwicetoone
groupofparticipants,hencethenumberoftextmessagesreceivedbyparticipantsranged
from0to8.Participantsweregiventheoptionofoptingoutatanytime.
AnonlineSMSsystemwaspurchasedforthestudysothatthetextmessagescouldbesent
outautomatically.Participants’namesandphonenumbers,andtextmessagewording,
wereenteredintotheSMSsystemandthetextmessageswerescheduledtobesentout
every3-4weeks.Theliteraturerecommendedsendingtextmessages3-4weeksafteran
intervention(Schwerdtfegeretal.,2012),anditwasthoughtthatsendingtextsevery3-4
weeksforfivemonthswouldbesufficientandnotconsideredintrusiveorirritating.
Text message delivery
Only65%ofthetextmessagesthatweresentoutwereactuallyreceivedbyparticipants.
Twentypercentofthemessages‘bounced’andanother15%were‘pending’andnever
delivered.Studyparticipantsreceived5.5textmessagesonaverage,and68%received6or
moretextmessagesoverthedurationofthestudy.Thelowmessagedeliveryratewas
partlyduetothefactthatapproximately50%ofparticipantswerelivinginresidential
addictionrehabilitationcentreswheretheuseofmobilephonesandtheinternetwas
strictlylimited.Furthermore,inmarginalisedpopulationssuchastheparticipantsinthis
study,mobilephonenumberstendtobeunreliable.
Text message wording
Muchdeliberationwasgiventothewordingofthetextmessagenudges.Accordingtothe
literature,effectivetextmessagesneedtobe:
• personalised,
• briefandfocused,
• easytounderstand,avoidingslangandabbreviations,
• conversationalintone,
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• positivenotnegative,
• haveanintrinsiclocusofcontrol(e.g."Youareresponsibleforachievingyour
goals"),
• directive(e.g."Planaheadsoyoucanreachyourgoals"),
• statementsnotquestions(e.g."Committingtoyourgoalstodaywillhelpyouinthe
long-run",ratherthan,"Howwillcommittingtoyourgoalstodayhelpyouinthelong
run?"),
• polite,
• nonaggressive,
• supportingself-efficacy,and
• grammaticallycorrect(Gold,Lim,Hellardetal.2010;Latimer-Cheungetal.,2013;
Marketo,2015;Muench,vanStolk-Cooke,Morgenstern,Kuerbis,&Markle,2014;
Ranneyetal.,2014;Scharl,Dickinger,&Murphy,2005;Schwerdtfegeretal.,2012).
Additionally,thesenderofthemessagesshouldidentifythemselvesasitgivescredibilityto
themessagebecauseitisfromatrustworthysource(JudyGoldetal.,2010;Marketo,2015).
Belowisthewordingoftheseventextmessagesthatweresentout:
1. Hi(FirstName)rememberyouareinchargeofyourmoneyandreachingyourgoals.
Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info).
2. Hi(FirstName)whenyoukeeptrackofwhereyourmoneyisgoing,youarein
control.Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info).
3. Hi(FirstName)identifyyourgoalandputitonthefridgetoremindyou.Allthebest,
WesleyMission(Opt-out-info)
4. Hi(FirstName)trackyourspendingleakageandbeinchargeofyourmoneytoday!
Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info)
5. Hi(FirstName)reduceyourdebtandstressbypayingbackalittlemoreeachmonth.
Itwillmakeadifference.Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info)
6. Hi(FirstName)payyourselffirstandsave10%ofyourincome.Doittodayand
watchyourmoneygrow!Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info)
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7. Hi(FirstName)youaremorelikelytoachieveyourgoalifyoutellafriend-sotella
friendtoday!Allthebest,WesleyMission(Opt-out-info)
Messagenumbers1,2and4remindedparticipantsthattheywereincontroloftheirmoney
andencouragedthemtomonitortheirexpenses(“..keeptrackofwhereyourmoneyis
going..”,“..trackyourspendingleakage..”).Messages1,3and7remindedparticipantsof
theirgoalsandprovidedtipstohelpachievethosegoals(“…putitonthefridgetoremind
you…”,“…tellafriendtoday!..”).Message5wasaboutmanagingdebt,andmessage6was
aremindertosave.Therefore,themaintopicsoftheprogramwerecoveredbythetexts,
withanemphasisonbeingincontrolofyourmoneyandachievinggoals.
Messagenumber4wasnotreceivedbysixparticipantsbuttwoparticipantsreceivedit
twice.
Measures
Theimpactofthetextmessagenudgeswasmeasuredinthreeways:
• Thenumberoftextmessageseachparticipantreceived(asanumericvariable
rangingfrom0to8)
• Adichotomousvariableofwhetherornoteachparticipantreceivedfourormore
textmessages
• Participantratingofhowusefulthetextmessageswere,forthosewhoreceivedtext
messages.
ItcanbeseeninFigure22thatalmosthalfthe25participants(12)whoreceivedtext
messagesreportedthatthemessageswereonlyalittlebituseful.Onlyfiveparticipants
(20%)saidthatthetextswereveryorextremelyuseful.
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Figure22:Ifyouwerereceivingregularremindertextmessages,howusefuldidyoufindthetextmessage?
Examining the effects of text messages on change in behaviours
Althoughtheparticipantratingoftheusefulnessofthetextmessageswasnotvery
promising,itwaspossiblethattherewereimplicit,unconsciouseffectsofthenudgeson
participants’behaviour.Toinvestigatethispossibility,two-waymixedANOVAswere
conducted,withtimeasonerepeatedmeasuresfactorandreceivingatleast4text
messagesversusreceivingnomessages(controlgroup)asabetween-groupsmeasure.
UsingANOVAsallowedforanexaminationofinteractioneffectsbetweentimeandtext
nudges.Thatis,wetestedwhetherthepatternofchangesfrombeforetheprogramtoafter
theprogramandthento5-7monthsaftertheprogram,wasdifferentforthosewho
receivedthetextmessagenudgescomparedtothosewhodidn’t.
