10% of employees at NCA courses saved over €1,000

More than 10% of employees who attended the National Consumer Agency’s money-saving course in the past year saved over €1,000 within three months.

The NCA’s Money Skills for Life is a free, one-hour talk, designed to provide practical financial education to employees with the support of their employer. In the first year, 9,545 employees have attended talks in workplaces nationwide.

A recent survey of participants has revealed that, within three months of attending a Money Skills for Life talk, 11% of employees have reported saving €1,000 or more. A further 12% said they had saved between €500 and €1,000, while 42% stated they had saved between €100 and €500. Some 35% of those surveyed reported saving under €100.

Satisfaction ratings for the talk were found to be extremely high, with 99% of attendees stating it was useful or very useful and 97% would recommend it to others.

The survey also found that:

*Those who said they saved €1,000 or more did so by reducing their credit card limit, opening a savings account with a locked-in term, switching their current account, changing their shopping habits to only shopping once a week and reducing ‘non-necessity items’;

*Those who said they saved between €500 and €1,000 did so by increasing saving direct debit amounts from their salaries, setting up a savings account, and shopping around for car and house insurance;

*Those who said they saved between €100 and €500 did so by budgeting and using the NCA planner, not using their credit card to take out cash, examining their bank account and cancelling standing orders no longer needed, increasing the amount going into their regular savings account, and using online banking more frequently;

*Those who said they saved under €100 did so by avoiding bank charges and credit card charges by switching, shopping around for best value on utility and phone bills, cutting back on take-away coffees in the morning, and preparing a list when going shopping

Assistant director of public awareness and financial education at the NCA, Siobhán Howe, said the course offers employees practical and simple things they can do to manage their money better.

The talk covers managing your money, dealing with debt, tips on getting best value insurance and loans and how to save and invest.