Kristina Leonnet, project manager of Quaker Social Action's Made of Money? scheme, on why financial education should be about emotions as well as budgets

Peoples' financial problems are often so deeply grounded in emotional factors. Their background, their childhood - such diverse factors influence how people spend and feel about money. We realised this when Quaker Social Action started doing financial literacy work in 2003.

Existing financial education classes focused on practical advice, such as how to budget or use bank facilities. We wanted to help families to explore wider issues and re-evaluate what influences them, then look at how this relates to their financial situation. This might mean helping them to address the guilt they feel if they can't afford things, or how they respond to pressures from kids.

Made of Money? began delivering courses in January 2006 with local community groups. We have since helped 140 low-income families in East London. There are several strands to the project, including workshops for parents and carers, who meet weekly for eight weeks. They learn how to budget, but also explore their beliefs and values around money. For example, each session starts with a ‘taste test', where participants blind taste a branded product and a supermarket version, looking at attitudes towards branding. We also do a lot of work on communication, helping people to plan conversations or using role play to practise saying no. This means they can talk about money in a useful way, rather than avoiding conversations for fear of conflict.

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Family learning sessions are always built into workshop series. These are fun, relaxed, and activity-based. Often people say this is the first time they've properly spoken as a family about money.

The workshops can have a massive impact. One woman previously had no control or awareness of the household finances but, after discussing what she'd learnt with her husband, he involved her in managing their money.

This year, we hope to work more closely with young people and fathers. We're also looking to develop a toolkit, so that more partner organisations can run similar sessions.

The day-to-day of working with these families is so rewarding and wonderful. Getting wider recognition through the Charity Awards is incredibly exciting.

In control

Made of Money? won the Social Care, Welfare and Religion category of the Charity Awards 2008.

Souad Achchi, 40, from Hackney in East London, attended workshops this spring. Beforehand, she was struggling with a debt of £1,000. “You have this guilt in the pit of your stomach and it burdens you,” she says. Since finishing the sessions, she feels “freer and happier”, and has halved her debt.

“I learnt how to take the little things into account - down to the pound my youngest child spends at a course each Saturday. I do meal plans so we don't waste food,” she says.

The course has also had a wider impact on her personal development. “I've been a stay-at-home mum for a long time and wasn't sure what I wanted to do. The course gave me confidence and I am now doing an NVQ in childcare.”

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