Made of Money
Sara's Story
"When money's tight, it's really difficult when children are making demands on parents. When you go shopping and take the kids with you, there's bright colours, the children make demands. It's helped me talk to them, explain about money and what things are worth.
Made of Money helped us to write down all our outgoings and start budgeting. Simple things like setting out at the beginning of the week all the meals you're going to have and shop to that for the things you need and stick to that.
It's given me confidence, I met people and now I'm going on to do an NVQ in childcare. I met similar people in the same situation, we all have things in common. It sounds silly to say it because I've lived in Hackney all my life but this was the first time I've felt part of the community."
Made of Money supports families on low income as they talk, listen and learn about money and its impact on their lives
Life on a low income is not easy. With the emotional stress that debt and money troubles can cause, with the difficulty of explaining to children why they cannot take part in the consumer society they see around them, confronting money issues can be a real problem.
Made of Money works with people both preventatively and in times of crisis, enabling individuals, families and young people to take control of their finances. As well as practical advice, our workshops deal with the attitudes and values that shape peoples' relationship to money.
We acknowledge that money can be a bone of contention. Rather than telling people how to manage their money, our work with families helps both parents and children to communicate better around money issues and works through day to day issues like budgeting, debt and banking.
Our work with fathers supports them to build on their communication skills about money, enabling them to talk to partners and children about their experiences and aspirations about money and related issues. Our work with young people encourages them to look beyond consumerism and understand where their money comes from, and where it goes.
If you or anyone you know would like to take part in a Made of Money workshop, please contact our team on 020 8983 5043, or email madeofmoney@qsa.org.uk
Watch our video What's It Worth on YouTube.