AfurthermannerofinvestigatingtheinfluenceoftextnudgeswastoperformPearson’s
correlationstoseeifthenumberoftextmessagesreceived,orparticipants’ratingofthe
usefulnessofthetestmessages,weresignificantlyassociatedwithanyimprovementin
financialbehavioursoranyreductioninfinancialstrain.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Optedout
Notatalluseful
Alixleuseful
Veryuseful
Extremelyuseful
Percentageofparvcipants
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Text Messaging Results Table13:Theeffectsoftextmessagesonchangeinbehaviour
Measure n Result
Moneybehaviour
48Therewasasignificantcurvilinear(quadraticcurve)interaction,F(1,46)=
4.80,p=.034,wherebythosewithanudgeshowedanimprovementinmoneybehaviourimmediatelyaftertheprogramandafurtherincrease5monthslater,whereasthosewithoutthenudgepeakedaftertheprogramandhadadeclineingoodmoneybehaviours5monthslater(seeFigure23).Theeffectsizeofthisinteractionwasmoderate(Partialetasquared=.094).
Savingbehaviour
54Therewasanalmostsignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)
=3.28,p=.076,wherebythosewithanudgehadagreaterincreaseinsavingbehaviour5monthsaftertheprogramcomparedtothosewhodidnotreceivethenudge.Theeffectsizeofthisinteractionwasmoderate(Partialetasquared=.059)
Planningbehaviour
54Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)=
.005,p=.942,meaningthatthetextmessagenudgehadnoimpactonplanningbehaviour.
Monitoringexpenses
54Therewasasignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)=4.33,
p=.042,wherebythosewithanudgehadamoremarkedincreaseinmonitoringbehaviour5monthslater.Theeffectsizeofthisinteractionwasmoderate(Partialetasquared=.077).
Emotionalspending
49Therewasasignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(2,94)=
3.962,p=.022,wherebythosewithanudgehadadecreaseinemotionalspendingbehaviour5monthsaftertheprogrambutthosewithoutanudgehadanincrease(seeFigure24).Theeffectsizeofthisinteractionwasmoderate(Partialetasquared=.078).
Numberofproblemsduetoshortageofmoney
54Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)=
.09,p=.768,showingthatthetextmessagenudgehadnoimpactonreducingthenumberofproblemsduetoashortageofmoney.
Difficultypayingbills
54Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)=
.58,p=.449,indicatingthatthetextmessagenudgehadnoimpactonreducingthedifficultyinpayingbills.
Howoftendoyouhavemoneyleftover
54Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,52)=
.05,p=.830,meaningthatthetextmessagenudgehadnoimpactonhavingmoneyleftoverbynextpayday.
Frequencyofaskingfamilyformoney
53Therewasnosignificantinteractionbetweentimeandnudge,F(1,51)=
.14,p=.709,indicatingthatthetextmessagenudgehadnoimpactonreducingthefrequencyinaskingfamilyformoney.
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Figure23:Changestomoneybehavioursovertimebytextmessage'nudge'group
Figure24:Changestoemotionalspendingovertimebytextmessage'nudge'group
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What the statistics show
ThefoursignificantinteractionsshowninTable13aboveindicatethatthepatternofmoney
behavioursandattitudesacrosstimewasdifferentforthetwogroups–thosewhoreceived
atextmessage‘nudge’andthosewhodidn’t.Thosewhoreceivedthetextmessageswent
ontofurtherimprovementsinfinancialbehavioursat5-7months,whereasthosewhodid
notreceivethetextmessagestendedtohaveadecreaseindesiredfinancialbehaviours
acrossthesameperiod.Forexample,ascanbeseeninFigure23,thosewhoreceivedatext
messagenudgehadanimprovementinmoneybehavioursimmediatelyaftertheprogram,
andafurtherimprovementafter5-7months.ThiscanbeseenasalinearincreaseinFigure
23.Forthosewhodidn’treceivethetextmessagenudge,moneybehavioursimproved
immediatelyaftertheprogram,butafterthis‘peak’declinedagainafter5-7months.This
canbeseenasamorecurved,ᴧ-shaped(curvilinear)patterninFigure23.
Thesamepatterncanbeseeninreverseforemotionalspending.Thosewhoreceivedatext
messagenudgehadareductioninemotionalspendingimmediatelyaftertheprogram,and
afurtherreductionafter5-7months(seeFigure24).Forthosewhodidn’treceivethetext
messagenudge,emotionalspendingreducedimmediatelyaftertheprogram,butthen
increasedagainafter5-7months,returningtothesamelevelsasbeforetheprogram.
ItcanbeseenfromTable13thattextmessagenudgesalsohadasignificantandpositive
impactonsavingbehaviourandthemonitoringofexpenses.Thesizeoftheseeffects,
wherebythegroupswereshowntohavedifferentoutcomesovertimedependingon
whetherornottheyreceivedatextmessagenudge,was‘moderate’.Thissuggeststhatthe
impactoftextmessagesontheseoutcomeswasfairlyrobustandthatthe‘nudge’
interventionhasareasonablelikelihoodofhavingthesamepositiveimpactonthesame
behavioursifitweredoneagaininanewgroupofprogramparticipants.
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Planningbehaviour,thenumberofproblemsduetoashortageofmoney,thedegreeof
difficultypayingbills,howoftenparticipantshadmoneyleftover,andhowoftentheyasked
familyformoney,werenotimpactedbyreceivingtextmessagenudges.
Itwasnotpossibletotesttheinteractioneffectofnudgesonhowmuchtheprogram
helpedparticipantsachievetheirfinancialgoals,theextentofprogresstowardsfinancial
goals,orchangeindebt,becausetheseoutcomeswereonlymeasuredatonepointintime
andatleasttwotimepointsarerequiredforANOVAstatisticalanalyses.Instead,
independentsamplest-testswereusedtocomparetheaveragescoresofthosewhohad
receivedatleast3textmessagesweredifferenttothosewhohadnot(thatis,toseeif
thosewhoreceivedthenudgeshadmadebetterprogressafter5-7months).Theresults
indicatedthattherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthetwogroups(and
thusnocomparativeimprovementforthenudgegroup)intermsofchangeindebt(t(36)=
1.15,p=.256),extentofprogresstowardsaspecificfinancialgoal(t(52)=-1.57,p=.122),
orhowmuchtheprogramhelpedparticipantsachievetheirfinancialgoals(t(52)=.89,p=
.380).
