“I love how it includes our culture.”
When we think of financial literacy programmes, they might ask us to leave our culture at the door or make judgements about the way we spend. But that’s not how Money Confidence works – it’s a different approach and it’s already having a huge impact because it puts Pacific culture at the centre of the learning experience.
For Upskills Project Ikuna Manager Tafā Iakopo, this aspect is key. “For starters, it incorporates all the elements that are unique to the Pacific and it is included in the budget talanoa (talk) rather than ignored or cast out.”
In our latest Tumau group to graduate, 16 participants have achieved the micro-credential and so much more.
Here is what some of them had to say about the learning experience:
“I’ve learnt to budget better. A little put away can go a long way.”
“I learnt today that unless I write down my SMART goal and make it a reality, it’s just a dream”
“I learnt how to set a SMART goal and use the necessary steps to achieve it”
Quick wins
There were some significant quick wins inside the 8-week programme, that will continue to deliver financial benefits to the group:
- One person managed to save more than the target they set for themselves. This really helped them to set long term goals as they could see how achievable it was.
- The partner of one learner has noticed his wife’s spending habits had almost halved and with that, she halved his lunch allowance too.
- One learner deleted her Uber Eats app and achieved her SMART goal – to save at least $600 by the end of the 6-week course.
- One learner deleted the After Pay app and although it was a lengthy process, managed to pay it all off and is now putting money aside for those emergencies.
- A couple of people are working through their debt but were encouraged to pay it off faster (not pay just the minimum amount) when the facilitator shared her win of paying off the credit card faster by putting lump sums and not paying just the minimum.
- One learner no longer stops off at the bakery. Instead, lunch is made either the night before or on the day.
Tafā adds that cultural giving/spending may be a foreign concept if seen through a typical Kiwi lens. By adding Pasifika facilitators to the mix, Tafā noted that such concepts were well received and there was no judgement. Rather than excluding such spending or gifting, learners had to look at ways to save these expenditures and give what they could.
“I think the greatest impact for me was seeing how this group encouraged and kept each other motivated. When one member deleted an app after the initial session, it motivated others to delete certain apps for takeaways and laybuy functions. This was quite powerful because as the weeks went by, people were willing to share their tips and downfalls and there was absolutely no judgement,” explains Tafā.
Future Ready Money Confidence is delivered in partnership with Auckland Unlimited and is a fully-funded learning programme.
Congratulations to our Tumau group on achieving money confidence!
Read more about our Project Ikuna Courses
Talk to our team for more details
Contact Tafā Iakopo at Upskills on +64 22 067 1770 to find out more.
