WITH the excitement of Christmas over and many people facing large bills, January can be one of the most difficult months when it comes to money management.
However, a team of students from Moray College is aiming to blow away the winter money blues by entering the national “MoneyforLife” challenge.
The competition, developed by Lloyds Banking Group, is designed to find the most innovative ways volunteers can come up with to improve their own money management skills and those of their local communities.
The ‘Moray’s Money’ entry has researched the most common problems and identified possible solutions.
The group hopes to create a comprehensive eight-hour course covering all that students need to know. From spotting supermarket dud deals to planning for a pension, the course will be designed as a one-stop shop to pick up some of the best money-saving tips, as well as information about where to go for help and advice.
An open day is planned for March 5 to showcase the group’s work, and local banks will be invited to attend so that students can find out more about their services.
“The goal is to equip individuals to make sound financial choices, working through the challenges together and making sure that, after leaving, students are aware of useful resources to support on-going money management and avoid unwise choices, such as using high-cost loan companies,” said a college spokeswoman.
The college is keen to hear from people who have experienced debt problems and made good or bad choices.
Did you find information and support easy to find, and is there enough information available in the first place? Is it confusing?
Whatever your experiences, good or bad, the college is keen to hear from you. Their findings will be presented on a specially moderated Facebook page to ensure that only the most helpful links and comments are displayed.
If you are interested in helping with this project, contact Joyce.Cartwright@moray.uhi.ac.uk, leave a phone message at 01343 576 000 or post on the Moray College website at www.facebook.com
