The Royal Bank of Scotland and Gingerbread, a UK-based charity for single parent families, have launched MoneySense, a free tailored money guide to help single parents manage their money.
MoneySense for Single Parents is packed with tips on making the most of a low income. The guide includes a selection of single parents’ own budgeting top tips. It is available from Gingerbread’s free Single Parent Helpline or on its web portal.
The MoneySense guide includes pointers on checking tax, benefits and other entitlements, on minimising bills, spreading current costs and planning for the future. And an easy-to-use pro-forma Budget Planner. The booklet offers ideas for making budgeting a family exercise and advice on borrowing sensibly and on seeking guidance as soon as money problems arise. The guide is peppered with single parents’ own top tips and a list of useful organisations for reference.
Fiona Weir, chief executive of Gingerbread, said: “Most single parents are good at making the pennies stretch but half of them face financial hardship and recent food and fuel prices have hit them hard. They want tailored help with budgeting and managing what little income they have. We have developed the MoneySense guide with the Royal Bank of Scotland to help any single parent with money worries to take control of their budget.”
Sharon McDowall, head of community investment at RBS, said: “RBS is committed to increasing financial capability and single parents are very much a part of each and every community we work with across the UK. This guide is part of our MoneySense financial education programme, which has been running for 15 years, and is tailored to the needs of single parents in these challenging economic times.”