Thefactthattherewasasignificantimpactofnudgesafterseveralmonthsonparticipants’
money,saving,andmonitoringbehaviours,andontheiremotionalspending,couldpossibly
beexplainedbythewordingofthetextmessages.Threeofthemessagesreminded
participantsthattheywereincontroloftheirmoney,withtwooftheseremindingthemto
monitortheirspending.Thiscouldexplainwhytherewasanimpactoftextnudgesonboth
monitoringbehaviourandmoneybehaviour,since‘moneybehaviour’wasmeasuredbythe
extentofagreementregardingthinkingcarefullybeforebuyingsomething,comparingprices
togetthebestdeal,notbuyingthingsifonecannotaffordthem,andwaitingtobuy
somethingratherthanusingcredit.Threeofthetextmessagesremindedparticipantsof
theirgoals,withanadditionalmessageremindingparticipantstosave10%oftheirincome.
Sincethegoalsof50%ofstudyparticipantsweretosavemoneyorsaveforsomethingin
particular,itisnotsurprisingthatanalmostsignificanteffectoftextmessagesonsaving
behaviourwasfound.Inconsistentwiththisexplanation,however,wasfindingnosignificant
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differencebetweennudgerecipientsandnon-recipientsinhowmuchtheprogramhelped
participantsachievetheirgoalsandtheextentoftheirprogresstowardstheirspecificgoal,
consideringthreemessageswerereminderstoworktowardstheirgoals.
Therewasasignificantinteractionbetweenreceivingtextmessagenudgesandareduction
inemotionalspendingovertime.Emotionalspendingwasmeasuredbyparticipants’levelof
agreementwithwhetherornottheyspendmoneytofeelbetterwhentheyarefeeling
downorstressed,thereforeitisconceivablethatbeingremindedthattheyareincontrolof
theirmoney,andthattheyneedtomonitortheirspendingandsavefortheirgoals,helped
reduceimpulsiveemotionalspending.However,furtherresearchisneededtotestthese
tentativeexplanations.
Ifthereisinsufficientincomethennoamountoftextingornudgescanhelpreducefinancial
strainorreducedebt.Again,thepointtoberememberedisthatfinancialeducationneeds
tobeaccompaniedbyanadequateincomeforfinancialwell-beingtobeachieved.
Insummary,textmessagenudgesappearedtohaveapositiveimpactonparticipants’money,saving,andmonitoringbehaviours,andonemotionalspending,buttheydidnothaveaneffectonparticipants’
financialstrain,orhelpthemachievetheirgoalsorreducetheirdebt.Atentativeexplanationforthe
findingsisthatthewordingofthemessagesremindedparticipantstocontrolandmonitortheirspending,
andremindedthemoftheirgoaltosave.
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Pearson’s correlations
Pearson’scorrelationswereconductedtoinvestigateassociationsbetweenthenumberof
textmessagesreceived,participants’ratingsofhowusefulthetextmessageswere,anda
rangeofoutcomes:
• Improvedmoneybehaviour
• Improvedsavingbehaviour
• Improvedplanningbehaviour
• Improvedmonitoringbehaviour
• Lessemotionalspending
• Howmuchtheprogramhelpedachievegoals
• Extentofprogresstowardsaspecificgoal
• Fewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoney
• Lessdifficultypayingbills
• Moremoneyleftover
• Lessoftenaskingfamilyformoney
• Reduceddebt
Theonlysignificantrelationshipfoundwasbetweenthenumberoftextsreceivedand
emotionalspending,wherebyreceivinganincreasednumberoftextmessageswas
moderatelycorrelatedwithreducedemotionalspending(r=.45,p=.027).Asmentioned
above,itishypothesisedthatbeingremindedthattheywereincontroloftheirmoney,
needtomonitortheirspendingandaimfortheirgoals,amelioratesspendingforemotional
reasonstosomeextent.Thefactthatnootherfinancialbehaviours,orprogresstowards
financialgoals,orreductionindebt,wereassociatedwiththenumberoftextmessages
receivedsuggeststhattherewaslittledifferenceineffectivenessbetweenreceiving4texts
andreceiving8textsover5months.Findingnoassociationsbetweenparticipants’ratingof
theusefulnessofthetextmessagesandanyoutcomesafter5-7monthssuggeststhatthe
effectofthenudgesonbehaviourwasimplicitandoutsideparticipants’awareness.
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Summary of Results and Implications
TheprincipalaimofthisprojectwastoevaluatetheeffectivenessoftheInChangeofMy
Moneyprograminvulnerablepopulations.Theevaluationaimedtoidentifyparticipant
outcomesrelatedtofinancialbehaviourandknowledgeretentioninparticipants.
Thefindingsofthisstudywillbesummarisedaccordingtothefourkeygoalsoftheproject,whichwereto:
- ensuretheprogramcontentisrelevantandevidence-based;
- identifywhethertheprogramfacilitatessustainedimprovementinfinancial
behaviours;
- estimatechangestoparticipantfinancialknowledgeandunderstandingattheendof
theprogram,andestimateretentionafterseveralmonths;and,
- ascertainhowincorporatingapracticalstrategy,suchastextmessagereminders,
increasesthechanceofsustainedchange.
Is the program content relevant and evidence-based?
Accordingtofeedbackfromstudyparticipantsbothimmediatelyaftertheycompletedthe
programandseveralmonthslater,theInChargeofMyMoneyprogramdidprovide
informationthatwasrelevantanduseful.Thecontentappearedtobeparticularlyrelevant
forsomeofthemostsociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedandvulnerablepeoplewithin
theAustralianpopulation.Immediatelyaftertheprogram,participantsreportedbeingvery
satisfiedwiththecontent,relevanceandpresentationoftheInChargeofMyMoney
program,ratingitveryhighly,onaverage,andhavingfewcomplaints.Whenaskedseveral
monthslateriftheywouldrecommendtheprogramtotheirfriends,themajority(85%)said
theywouldrecommenditbecauseitwaseasytounderstand,relevant,andhelpful.Only
fourpeoplesaidtheywouldnotrecommendittotheirfriends,mainlybecausetheythought
theirfriendsdidnotneedit.Findingthatmostparticipantswouldrecommendtheprogram
totheirfriendsseveralmonthsaftertheyhadcompletedtheprogramsuggeststhat
participants’highopinionoftheusefulnessandrelevanceoftheprogramimmediatelyafter
theprogramdidnotdeclineovertime.
