MoneyMinded

Our approach

MoneyMinded is financial education program that improves basic budgeting, savings and money management skills. It is delivered by financial counsellors and community partners and helps people to learn to live within their means, increase their savings and assets, manage credit and debt, and plan for the future.

The MoneyMinded story

MoneyMinded aims to help people build financial skills, knowledge and confidence, and was established to respond to the need for financial skills education among the most vulnerable members of our community.

The program was developed by ANZ in conjunction with the Centre for Learning Innovation at NSW Department of Education and Training and an advisory committee including the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association (AFCCRA), the Financial Counsellors Association of NSW (FCAN), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and community sector representatives.

MoneyMinded reaches groups that are marginalised or financially excluded, and since its inception in 2005, it has reached over 125,000 people, making it the most widely used financial literacy program in Australia (RMIT University 2010). The program has been adapted for Indigenous participants (see MoneyBusiness, delivered in partnership with the Australian Government), migrant groups, people with disability, high school students, prisoners, long-term unemployed and young people at risk. Recently, we have adapted MoneyMinded for projects in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region under a Group-wide commitment to improving the financial capability of disadvantaged communities.

To date, nearly 4,000 facilitators have been trained to use MoneyMinded.
How MoneyMinded it works

We partner with community organisations to provide MoneyMinded facilitator training, enabling financial counsellors and community educators to build skills and confidence to deliver financial education with their clients and to access MoneyMinded resources.

MoneyMinded includes a facilitators’ guide, activities, case studies and visual teaching aids, and covers topics such as planning and budgeting, everyday banking, dealing with debt, and superannuation. (For more details, see the MoneyMinded website.)

The program is designed to be flexible so it can be delivered either through group workshops, individual counselling sessions, or online via the MoneyMinded website. Facilitators can select the topics that meet the specific needs of participants.

Our commitment to MoneyMinded includes:

  • facilitator training for financial counsellors and community educators
  • partnerships with community organisations to deliver MoneyMinded in their communities
  • annual reviews of the MoneyMinded content
  • provision of MoneyMinded program materials.

MoneyMinded does not directly promote ANZ products, and provides unbiased consumer education.
Our partners

MoneyMinded is made possible by the support and hard work of our community partners, who deliver both the MoneyMinded program and facilitator training. Our partners work with disadvantaged people to ensure MoneyMinded is delivered in a way that is appropriate, accessible, and targeted to those who need it most. All participants in our Saver Plus program also undertake a MoneyMinded course as part of their involvement in the Saver Plus program. Australian partners include:
Case study: Building a future for young people at risk

One of our partners, Mission Australia, has delivered MoneyMinded to groups of at-risk young people. Facilitators working in the Urban Renewal Landscape and Construction project reported a change in the young people’s attitude towards money after completing a MoneyMinded course:

"The young people tended to show a greater awareness and respect for money, and saw it as a means of helping them achieve their goals."

Engaging the young people over a 12-month period, the facilitator was able to keep in touch with them about money over the long term, helping out when financial issues arose and providing financial information in areas such as housing, food, and purchasing goods and services. The program was a valuable addition to the organisation’s social enterprise model and to the facilitator’s resources. The facilitator says:

"MoneyMinded has given me a useful tool, helping me to provide greater assistance to the young people in the social enterprise program."

2011 results

MoneyMinded Pacific

Following a successful staff pilot last year involving 2000 staff across 11 Pacific countries, we have begun piloting MoneyMinded to communities in four Pacific countries - American Samoa, Fiji, PNG and the Cook Islands.

Each country pilot group has 150 people, representing a cross section of people from the community, including ANZ customers. The pilot program has been very well received.  More than 90% of participants surveyed before and after the program reported an increase in their level of understanding and their financial skills after completing the training.

The program will now be expanded further following the appointment of 33 MoneyMinded facilitators and four lead facilitators, who will train community partners and ANZ staff to deliver the program.  

MoneyMinded Hong Kong

We continue to work with the Ngai Tahu community in New Zealand to adapt MoneyMinded for iwi (tribes) culture and experiences.  

This follows our support in 2010 of the ANZ Ngai Tahu Financial Knowledge Survey, which established an important benchmark to support efforts to grow financial literacy of all iwi in New Zealand.

An assessment of the reach of MoneyMinded across our regions shows that in 2011,2,629 facilitators were trained to deliver MoneyMinded and an estimated 32,844 people received MoneyMinded education.

MoneyMinded participants - Australia

MoneyMinded facilitators - Australia

The future

For 2012, we have set a target to reach 30,000 people from lower-income and disadvantaged backgrounds across our region with the MoneyMinded program.

2010 results

An assessment of the reach of MoneyMinded in Australia shows that in 2010, 537 facilitators were trained to deliver MoneyMinded and an estimated 31,910 people received MoneyMinded education. We have recently adapted the MoneyMinded materials for use in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.

MoneyMinded participants

MoneyMinded facilitator

The future

For 2011, we have set a target to reach 30,000 people from lower-income and disadvantaged backgrounds with our MoneyMinded program.

2009 results

The total number of participants in Australia and New Zealand was 28,409, just short of our target of 30,000.

Number of people participating in MoneyMinded (Australia)

25,234 people participated in the MoneyMinded program in Australia, and 3,175 people in New Zealand.

In addition, 763 facilitators were trained to deliver the program – 746 in Australia and 17 in New Zealand.

Number of trained MoneyMinded Facilitators (Australia)

2008 results

As part of ANZ's ongoing commitment to measure the effectiveness of our community investments, we've commissioned RMIT University to evaluate the performance of MoneyMinded annually.

The results for the period from October 2007 to September 2008 are encouraging. Read the full RMIT evaluation report (PDF 177kB). We set a goal to reach 30,000 people through MoneyMinded in this period: the actual number was 26,985, maintaining our yearly growth in numbers and demonstrating the ongoing demand for, and continued relevance, of the program.

Sharing the stories (PDF 3.2MB) was developed in 2008 and illustrates the different and innovative ways the MoneyMinded program is being delivered in the community. Some facilitators deliver the program in its original workshop format, while others are tailoring the materials to suit the specific needs of different community groups. MoneyMinded is designed to be a flexible program that can be adapted to suit a wide range of audiences.

Total number of participants and facilitators

Other achievements during this period include training over 673 additional facilitators, publishing a booklet (PDF 3.2MB) of stories about the impact of the program on participants, and extending the materials to include two new topics.

Feedback from facilitators and participants is consistently positive. Here are some examples:

"I feel more in control of my money instead of it controlling me."

"I believe MoneyMinded is still the best prevention tool available to help get people to understand and take control of their finances."

"I have noticed some huge personal developments - one of our clients is now attending TAFE, which is an outstanding achievement because before she would not even go to the shops by herself."

In addition, 1,462 people have participated in MoneyMinded in New Zealand with 62 trainers.

The future

We've set an ambitious target to grow even further in 2009 and reach an additional 30,000 people in Australia, and New Zealand.

We constantly seek feedback from facilitators and participants about how the program can be improved, and this has resulted in the addition of two new topics in August 2008: 'A roof over head' and 'Planning for the future'. We will continue to act on the feedback we receive so that the program can keep helping people acquire the financial skills they most need.

 

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