How the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide is helping people facing financial insecurity

Four years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and two years since the cost-of-living crisis began, levels of food insecurity and the need for charitable food aid remain high. Over 7 million adults (nearly 14% of households) in the UK experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in June 2024, and emergency food aid parcel distribution figures remain at record highs. 

As part of its commitment to a ‘cash first’ approach to tackling food insecurity, the Scottish Government has provided funding for the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) to co-develop and disseminate locally tailored ‘Worrying About Money?’ guides for individual local authorities in collaboration with local partners. The step-by-step guides help people, as well as support workers, identify sources of local advice and support that provide immediate financial support options and help to maximise income over the longer term. So far, IFAN has published 34 ‘Worrying About Money?’ leaflets covering 31 local authorities in Scotland . The resources are also offered as interactive versions, A3 and A4 posters, easy read, translated, audio and BSL formats.

In this post, we share some of the findings from a recent study commissioned by IFAN, thanks to funding from Scottish Government, which was conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). The study explores experiences of using the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide among people in Scotland facing financial insecurity. 

Reasons for needing financial support 

The people who took part in this study described their reasons for needing financial advice and support. Those drivers included: to meet their everyday costs, bill arrears or debt repayments – or to cope with large and unexpected expenses such as household repairs or needing to replace broken white goods. Some needed advice due to changes in their personal circumstances (e.g., an illness, or the birth of a baby) while, for others, changes to social security payments were causing stress and anxiety.

“I’m just waiting on the migration letter coming out, so my anxiety levels have been away through the roof, and I am like, ‘Am I going to cope? Am I going to be able to pay my bills? Am I going to be able to get food in?” (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

Using the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide

The ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide has three steps: Step 1: What’s the problem?; Step 2: What are some options; and Step 3: Where can I get help? The steps helped people quickly and easily navigate to the information they needed. 

“Sometimes you get a leaflet, or you look at a web page and there’s just so much information crammed on there without a clear way of how to get through it. Whereas this is all nicely laid out in steps.”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

“It was handy, definitely straightforward. There was no faffing about looking for numbers or where to look. It told you option 1 or option 2.  It was the most easiest leaflet I’ve seen actually.”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

Having information presented in one resource, rather than spread across multiple sources, helped to minimise the physical, mental and emotional energy needed to seek support, something that was particularly important for people who were already stressed and anxious because of money worries. 

The ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide lists potential worries (e.g., ‘I suddenly have no money’, ‘I have been sanctioned’, or ‘My money doesn’t stretch far enough’). These options resonated with people and represented the sorts of money worries they were experiencing. 

“I started at the second page where it’s talking about suddenly having no money […] actually it was quite reassuring to see the advice about the crisis and stuff like that because that was already in my head those things.”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

While some people could use the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide without help, others needed support due to difficulties reading the guide (for example, due to a visual impairment or a learning difficulty), or difficulties making phone calls or using the internet. Family members, a social worker, and staff from trusted local community support groups had provided vital and valuable support to access the guide.

Getting financial support

Some people had been successful in accessing cash support through the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide and some had received in-kind support (e.g., fuel vouchers or home repairs). 

“I just saw the leaflet and I rang to see if I was qualified, because I thought I wasn’t entitled. And [the call handler] goes, ‘No, you are entitled’ […] I mean, if I didn’t pick up this leaflet, I would have missed out on this extra [money].”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

“I rang them up and I got help with a fuel voucher that they sent out by text message to me […] and I actually had a home visit from them at the start of this year to see if there was extra help and support that they could give me. So, I’ve got an advisor now that is sort of allocated to myself.”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)

Improving the ‘Worrying About Money?’ guide

Suggestions for improvement included the addition of more neighbourhood-level sources of support. Some people had already maximised their income but were still struggling and unsure about their other options. Budgeting advice was suggested as something that may help.

“This is my maximum income. It’s not enough but it is my maximum income. So maybe be a bit more aware of the fact that it’s not about always necessarily maximising your income but maximising what your income is, so making it go further.”  (‘Worrying About Money?’ guide user)  

People stressed the importance of raising awareness of the guide by promoting it in places where people experiencing financial difficulties were likely to visit such as local authority offices, job centres, community centres, and food banks.  

IFAN will use this study’s findings to improve the content and accessibility of the ‘Worrying About Money?’.

ScotCen's report on the 'Worrying About Money?' guide in Scotland was published in November 2024. 

Further reading

Food Foundation, Food Insecurity Tracker

Independent Food Aid Network (2024), IFAN Survey February 2024

Scottish Government, Poverty and social justice: Tackling food insecurity

Scottish Government (2023), Cash-First – towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland