Awareness April
Welcome to the MoneyPlus Newsletter.
This month it’s Awareness April, and we’re focusing on spreading awareness about the financial impact of COVID-19.
We know that the last 12 months have been incredibly hard for many, so we surveyed some of our MoneyPlus Advice customers to see how various parts of their lives have been impacted since March last year.
We’ve had a great response, and we’d like to thank the hundreds of customers that took part and told us their stories. Reading through the anonymous responses gave us great insight on such an unprecedented time in our history, and really made us reflect back on the past year in a significant way.
Let’s take a closer look at what we’ve found…
The financial impact of COVID-19.
Whether you’ve had to cut back on the occasional expense, or your livelihood has suffered as a result of the pandemic, you’re not alone.
In fact, just over 40% of our customers say that they’re now in a worse financial position due to COVID-19, with only 4.3% saying they’re better off financially.
Although this is (unfortunately) to be expected after such a large-scale economic shock, the devastation it has caused to various industries as a whole means we may not see the come-back we’re after for a while yet, meaning jobs and finances could also be on hold.
Job security.
Speaking of jobs, 693,000 people lost theirs over the last year, which is a worryingly high amount.
Although many of our customers’ jobs haven’t been affected, we can see that there is still some uncertainty in the market; 18.4% of our customers have had their hours reduced, 7.1% have lost their jobs completely, and a further 5.6% are unsure if their job will still be there once the furlough scheme comes to an end in September.
Spending & saving.
When it comes to regular household spending, a whopping 68% say they’ve had to cut back in some way or another, or delay making purchases during the pandemic.
In addition, just over 39% say they’ve needed to use money from their savings (or borrow money from friends & family) due to challenges brought on by COVID-19.
This has led to nearly 26% being overdrawn more than usual and at least 17% missing bill payments during the last 12 months. It’s also led to essential food bank use for 7.1% of our customers, which isn’t surprising seeing as food bank usage increased by 47% during the pandemic.
Despite this, it seems that things are looking up for the majority of respondents, with 93.7% saying they haven’t felt the need to apply for loans or credit cards over the last 12 months and 72.6% saying they’re unlikely to miss bill payments in the near future.
Mental health.
This is a topic that has impacted many recently, whether it’s to do with finances or not. Looking at what our customers have told us, it seems there’s a fairly even split when it comes to mental health, with 49.2% saying their mental health has suffered as a result of COVID-19.
Our infographic below gives an overview of what we’ve found…
Introducing… Advice Online!
Our online debt advice service, Advice Online, will soon be up and running and helping people from all walks of life to get their finances back on the right track.
What is Advice Online?
We realise that picking up the phone to speak about something as personal as finances and debt can be very daunting, so we’ve created a simple online tool that lets you find out which solutions are available to you, all without the need for a phone call. You’ll answer the same questions you would usually be asked on the phone, including filling out your income & expenditure.
If you need some time before you progress to the next step, you can save your progress and come back at a later point.
Advice Online is an easy and stress-free alternative to picking up the phone, but our expert Advisors at MoneyPlus Advice will always be here if you prefer to call.
We’ll be launching Advice Online soon on desktop and mobile, so keep an eye on your emails for more information!
Meet the team.
Kate Cutler – Head of MoneyPlus Insolvency
Kate says: “I first joined MoneyPlus in May 2020, and I’m currently head of our insolvency division, MoneyPlus Insolvency, which helps thousands of customers across the UK in setting up and managing their IVAs to completion.
My role is incredibly rewarding because we offer help to people in genuine need of support in managing their finances and negotiating with their creditors. We continue to support clients throughout their journey on their IVA to ensure the arrangements can conclude successfully, and we have a great team with extensive knowledge, experience and professionalism.
What sets MoneyPlus apart from the rest is that not only do we hold our customers in such high regard, but as an organisation we understand the importance of appreciating our co-workers, all of whom bring their total A-game to work.
As a Group, we embrace regulation and strive for optimum performance in both productivity and compliance. This enables us to grow our brand effectively and ensure all our customers’ needs are met through the various services we provide.“
Review of the month.
We love reading our customer reviews – and showing them off to the world!
This month’s review comes from a very valuable MoneyPlus Legal customer.
Take a look…
In case you didn’t know, every Friday is #FeedbackFriday on our social media, so if you’d like to see more great reviews, head over to our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
If you’d like to leave a review for us, head over to our MoneyPlus Advice or MoneyPlus Legal review pages – we can’t wait to read it!
Social scene.
We like to keep our followers up-to-date with the latest industry news, advice, and offers, so we highly recommend following our social media channels so you can stay in the know…
WIN a beautiful bouquet from Bloom & Wild!
We’ve partnered with Bloom & Wild to give 5 of our social followers a monthly chance to win a free bouquet! To be in with a chance to win this month’s bloom, just do the following:
1. Like our Facebook page
2. Then share our latest Bloom & Wild post with the hashtag #12MonthsOfBloom.
Simple! (Don’t forget to set your shared post to ‘public’, otherwise we won’t be able to see who shares it!)
Winners will be announced at the beginning of next month, so stay tuned to our social to see if you’ve won. (T&C’s apply – https://bit.ly/2uhOyZx).
Here for you, in more ways than one.
At MoneyPlus, we offer a range of services that help you to make the most of your finances and live better. Take a look below to see if you could benefit from one (or more) of our other offerings…
Debt solutions that suit your lifestyle.
If your personal circumstances have changed and you find yourself struggling to manage your finances, give MoneyPlus Advice a call on 0161 837 4000, or email us at info@moneyplus.com, and we’ll help you find the best solution to get your finances back on the right track.
An energy company you can trust. Finally.
We understand better than anyone how important it is to save money each month, that’s why we offer uncomplicated energy, transparent billing, and excellent service to our thousands of customers. Head to our website to get a quote today.
Helping you claim back what’s yours.
Many think PPI is a thing of the past, but it isn’t too late to claim. Even if you’ve already been paid out compensation for mis-sold PPI, or were rejected, we could help you.
We’re a fully regulated law firm acting for tens of thousands of people who are rightfully claiming back the money they’re owed from their PPI. Click here to start your PPI check today.
