A study has found that thousands of Australians have improved their
money management in the past year with the aid of MoneyMinded, an adult
financial education programme developed by the Australian and New
Zealand Banking Group and other businesses.
Research by the RMIT University in Melbourne showed that from October
2005 to September 2006 a total of 15,279 people participated in the
MoneyMinded programme, and of these 93 per cent claimed to have made
positive changes in the way they run their finances.
Brian Hartzer, the ANZ Group’s personal banking managing director,
said: ‘Although MoneyMinded was originally designed for people on low
incomes, the research confirms the programme has a unique versatility
and a great reach. This has enabled it to help more than 15,000
Australians with extremely diverse backgrounds, including students,
middle-income families, professionals and people recovering from drug
and alcohol problems.’
Some participants used the guidance to change their bank accounts to
those with higher interest and lower fees, and others gained the
confidence to question unexpected fees and charges or unusually high
bills.
