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Save Xmas

Citizens Advice has been working in partnership with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Transact on this campaign to help people decide on the best way to save for Christmas and other events. Background Following the collapse of the Farepak Hamper scheme in 2006 the OFT launched a public awareness campaign to ensure that low-income consumers, especially women in the 35-55 age group, were able to make informed decisions around their short-term saving options.

Participants, Save Xmas project “I feel more confident about money, about ways to save and spend money wisely” “I felt it was useful because I only knew about the basic things. Especially for credit unions. It makes us realise what is safe.”

The programme

Citizens Advice promoted the campaign via the 14 financial capability forums that cover England and Wales. Forum partners, from Citizens Advice Bureaux and other member agencies, were selected to deliver the presentations, and received OFT funding.

Three campaigns were run between 2007 and 2010. Presentations were delivered in November 2007 - April 2008, November 2008 – April 2009 and January – May 2010.

The 45 minute sessions can be aimed at frontline workers and end service users. They help participants to:

• identify the alternatives to Christmas hamper saving schemes
• consider their own needs, preferences and attitudes to risk
• understand the features of different savings options
• access further help or information about their savings options.

Outcomes

Key activities and outputs December 2009 – May 2010

• 461 presentations to frontline workers and consumers.
• 2630 consumers trained directly.
• 1744 frontline workers reached.
• Cascading information to over 30,500 consumers.

The Office of Fair Trading’s own analysis from participant feedback should be available in late 2010.

In March 2010, The OFT published the Ipsos Mori evaluation of the first and second phases(2007/8 and 2008/9)of the Save Xmas campaign, which had some very positive findings on both short and long term outcomes of the training.

Impact of the training on behaviour

• Four in ten (42%) of those surveyed a few months after attending a Save Xmas session reported changing their saving habits following the training.
• Most importantly, the training gave them the opportunity to reflect upon their financial situation, and realise how they could personally benefit from saving. Of the small number of end users interviewed (ten individuals),most also mentioned how the information they heard about loan sharks struck them and put them off ever considering using them. Some participants described the training as a real trigger that motivated them to face up to their financial difficulties and take action to improve their finances.
• Importantly, the increase in the take up of saving options reported by the cohort of Year 1 end users a few months after they attended a session has been sustained: half of them used a bank or building society saving account prior to attending the training (50%), and one in ten had a saving account with Credit Union (11%). These proportions increased to 62% and 23% respectively in the first follow-up survey, and to 72% and 26% in the second follow-up survey.

Reach of the campaign

• From 2007 to 2009, the campaign is estimated to have reached 120,000 consumers. This estimate includes those who have attended Save Xmas training sessions, those who have received the messages through their contact with frontline workers, and people who spoke to an advisor during the roadshows.
• 83% of end users say they will tell their family and friends what they have learnt during their Save Xmas training session.

"The Save Xmas campaign continues to reach people with low levels of knowledge and take-up of saving options, the vast majority of whom say they found the training useful. For Year 1 and Year 2 end users alike , knowledge and take up of savings options, and confidence in saving are all at a higher level than prior to the training. All end users have greater levels of knowledge and confidence in savings options than the general public. The research conducted with the Year 1 cohort shows that the soft outcomes (ie on knowledge and confidence) of the campaign are sustained in the medium and long term"

IPSOS Mori, March 2010

Save Xmas materials

The materials for the campaign have been developed specifically to help people understand short-term savings options, but also include wider financial capability tools that can be adapted for a range of client groups. These cover topics such as understanding the benefits of saving, how to compare the cost of borrowing from a range of suppliers and how to budget effectively. The toolkit includes trainer notes and all of the resources needed to run a workshop; it is free to access and use, and can be downloaded from the OFT website or ordered as hard copies.

Further information

Please email David Mahon.

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