Skint..Martins Blog...charity ideas

This piece is from Martins blog about the TV programme 'Skint'. He makes a very good point that all the information on the MSE site is great -if you actually have some money to start with - if you don't have a computer, or at least regular access to one then you're left out totally, all the wise words of advice don't get to the people that need it the most.

Martin goes on to talk about his charity fund - and how best to use it - my thoughts are that with involvement from other parties, an 'on paper' form of the forum could be put together, this would take all the salient posts that offer money saving help, tips, advice etc. from the weeks or months postings and print them up and distribute them at benefit offices, schools, GP surgeries etc.
I would have thought that the posts could be picked out by a number of volunteers and checked over. They would then be passed onto 'the media' to be printed up and then maybe charities that work with the poorer parts of the community would organise the distribution. I'm a little unsure about how they would get printed up but I'm sure that all sorts of publishing companies would want to be seen to help


Tuesday April 26th, 2005

Skint!
Watched ‘Skint’ on BBC1 for the first time last night. Sadly didn’t manage to catch all of this fly on the wall documentary series about people with serious money problems. The focus was on ‘cash converters’ - a modern version of a pawn shop.

It was eye opening. I freely admit that my MoneySaving focus is saving cash for those people ‘in the system’ not for those who are outside it. It did make me think ‘is there anything I can do?’ Yet it’s tough - getting the best deals, buying the best bargains, reducing your expenditure and being a savvy consumer is fine for people with some form of cash flow.

Yet once you’re outside of the system and have nothing coming in…. many of those techniques aren’t particularly helpful. Even at a raw level this website is self-evidentally only there to help those who are on the internet. All the others are information disenfranchised, even if they could use that info in the first place.

All this set me pondering. Currently there’s a site charity fund, which is becoming quite substantial, see the About Us section. I’ve often said I’d like to set up a specific charity to help. The two ideas I’ve previously mulled are ‘a debt education charity for children’ and ‘a helpline of helplines - a one stop shop which directs anyone to the right non-profit agency to help them’.

Any more ideas would be welcome. Just put them in the ‘This Site and Suggestions’ part of the Chat Forum
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Comments

  • Tony_H_3
    Tony_H_3 Posts: 2,643
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    Many communities now have computer facilities for local residents, eg specialist centre's, learning centre's or libraries. A good starting point would be to encourage these facilities to use the MSE website and encourage their visitors to do the same.
  • I agree but there is such a lot on these pages that if you didn't have your own computer and a while to look through at your leisure it would be hard to know where to start looking.

    A scenario - you're parent with small children, you need help with many things regarding hanging on to your cash and spending wisely. You take the children to the library, and while they are choosing their books you get to sit at the computer. You would probably only get 15 minutes to look at the site, where do you start? this site is like an encyclopedia there is so much that would be of use but to find it and make notes would take a lot longer than 15 minutes in a public place where you may feel that others wanted to use the computer too.
  • itgirlinuk
    itgirlinuk Posts: 465
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    Along the same lines of your suggestion: How about a MSE newsletter is prepared every week which picks out major bargains (things that run for a length of time) and hosted on the site and the coucil related people can print it off?

    Every council invests money in libraries and in helping their residents. Like the St. James library near Victoria has a one-stop place for all council enquiries and they have a library on top. Say a section on the website had a newsletter created and the local council can print the newsletter page off and leave it with the help desk or the customer services desk. They can circulate it to anyone they want to give it out to.

    Ofcourse, you would need volunteers to create the newsletter every week for this and to educate the different councils. I volunteer now, if you start to look for them.

    Would this work?
    The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket. :rolleyes:
  • Tony_H_3
    Tony_H_3 Posts: 2,643
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    This is an equally good idea, infact it would also be more workable & cost effective for all involved.
  • itgirlinuk wrote:
    Along the same lines of your suggestion: How about a MSE newsletter is prepared every week which picks out major bargains (things that run for a length of time) and hosted on the site and the coucil related people can print it off?

    There is such a lot of information and common sense here - particulary on the Old Style board - about how to get the very most for your money, the major bargains would be useful but the site has much more to offer.

    I think your idea of the info being printed up on a small local basis is good.
  • 8383
    8383 Posts: 160 Forumite
    itgirlinuk wrote:
    Along the same lines of your suggestion: How about a MSE newsletter is prepared every week which picks out major bargains (things that run for a length of time) and hosted on the site and the coucil related people can print it off?

    Its called 'Money Tips Email' ;)
  • Curry_Queen
    Curry_Queen Posts: 5,589
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    8383 wrote:
    Its called 'Money Tips Email' ;)


    You beat me to it :D


    I think printing off the email every week for distribution would be far more beneficial and would also direct people to the parts of the site that are most relevant that week :confused:
    "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
    ~
    It is that what you do, good or bad,
    will come back to you three times as strong!

  • MSE_Martin
    MSE_Martin Posts: 8,272
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    Money Saving Expert
    Actually I decided to go another way. There are some very good debt crisis agencies.

    Here's a sneak preview of next weeks poll. Please don't over-discuss it now, but i decided that people who are already in problems is too far, this site is more about prevention. So here is my idea. As i say this will be the poll next week

    CHARITY OR CHILDREN. Poll started XX. Over the last year, this site's donated £40,000+ to charities selected by users (see About Us for details). I'm considering ending this to instead fund a 'MoneySaving Kids: An childrens money education fund' as scarily most financial education is funded by the banks. What do you think?

    A. All the money to MoneySaving kids
    B. Split the money half and half
    C. Stick with the charity fund, it helps many
    Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
    Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
    Don't miss out on urgent MoneySaving, get my weekly e-mail at www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.
    Debt-Free Wannabee Official Nerd Club: (Honorary) Members number 000
  • 8383 wrote:
    Its called 'Money Tips Email' ;)

    Martin has said that he is going to take his charity in the direction of prevention of financial problems, equally as good but I think that this poster is missing the point entirely.

    If you were so short of cash you were in the position of pawning your possesions at Cash Convertors to get enough money to feed the kids for the week then I don't think that the Money Tips Email handed out to you would be much use - Free international calls? Flight price checks? - I don't think so - the Money Tips Email is perfect for the rest of us that can afford these things and welcome the help in choosing.

    What would have been useful on a printed newsletter would have been the best bits of all the information on the forums about how to get by on less and how to spend what little you have to the best effect, not in a patronising way, just old fashioned wisdom that used to get passed down the generations, it's all there, for free. If you don't have a computer you just don't get it.
  • Edinburghlass_2
    Edinburghlass_2 Posts: 32,680
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    There is such a lot of information and common sense here - particulary on the Old Style board - about how to get the very most for your money, the major bargains would be useful but the site has much more to offer.

    I think your idea of the info being printed up on a small local basis is good.

    The site always has to be viewed as a whole and not just the information to be obtained from one board. If people didn't/don't read about how to reduce their costs on all levels they won't have the money to make the most of.

    There is not much point in sending for free shampoos if you are paying over the odds for your electricity to wash your hair with.

    Don't under estimate the power of the email tips. There are many, many more guests who view MSE than there are members who contribute.

    Fortunately a goodly number of these unknown guests click through Martin's links in the articles which in turn gain a contribution for MSE which enables Martin to have a charity kitty. ;)
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