Financial literacy does not come easily to everyone, but a financial education and savings program hosted by Berry Street is making sure those people are not left behind.
The program, Saver Plus, was developed by ANZ and the Brotherhood of St Laurence and is a national program that teaches people efficient money management skills while saving for their education, or their child’s, over the course of 10 months.
Sharon Wandin is Berry Street’s Saver Plus program manager, and said the structure of the program was designed to encourage people to save.
“In the program, participants put away an allocated amount of $50 into their savings account each month and they save consistently for the 10 months,” Mrs Wandin said.
“At the end, it’s matched dollar to dollar by ANZ, so participants will have an extra $500 on top of the $500 they’ve already saved.
“The $500 ANZ covers needs to go towards educational purposes for them or their child and that could be things like uniforms, excursions, laptops, after-school activities, stationery, uni or VET fees.
“It’s also with the hope that it will get that long-term saving habit established too.”
In total, 55,000 participants have gone through the program and $27 million has been saved since it started in 2003.
Among these participants is 21-year-old Wilhelm Bourke, who only recently completed the program.
Mr Bourke has autism and found it difficult when it came to saving.
“It’s really turned my life around, which is great,“ Mr Bourke said.
“It was very handy, the amount of advice I was being told about my savings and how to apply it in my life.
"I feel like I’ve gained more financial freedom by keeping in mind I need to be careful of what I spend my money on.“
Mr Bourke’s mother, Maz Bourke, recommended the program to him and said she was happy about the amount of financial independence it had given him.
“It’s paramount to me as a parent of a special needs child he got the education to budget so when I’m not here, he’s not in a situation where he’s not sure what to do with his money and not able to pay bills,” she said.
Mr Bourke is studying a Certificate IV in IT at TAFE, and with the help of this program, he has fully paid off his course.
“It’s a really good feeling to have paid it off,” Mr Bourke said.
Now Berry Street is looking for people to come forward and apply to be in its next round of the Saver Plus program starting on July 1.
To view eligibility criteria visit the Berry Street website and to join or inquire about the program, email enquiriessp@berrystreet.org.au