| MONEY WEEK TO COME TO FERMANAGH – Week-long initiative planned to help consumers manage their money
Consumers of all ages in the Fermanagh area are set to benefit from ‘Money Week’ from 6 – 12 March 2010, a special week-long initiative designed to help people develop the skills and confidence to manage their money.
The plans were announced today by the Financial Capability Partnership, which is chaired by the Consumer Council and which is organising Money Week together with Fermanagh District Council. Events during the week will include seminars, workshops and presentations to help people budget effectively, save for a rainy day and discover where to get help with money worries.
Kicking off the week will be a special ‘Money Market’ event, where the educational bodies, advice agencies, banks, building societies and credit unions that make up the Financial Capability Partnership, will ‘set out their stall’ of information and resources produced to help consumers take control of their finances.
Antionette McKeown, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council said: ‘Northern Ireland has been found to have the lowest levels of financial capability in the UK. The Financial Capability Partnership, which is funded by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is trying to tackle this problem with targeted initiatives like Money Week.
“Studies have identified Fermanagh as one of the areas in Northern Ireland which suffers greatest levels of deprivation, and given the very difficult year it has been for consumers, we felt it was the perfect location for Money Week. We look forward to engaging directly with consumers in the area to offer them budgeting and money management support. We are grateful to Fermanagh District Council for showing such enthusiasm in hosting Money Week and look forward to working together in the months ahead”.
Frank Britton, Vice Chair of Fermanagh District Council, added: “This is a great opportunity for our constituents to receive face-to-face information and support from experts in managing money. It has been a very tough year for people in this area with extreme flooding followed by a bitterly cold winter and water shortages. These challenges have put extra strain on pockets which were already under considerable pressure due to the recession. We are very pleased to work with the Financial Capability Partnership and urge all our constituents to make the most of the opportunity and attend as many events during Money Week as possible”.
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