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Inadditiontooverallrelevanceandusefulness,thisstudyinvestigatedwhichaspectsofthe
programweremostrelevantandbeneficialtoparticipants.Whenaskedwhatpartofthe
programwasmosthelpfulinachievingtheirfinancialgoalsseveralmonthsaftercompleting
theprogram,participantsmostfrequentlyreportedthatadviceonhowtochangespending
habitswasmosthelpful.Learninghowtobudgetwasalsoabeneficialcomponentofthe
program,aswasunderstandingthedifferenttypesofloans,beingawareofinterestrates,
andstrategiesforreducingdebt.Addressingfinancialgoalsandhowtosavemoneywas
reportedtobethemosthelpfulpartoftheprogrambyonlyafewparticipants.
Furthermore,whenaskedatthebeginningoftheprogramwhattheymosthopedthe
programwouldassistthemwith,themostfrequentanswerswerehelpinmanagingmoney
andbudgeting.Helpwithsavingmoneyandsettingmoneygoalsweremuchlesscommon
responses.Apossibleexplanationforthesefindingsisthatparticipantsinthisstudyfoundit
difficulttoactuallypaytheirdailybills,soworkingtowardsagoalandsavingmoneywasa
lowerprioritythanlearningwaystopayfortheirdailylivingexpensesandreducetheirdebt,
ashasbeenfoundinotherstudies(Brackertz,2014;Loibletal.,2016).Apossible
implicationofthesefindingsisthattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram,andotherfinancial
literacyprogramstargetingtheverymarginalisedinsociety,mayneedtofocuson
informationregardingbudgeting,moneymanagement,spendinghabitsandreducingdebt,
morethanongoalsettingandhowtosavemoney.However,forsome,thehabitofsaving
evenafewdollarswasanachievement.
Whenaskedhowtheprogramcouldbeimproved,onlysixparticipants(11%)saidthatit
couldbemorerelevant.Theonecommentgivenrelatingtorelevancewasthatmost
programattendeesdonotqualifyforacreditcard,thereforelesstimecouldbespent
discussingcreditcardusage.Thefinancialinclusionmeasureverifiedthatonlyeight
participants(15%)hadacreditcard.However,WesleyMission’s2010ThirdFinancialStress
Report(WesleyMission,2010)highlightedthatcreditcarddebtwastwotothreetimes
higheramonghouseholdsunderfinancialstresscomparedtothosenotunderfinancial
stress,suggestingthatthecreditcardmaterialmayonlybeoflimitedrelevancewhenthe
programisdeliveredtothemostextremelydisadvantagedinsociety,suchasthe
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participantsofthisstudy.Animplicationofthisfindingisthatthepresentationofthe
materialoncreditcardscouldbedependentonhowmanyparticipantsineachgroup
actuallyhaveacreditcard.Thispracticeisnowbeingimplemented.
Fromareviewoftheliterature,tentativebestpracticeforfinancialliteracyprograms
targetedatvulnerablepopulationsinvolvestailoringthecontentanddeliverystyletothe
particularaudience,havingtheprogramdeliveredbytrainerswhoareknowledgeableand
non-judgemental,providingtheprogramatanopportunetime,adheringtotheprinciplesof
adultlearning,andempoweringprogramattendees.TheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramis
consistentwithmostoftheseguidelinesforbestpractice.Thecontentoftheprogramwas
tailoredtotheneedsofWesleyMissionclients,whoareamongstthemostmarginalisedand
vulnerableinsociety.Addressingthetopicsofpaydayloans,reducingdebt,howtosavejust
adollarortwoaday,areexamplesofcontentthatisrelevanttothosewhosemainsource
ofincomeisgovernmentbenefits.Payingoffamortgage,increasingsuperannuation,and
investinginthestockmarketarenotincludedintheprogramsincemostattendeesdonot
owntheirownhome,arenotworking,anddonothavelargeamountsofmoneytoinvest.
Appropriatepracticalexamplesareusedduringthepresentation.Thereisanemphasison
teachinggoodmoneymanagementskillsandhabits,suchashowtocreateandmaintaina
budget,usingASIC’sMoneySmartbudgetingtool,howtouseamoneyboxtosavecoins,
andhowonlytakingtheamountofmoneyrequiredtobuywhatyouneedpreventsimpulse
spending.ThelanguageoftheprogrammaterialsissuitableforYear10levelofliteracy,not
higher,toensureitisunderstandablebythosewithrelativelylowlevelsofliteracy.
Furthermore,theprogramisdesignedtobedeliveredtopeoplewithreducedcognitive
capacity,suchasthosefromdrugandalcoholrehabilitationcentres.Informationisoften
presentedas“rulesofthumb”,suchas“payyourselffirst”,“everylittlebitcounts”,“ask
myself,doIreallyneedthis?”Thesesimpleandpracticalmessagesareeasyforprogram
attendeestoremember,andindeedtherewasevidencefromthequalitativedatathat
manyparticipantsdidrememberthem.
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InthisstudytheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwasdeliveredbywell-trained,very
financiallyliterate,non-judgementalandtrustedpersonnel,withaprofoundunderstanding
oftheneedsoftheiraudience,namely,WesleyMissionfinancialliteracyeducatorsand
somefinancialcounsellors.Feedbackfromstudyparticipantsreinforcethatparticipants
foundthepresenterstobeknowledgeable,abletoanswertheirquestions,helpfuland
empathic.Itisnotknowniftheprogramwouldbeanywherenearaseffectiveifitwas
deliveredbypersonnelwithlessfinancialknowledge,lessunderstandingoftheaudience,
andlessexperienceindealingwiththefinancialissuesofthemostmarginalisedinsociety.
Inthisstudytheprogramwasdeliveredthroughexistingservicestovulnerablepopulations.
Theliteraturehasrecommendedembeddingfinancialliteracyprogramswithinother
programs,providedthestaffwhodeliverthefinancialliteracyprogramhavetheknowledge
andunderstandingtobeabletodoso.Theseservicesweremostlyaddictionrehabilitation
orhomelessnessassistanceservices.Theliteraturehighlightstheimportanceofdelivering
theprogramat‘teachablemoments’inaperson’slife,anditcouldbearguedthattryingto
overcomeaddiction,movingonandseekingemploymentandhousing,aresuchmoments.
