News 26 May 2009
Moneymadeclear – The view from the frontline
Carl Smith, A4e Money Guidance team leader shares with us his thoughts and experiences on the pathfinder from a delivery partner perspective
“I worked on the Citizens Advice Bureau MoneyPlan pilot scheme at Speke CAB in Liverpool for 18 months as a volunteer giving generic financial advice.Being an IFA at the time this most rewarding personal experience inspired me to get involved in the next stage of the Money Guidance Pathfinder and led to me working for A4e where "Improving peoples lives" is the company motto.
The face to face guidance sessions I have conducted have covered a broad range of topic areas from mortgages,savings and investments,budgeting and loans,benefits and taxation,and pensions. Many have covered several of these areas. But all have been client led, free and impartial and held at a venue local to them. Each has addressed their individual issues without any specific advice or selling and has aimed to empower them to take better financial decisions or signpost them to appropriate points of further help. Sometimes its just knowing how best to go about things that can be the most effective next step.
The Moneymadeclear booklets are to be strongly recommended they are well written,clear and jargon free whilst the website is excellent - its not a commercial website - but factual and easy to use. There is so much there for everyone including comparison tables and calculators that are really useful and its links to further details on topics are also superb. As I say to the users I see - it should always be your starting point for your money matters.
From the guidance sessions given to date I genuinely believe the service is needed and wanted. Helping people make better financial decisions is now more important than ever... and we are excited at the prospect of seeing more people at more venues in the coming months.”