Friday, 08 November 2013 15:42
3.7m contact MAS in second quarter 2013
The Money Advice Service has reported that 3.4m people contacted it in the second quarter of 2013.
The data on actions comes from the first wave of findings from the service's new Quarterly Financial Capability Tracker - designed to monitor shifts in UK adults' money habits.
In quarter two (July to September 2013) over 3.7m customers contacted the Service for money advice, and 58,000 customers completed its online Budget Planner. During the same period, partners in England and Wales, funded by the Money Advice Service, provided debt advice sessions to 42,000 people.
Overall - for the year-to-date (April to September 2013) - over 6.3m customers have contacted the Service for money advice; and its partners in England and Wales have delivered debt advice sessions to 86,000 people.
Separate data - from the Service's new Quarterly Financial Capability Tracker - indicates 184,000 customers took positive money steps earlier in the year - during April to June 2013. The Service says this data provides a very early indicator that people are being nudged in a positive direction when it comes to managing their money.
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Commenting on the new financial capability tracker data, Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the Money Advice Service said: "This data from our first quarterly tracker sheds new light on what people choose to do as a result of receiving money advice.
"Although this first wave only covers three months, and a small sample of our customers, from a research perspective this is a really positive step forward. The methodology we have created – in collaboration with behaviour change and research experts – allows us to dig deeper than ever before into this area which is extremely hard to analyse.
"We're erring on the side of caution when we estimate 184,000 actions were taken between April and June 2013, but these figures are a strong signal that the Service can really motivate people not just to think about how they manage their money, but to do something as a result."
The Service aims to encourage people to take five basic steps in money management; managing debt, saving regularly, saving for retirement, protecting assets and making provision for dependents. Throughout the remainder of 2013/14, the quarterly tracker will continue to monitor which actions people choose to take against these outcomes.
The data on actions comes from the first wave of findings from the service's new Quarterly Financial Capability Tracker - designed to monitor shifts in UK adults' money habits.
In quarter two (July to September 2013) over 3.7m customers contacted the Service for money advice, and 58,000 customers completed its online Budget Planner. During the same period, partners in England and Wales, funded by the Money Advice Service, provided debt advice sessions to 42,000 people.
Overall - for the year-to-date (April to September 2013) - over 6.3m customers have contacted the Service for money advice; and its partners in England and Wales have delivered debt advice sessions to 86,000 people.
Separate data - from the Service's new Quarterly Financial Capability Tracker - indicates 184,000 customers took positive money steps earlier in the year - during April to June 2013. The Service says this data provides a very early indicator that people are being nudged in a positive direction when it comes to managing their money.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
Commenting on the new financial capability tracker data, Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the Money Advice Service said: "This data from our first quarterly tracker sheds new light on what people choose to do as a result of receiving money advice.
"Although this first wave only covers three months, and a small sample of our customers, from a research perspective this is a really positive step forward. The methodology we have created – in collaboration with behaviour change and research experts – allows us to dig deeper than ever before into this area which is extremely hard to analyse.
"We're erring on the side of caution when we estimate 184,000 actions were taken between April and June 2013, but these figures are a strong signal that the Service can really motivate people not just to think about how they manage their money, but to do something as a result."
The Service aims to encourage people to take five basic steps in money management; managing debt, saving regularly, saving for retirement, protecting assets and making provision for dependents. Throughout the remainder of 2013/14, the quarterly tracker will continue to monitor which actions people choose to take against these outcomes.
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