Furthermore,providingfinancialliteracyeducationaspartofotherserviceshasthebenefit
ofassistingclientsmoreholistically,ashasbeenrecommendedintheliterature.
TheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwasdeliveredbyfinancialliteracyeducatorsandsome
financialcounsellorswhohavebeentrainedtoguideclientsandgivethemchoiceintheir
decisions,ratherthantellingclientswhatthey“should”do.Thisapproachisconsistentwith
theprinciplesofadultlearning,whichpositsthatadultswantguidancenotinstruction.In
addition,thecontentoftheprogramisrelevanttoattendees’lives,andthedeliverystyleis
participatory,withattendeesbeingencouragedtoaskquestionsandtalkabouttheir
situations.Completingtheprogramworksheetspromotesactive,learningbydoing,asis
recommendedbytheprinciplesofadultlearning.
Theoneprincipleofadultlearningthatthisprogramhasnotfollowedisthatofvoluntary
participation.Fortherehabilitationresidentialparticipantsofthisstudy,attendingthe
programwascompulsory.However,vulnerablepopulationshavebeenshowninthe
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literaturetobelesslikelytoseekoutandattendfinancialliteracyprograms,andhave
higherdropoutrates,comparedtolessvulnerablepopulations.Therefore,makingthe
programacompulsorypartofanotherprogramislikelytoincreasethenumberofpeople
onlow-incomeswhoreceiveappropriatefinancialeducation.However,importantly,this
studyfoundthatparticipantswhoattendedtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogrambecauseit
wascompulsorydidnotbenefitfromtheprogramlessthanotherparticipants.Thissuggests
thattheprogram,and/orthepresenters,wereabletoeffectivelyengagetheattentionof
participantsdespitetheirreasonforattending.Additionally,becauseapproximatelyhalfof
thestudyparticipantsdidnotvoluntarilyattendtheprogram,itreducedtheprobabilityof
selectionbias.Selectionbiascanoccurwhenonlythosealreadymotivatedandpredisposed
toimprovetheirfinancialliteracyenrolinaprogram.Selectionbiascaninflatethe
effectivenessofaprogrambecauseonlythemostmotivatedattend(Collins&Holden,
2014).
Finally,itisnotestablishedwhethertheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramengendersasense
ofempowermentandfinancialself-efficacyinattendees.Thisstudyfoundthat,when
lookingataveragesallparticipants,therewasnostatisticallysignificantincreaseinfinancial
self-efficacy,althoughincreasedfinancialself-efficacywasassociatedwithimproved
financialbehaviours.Thissuggeststhatsomeparticipantsexperiencedanincreasein
financialself-efficacy,andthattheseparticipantsbenefitedfromthisincreaseintermsof
positivefinancialbehaviours.Furtherresearchisneededtounderstandwhysomeprogram
attendeesdonotexperienceincreasedfinancialself-efficacyandhowtoimprovefinancial
self-efficacyforthisgroup.
Insummary,thisevaluationhasfoundbothquantitativeandqualitativeevidencethattheIn
ChargeofMyMoneyprogramcontentanddeliveryisrelevantandevidence-based,
conformingwithwhathasbeenidentifiedasbestpracticetodate.
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Is there evidence that the program facilitates sustained
improvements in financial behaviours?
TherewasevidencethattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramfacilitatedsustained
improvementsinfinancialbehaviours.Statisticallysignificantimprovementwasfoundin
financialbehavioursfrombeforetheprogramtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogram,
measuringfinancialbehavioursinfourdifferentways.Therewassustainedimprovementin
moneybehaviours,savingbehaviour,planningbehaviourandmonitoringofexpensesover
severalmonths.Theeffectsizesoftheseimprovementswerelarge.Furthermore,47%of
participantswhohaddebtwhentheycommencedtheprogramreportedareductionindebt
5-7monthslater,suggestingthattheprogrammayhaveassistedparticipantstobetter
managetheirdebt.Additionally,overhalf(56%)ofstudyparticipantssaidthattheprogram
helpedthemachievetheirfinancialgoals‘alot’or‘verymuch’,andonly11%saiditdidnot
helpatall,indicatingthatmostparticipantsbelievedthattheprogramassistedthemin
practicalwaysseveralmonthsaftertheprogram.Finally,theseimprovementsinfinancial
behaviourswerenotrelatedtogender,age,nationality,educationlevelorincome,implying
thattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogrammayberelevanttoabroadrangeofpeoplewithin
vulnerablepopulations.
Is there evidence of knowledge and understanding retention
after several months?
Therewasstrongevidenceofknowledgeandunderstandingretentionseveralmonthsafter
theprogram.Averylargeandhighlysignificantimprovementwasfoundinbothgeneraland
personalfinancialknowledgefrombeforetheprogramtoimmediatelyaftertheprogram
andtoseveralmonthsaftertheprogram,demonstratingthatstudyparticipantsretained
mostoftheknowledgetheyhadlearntintheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramoverseveral
months.
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Whenaskedtodescribewhattheyrememberedabouttheprogram5-7monthslater,
almosttwothirdsrememberedthattheprogramwasaboutbudgetingandmoney
managementgenerally.Alargenumberofparticipantsrememberedspecificcatchphrases,
suchas“payyourselffirst”andspecificsavingtips,suchasputtingadollarortwoina
moneyboxeachday.Justoveraquarterofparticipantsrecalledinformationaboutthe
differenttypesofloansandhowtomanagedebt,andapproximatelyonequarter
rememberedspecificadviceaboutbeingmindfulofspendinghabits,includingimpulse
buying,spending“leaks”,askingoneself“doIreallyneedthis?”,onlytakingthemoneythat
youneedtotheshops,andplanningwhatyouwillspendbeforegoingtotheshops.Onlysix
participantsrememberedlittleornothingfromtheprogram.Consideringthatover50%of
participantswerelivinginresidentialrehabilitationcentresatthetimeofcompletingthe
program,thishighlevelofknowledgeretentionfromtheprogramisquiteimpressive.
Indeed,theInChargeofMyMoneyprogramwasdesignedtobedeliveredwithflexibility,in
ordertotakeintoconsiderationthereducedattentionspanofclientswithmentalhealth,
disabilityandaddictionissues.
Thestudyalsoexploredtheconnectionbetweenimprovedknowledgeandchangein
financialbehavioursovertime.Itwasfoundthatgeneralandpersonalfinancialknowledge
togetherweremoderatelysignificantlycorrelatedwithimprovedmonitoringofexpenses
andhowmuchtheprogramhelpedparticipantsachievetheirfinancialgoals,andmarginally
relatedtoimprovedmoneybehaviourandhavingmoremoneyleftoverbythenextpayday.
Thesesignificantassociationsbetweenknowledgeandfinancialoutcomessuggest(butdo
notprove)thatincreasedknowledgemaytranslateintoimprovedfinancialbehavioursover
time,supportingthevalueoffinancialliteracyprograms.
Did text message nudges increase the chance of sustained
change in financial behaviours?
Textmessagenudgesdidappeartoincreasethechanceofsustainedchangeinfinancial
behavioursovertime.Inthisstudythetextmessagenudgeshadasignificantimpacton
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participants’money,saving,andmonitoringbehaviours,andonemotionalspending.These
effectsappearedtobeunconscious,sincethemajorityofthosereceivingtextmessages
reportedthatthetextmessageswereonly‘alittlebit’helpful,supportingthehypothesis
thatnudgesoperatebytriggeringpeople’sautomatic,ratherthancognitive,system
(Marteauetal.,2011).Thenudges,however,didnothaveaneffectonparticipants’
progresstowardstheirgoals,orlevelofdebt,orreductioninfinancialstrain.Atentative
explanationforthemixedfindingsisthatthewordingofthemessagesreminded
participantstocontrolandmonitortheirspending,andremindedthemoftheirgoaltosave.
Furthermore,thefactthatnootherfinancialbehaviours,orprogresstowardsfinancial
goals,orreductionindebt,wereassociatedwiththenumberoftextmessagesreceived
suggeststhattherewaslittledifferenceineffectivenessbetweenreceiving4textsand
receiving8textsover5months.
Althoughtheseresultsarepromising,itisnotpossibletodrawstrongconclusionsand
implicationsfromthesefindings.Only24participantsreceivedatleastonetextmessage
andonly65%ofthetextmessagessentoutwereactuallyreceivedbystudyparticipants,
reflectingthepracticaldifficultiesexperiencedincommunicatingwiththisvulnerable
populationovertime.Thesefindingsneedtobereplicatedwithalargersampleinorderto
confirmtheeffectivenessoftextmessagenudges.Adetailedcostbenefitanalysisisalso
recommended,toascertainwhetherthedegreeofpositiveinfluenceofthetextmessage
nudgesisjustifiedbythecostoftheresourcesneededtocreateanddeliverthem.
Additional Findings: Improvements in Attitudes, Self-Efficacy,
Emotional Spending, and financial Strain
Althoughtherewaslittlestatisticalevidenceofsustainedchangeinfinancialattitudes,
financialself-efficacy,andemotionalspending,forparticipantsonaverageafterthe
program,thereweresignificantrelationshipsbetweenimprovementsintheseparticipant
factorsandthekeyoutcomes5-7monthslater.Inparticular,improvementinfinancialself-
efficacyandimprovedattitudestospendingwerethetwoparticipantfactorsmost
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frequentlysignificantlyassociatedwithprogramoutcomes,evenaftercontrollingforother
closelyrelatedfactors.Thesefindingssuggestthatencouragingprogramattendeestoadopt
adifferentattitudetospendingmoney,andbuildingattendees’financialself-efficacyby
helpingthemfeelmoreconfidentintheirabilitytomanagetheirmoney,maybothbe
crucialcomponentsinthesuccessofthisandotherfinancialliteracyprograms.These
findingsareconsistentwiththestagesofchangeinfinancialliteracymodel(Robson,2012).
Inthismodel,someattitudinalchangeisrequiredinordertolearnnewknowledgeand
behaviour,andthenincreasedcompetenceandconfidencesupportsfurtherbehavioural
change(Robson,2012).
However,itisimportanttorememberthatevenifattitudesandfinancialself-efficacyare
significantlyassociatedwithimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours,itdoesnotshowthat
theycausedtheseimprovements.Itisequallyvalidtosaythatimprovedfinancial
behavioursmayhavecausedparticipantstofeelmoreself-efficaciousandtohavebetter
attitudestomoney.Thedirectionoftherelationshipbetweentheparticipantfactorsand
outcomesisunknown.Itisalsopossiblethatanotherunknownfactorcausedboth
participantfactorsandoutcomestoimprove.Hencecorrelationalresultssuggestpossible
causalassociationsbutcannotprovethem.Inpracticalterms,however,itmaymakelittle
differencewhichwaycausalitylies,anditseemslikelythatitisbidirectional.Forexample,
betterfinancialbehaviourscouldincreaseself-efficacy,andbetterfinancialself-efficacymay
supportimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours,creatinganupwardcycleofpositivefinancial
behaviours.
Inadditiontoimprovedfinancialattitudesandfinancialself-efficacy,higherratingsofthe
programwerealsolinkedtoimprovedfinancialbehavioursandtheperceptionthatthe
programhadhelpedthemachievetheirfinancialgoals,severalmonthslater.However,the
levelofmotivationduringtheprogramwassignificantlyandmoderatelyrelatedtoonlyone
outcome.Thesefindingssuggeststhathowinteresting,relevantandhelpfulprogram
attendeesfindtheprogramisfarmoreimportantthantheirmotivationlevelduringthe
program,intermsofsubsequentimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours.
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Reducedemotionalspendingwasfoundtobemoderatelysignificantlyassociatedwith
improvedmoneybehaviour,howmuchtheprogramhelpedtheparticipantachievetheir
financialgoals,andfewerproblemsduetoashortageofmoney.Thesefindingssuggestthat
addressingemotionalspendingmaybeimportantinfinancialliteracyprograms.
Theresultsforimprovementsinparticipants’financialstrainweremixed.Therewas
evidencethatparticipants,onaverage,experiencedfewerproblemsduetoashortageof
money,hadreduceddebt,feltlessstressedaboutthefuture,weremorefinanciallyincluded
andhadhigherlevelsoffinancialresilience5-7monthsaftertheprogramcomparedto
beforetheprogram.However,althoughparticipants,onaverage,askedfamilyformoney
lessfrequently,founditlessdifficulttopayalltheirbills,andhadmoremoneyleftover
beforethefollowingpayday5-7monthsaftertheprogramthanbeforetheprogram,these
improvementsdidnotreachstatisticalsignificance.Therewasalsoanecdotalevidencethat
someparticipantswhohadbeenunemployedduringtheprogramwereworkingseveral
monthslater,andsomeparticipantswhohadbeenaddictedtosubstancesorgamblinghad
completedrehabilitationprogramsandwerecapableofbettermoneymanagement.
Therefore,thereweretoomanyadditionalinfluencesoutsidetherealmoftheprogramand
externaltoparticipants’ownfinancialbehavioursthatimpactedonparticipants’financial
circumstancestobeabletodrawanyconclusionsabouttheabilityoftheInChargeofMy
Moneyprogramtoreducefinancialstrain.
Additional Findings: Participant Factors That Were Not
Associated with Outcomes
Itisworthnotingthoseparticipantfactorsthatwerenotsignificantlyassociatedwith
improvementsinfinancialbehaviours.Nodemographicfactorswerestatistically
significantlyassociatedwithanyimprovementsinfinancialbehavioursorreductionin
financialstrain.Thisfindingsuggeststhattheimpactoftheprogramonimprovedfinancial
behaviourswasnotrelatedtogender,age,nationality,educationlevelorincome,and
thereforetheInChargeofMyMoneyprogrammayberelevanttoabroadrangeofpeople
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withinvulnerablepopulations.However,therewaslittlevariationincountryofbirthor
socioeconomicstatusinthiscohort,whichcouldexplainthelackofassociations.Inaddition
todemographicfactors,thenumberofworkshopsattended(i.e.dosage)wasnotrelatedto
financialbehavioursorfinancialstrain,althoughthiscouldbeduetothelimitedvariationin
dosagesincethemajorityofparticipantsattendedallorthreeofthefourworkshops.
Surprisingly,whetherornotparticipantsattendedtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram
becauseitwasacompulsorypartofanotherprogramwasnotassociatedwith
improvementsinfinancialbehaviours,improvementsinknowledgeorreducedfinancial
strain.ThisimpliesthatthosepeoplewhodonotvoluntarilychoosetodotheInChargeof
MyMoneyprogram,maybenefitfromittoasimilarextentasthosewhochoosetoattend
theprogramvoluntarily.Thisisconsistentwiththefindingthatmotivationlevelduringthe
programwasonlyrelatedtooneoutcomevariable.Takentogetherthesefindingssuggest
thatincludingtheprogramasacomponentofotherprogramsandservicesmaybean
effectivewaytoimprovethefinancialliteracyandoutcomesofalargenumberof
marginalisedandvulnerablepeople.
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Discussion
ThisprogramevaluationfoundevidencethattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogramis
relevantandevidence-based,doesfacilitatesustainedimprovementinfinancialbehaviours,
anddoesproducehighlevelsofknowledgeandunderstandingretentionafterseveral
months,forpeoplefacingthevulnerabilitiesofdrug,alcoholandgamblingaddiction,
homelessness,andfamilystrain.Thisstudyalsofoundthatincorporatingapractical
strategy,suchastextmessagenudges,mayincreasethechanceofsustainedchangein
financialbehavioursaftertheprogram.However,therearesomelimitationstothisstudy.
Limitations of the Study
Themainlimitationsofthestudyrelatetoitsnon-experimentaldesign,itsgeneralisability,
andtheinformationcollectedatTime2.Firstly,thisstudywasnotanexperimentasthere
wasnomatchedcontrolgroupforcomparison.Therefore,weareunabletoshowthatthe
programcausesimprovementsinfinancialbehavioursandreducedfinancialstrainbecause
itispossiblethatparticipants’financialbehavioursandfinancialcircumstanceswouldhave
improvedregardlessofwhetherornottheyattendedtheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.
Onlystudieswithanexperimentaldesigncanclaimtodemonstratecausation.
Furthermore,thisprogramevaluationcannotbegeneralisedtoapplytothosefrom
culturallyandlinguisticallydiverse,orhighersocioeconomicpopulations,sincethe
participantsinthisstudywerequitehomogenousindemographicfactors.Therefore,this
evaluationcannotcommentontheeffectivenessoftheprogramforculturallyand
linguisticallydiversepopulations,orforthosefromhighersocioeconomicpopulations.An
additionallimitationofthisstudyisthatwedidnotcollectinformationaboutchangesin
participants’non-financialcircumstancesseveralmonthsaftertheycompletedtheprogram.
Thiswasalimitationbecausewewerenotabletoisolatetheeffectsoftheprogramfrom
theeffectsofchangedlifecircumstances,suchashavingrecoveredfromaddiction,now
havingstablehousing,ornowbeingemployed.Thehighrateofattritioninsamplesizefrom
Time1toTime2wasalsoalimitation,asitreducedthestatisticalpowerofthestudyto
detectsignificanteffects,particularlyfortheexperimentwiththetextmessagenudges.
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Highratesofstudyparticipationattritionarecommonwhenconductingresearchwithlow-
incomepopulations,however(Collins,2010;Lyonsetal.,2006).Itishopedthatfuture
researchwilladdressthelimitationsinthisprogramevaluation.
Future research
Wewouldliketomakesuggestionsforfutureresearchforfinancialliteracyprogram
evaluationstargetingvulnerablepopulations.Firstly,futureresearchshouldincludea
matchedcontrolgroupwhoaresimilarineverywaytothestudyparticipantsexceptthat
theydonotattendthefinancialliteracyprogram.Theyshouldbegiventhesame
questionnairesatthesametimesasthosedoingtheprogramsothatchangesinfinancial
knowledge,behaviours,attitudes,andstraincanbecomparedbetweentheexperimental
andcontrolgroups.Thisistheonlywaytodemonstratethattheprogramcausesthe
changes.Secondly,thisprogramevaluationneedstobereplicatedwithparticipantswhoare
moredemographicallydiversetobeabletoshowthattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram
iseffectiveforculturallyandlinguisticallydiverse,andlesssocioeconomically
disadvantaged,Australians.Thirdly,futurefinancialliteracyprogramevaluationsshould
collectinformationaboutparticipantschangedlifecircumstanceswhentheyaresurveyed
monthsaftertheprogram,sothatthesechangescanbetakenintoaccountintheanalyses.
Itispossiblethatrecoveryfromaddictionorfindingstablehousingarethemainreasonsfor
theimprovementsinfinancialbehaviours,ratherthantheprogram.Inaddition,some
participantsbenefittedfromtheprogrammorethanothers,sofutureresearchshouldtryto
identifythosewhobenefittheleastfromtheprogram,whythisisthecase,andhowthe
programcouldbetterengagethoseparticipants.Finally,thoseconductingresearchwiththe
marginalisedofsocietyshouldbeawareofthedifficultiesincontactingparticipantsfor
longitudinalstudiesandtheneedforadditionalresources.
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Conclusion
ThisprogramevaluationfoundevidencethatWesleyMission’sfinancialliteracyprogram,In
ChargeofMyMoney,isrelevantandbeneficialtoitstargetaudienceofthemostvulnerable
insociety.Forthosewithverylimitedincomesandresources,thesmalltipsonhowto
changespendinghabitsandsaveevenjustadollaraday,canmakeasignificantdifference
inpeople’slives.Forexample,oneparticipantsaidonthephonethathehadbeenplacing
hiscoinsinthemoneyboxhewasgivenattheInChargeofMyMoneyprogram.After
severalmonthsheopenedthemoneyboxandfoundthathehadover$100,andthatwas
enoughforhimtobeabletovisithisdaughter.Suchasmallchangeinfinancialbehaviour
hadmadeasignificantdifferenceinhislife.WesleyMissionandthecreatorsandpresenters
oftheprogramshouldbecommendedfortheirwork.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 TableA1:Pearson’scorrelationsbetweenparticipantfactorsandoutcomesatTime2
ParticipantFactorsImprovementsfrombeforeprogramto5-7monthsafter
programProgramengagementatTime1
OutcomesatTime2
GeneralFinancialknowl-edge
Personalfinancialknowl-edge
Attitudestospending
FinancialSelfEfficacy
Emotio-nalspending
Motivati-onduringprogram
Programrating
Improvedmoneybehaviour
r=.27p=.064n=48
ns
r=.42p=.003n=48
r=.30p=.046n=46
r=.28p=.048n=49
r=.43p=.002n=49
r=.36p=.010n=49
Improvedsavingbehaviour
ns
ns
r=.30p=.030n=51
ns
ns
ns
ns
Improvedplanningbehaviour
ns
ns
r=.26p=.060n=51
ns
ns
ns
r=.27p=.043n=54
Improvedmonitoringbehaviour
ns
r=.35p=.013n=51
r=.42p=.002n=51
r=.33p=.020n=48
ns
ns
r=.27p=.050n=54
Howmuchdidtheprogramhelpachievegoals
r=.33p=.019n=51
ns
r=.36p=.009n=51
r=.41p=.003n=48
r=.30p=.031n=51
ns
r=.400p=.003n=54
Extentofprogresstowardsspecificgoal
ns
ns
r=.31p=.029n=51
r=.45p=.001n=48
ns
ns
ns
Fewerproblemsdueshortageofmoney
ns
ns
ns
r=.36p=.012n=48
r=.29p=.038n=51
ns
ns
Lessdifficultypayingbills
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
Moremoneyleftover
ns
r=.27p=.059n=51
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
Lessoftenaskfamilyformoney
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
Changeindebt ns
ns
r=-.32p=.051n=37
ns
ns
ns
ns
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Appendix 2
TableA2:Pearson’scorrelationsbetweenparticipantfactors(ns=non-significant
ParticipantFactorsImprovementsfrombeforeprogramto5-7monthsafter
programProgramengagementatTime1
Generalfinancialknowledge
Personalfinancialknowledge
Attitudestospending
Financialself-efficacy
Emotionalspending
Motivationduringprogram
Programrating
Generalfinancialknowledge
-
Personalfinancialknowledge
r=.61p<.005n=50
-
Attitudestospending
r=.43p=.002n=50
r=.40p=.004n=50
-
Financialself-efficacy
ns
ns
r=.34p=.022n=46
-
Emotionalspending
ns
ns
ns
r=.47p=.001n=46
-
Motivationduringprogram
ns
ns
r=.28p=.044n=51
ns
ns
-
Programrating
r=.44p=.001n=51
ns
r=.29p=.042n=51
ns
ns
r=.66p<.005n=54
-
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Appendix 3
TableA2:Backwardsstepwisemultipleregressionfinalmodels
Outcomemeasure F p R2 Variablesremaininginthefinalmodel
Improvedmoneybehaviour
(2,41)=12.33 <.005 .38 LessemotionalspendingProgramrating
Improved
savingbehaviour
(1,42)=3.57 .066
(onlymarginallysignificant)
.08 Improvedattitudetospending
Improvedplanningbehaviour
(1,42)=3.72 .061
(onlymarginallysignificant)
.08 Improvedpersonalfinancialknowledge
Improvedmonitoringbehaviour
(2,41)=6.24 .004 .23 Improvedattitudetospending
Improvedfinancialself-efficacy
Howmuchdidtheprogramhelpachievegoals
(2,41)=11.86 <.005 .37 Improvedfinancialself-efficacy
Programrating
Extentofprogresstowardsspecificgoal
(1,42)=9.70 .003 .19 Improvedfinancialself-efficacy
Fewerproblemsduetoshortageofmoney
(1,42)=8.45 .006 .17 Improvedfinancialself-efficacy
Lessdifficultypayingbills Nomodelwassignificant
-
-
-
Moremoneyleftover Nomodelwassignificant
-
-
-
Lessoftenaskfamilyformoney
(3,39)=2.95 .044 .19 Improvedpersonalfinancialknowledge
Improvedattitudetospending
Improvedfinancialself-efficacy
Changeindebt F(1,30)=3.63 .067
(onlymarginallysignificant)
.11 Improvedattitudetospending
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Appendix 4
FigureF1:TheinteractionbetweentimeandreceivingthreeormoretextmessagesonMoneyBehaviour
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Appendix 5
FigureF2:TheinteractionbetweentimeandreceivingthreeormoretextmessagesonSavingBehaviour
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Appendix 6
FigureF3:TheinteractionbetweentimeandreceivingthreeormoretextmessagesonMonitoringExpenses
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EM
T452
9_16
08