When Sally joined our Saver Plus program, her marriage had recently ended. She had just moved to Queensland from Victoria with her two children to be closer to her family.

Sally’s ex-husband had been declared bankrupt prior to their marriage, and while they were together Sally took out loans in her own name to access credit. When the marriage broke down, Sally was legally responsible for all their debts.

Saver Plus is a money skills and savings program developed to help lower income families save money. Participants put aside $50 a month for ten months, and at the end they have $500 which the ANZ Bank matches. All the money is used for educational costs for participants’ children.

In addition to the savings program, Saver Plus includes Money Minded workshops, where participants can learn financial literacy skills.

Prior to joining Saver Plus, Sally had already done a lot of the hard work in developing a budget and paying off some of her debt. She already had some sound financial literacy skills and was managing to live within her means. However she was unable to save money, which meant she was unable to plan for the future – and was financially vulnerable to any unexpected events.

After completing Saver Plus Sally has a much more positive outlook on both her future and that of her children. The ten-month savings period was long enough for her to create a habit of saving. And having her savings matched in time for the back-to-school period meant a financially stress-free start to the school year – a first for Sally since her children had started school.

“I feel like I have control over my children’s long-term education expenses,” she said.

Sally now saves 10% of her income, is confident about being debt-free in the future, and is developing her knowledge of investment options to, as she put it, “Start to build wealth for myself and my family.” When asked about the impact of Saver Plus on her life, Sally said, “I feel secure knowing that the money’s there if I ever need it.”

The confidence that the Saver Plus program has given Sally has also helped her develop a plan to improve her career prospects and potential future income. Sally is now looking at opportunities to either study business at university, or enter the Defence Force as an air traffic controller.

Sally has passed the savings strategies she has learnt onto her children, who are now working to achieve their own savings goals.

Saver Plus was developed in partnership with Berry Street, The Smith Family, Brothers of St Laurence and The Benevolent Society in 2003, it has helped more than 36,000 Australians across 60 locations develop a savings habit.

In an overview of the program for 2018 conducted by RMIT, 87% of participants said they were still saving more than three years after completing the program, and 80% said it had helped them gain more control over their finances.

If you would like any information on the Saver Plus program please contact us on 1300 610 355.

You can also SMS your name and postcode to 1300 610 355 or visit the Saver Plus website and fill out the online enquiry

Here’s a story from Jamie who took Saver Plus with The Benevolent Society: