An event aiming to put money matters firmly on the tip of the tongue and get people talking was held in Arbroath last week, organised by the Angus Financial Inclusion Partnership.

Taking place as part of the Talk Money Week, the ‘What’s the Benefit’ event welcomed around 70 attendees, from a range of organisations including Hillcrest, Scottish Government, Scottish Social Security, Citizen’s Advice, the Angus Council Education Department and Angus Carer’s Centre.

With financial wellbeing consistently a hot topic, this event sought to improve services and referrals throughout the various partner organisations involved. By encouraging conversation around money, the aim was to focus on what organisations can do to get more people accessing free information that can help improve their financial situation. This includes debt advice, how to save regularly, educating more young people on money and budgeting, and getting fewer people dipping into credit schemes for everyday spending.

While financial wellbeing took the limelight, attendees also took part in three sessions, hearing from speakers on the topics of mental health, digitalisation and The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Joy Watson, tenant services manager for Hillcrest, said: “For many of our tenants, money issues can be a big thing. Having a range of financial challenges and responsibilities can cause a huge amount of stress, and many can feel that they are only sinking deeper into a hole. The aim of Talk Money Week is to bring these stresses and struggles out into the open, where people can get advice and support and take their first steps to improving their financial situation.”

Talk Money Week was a UK-wide initiative to improve money management across the UK and aims to get more people talking about money and accessing advice and support.