Financial ABC - managing the household budget for youth threatened by financial exclusion

Scientific research shows that learning of economic habits is connected with socialisation.  It includes the absorption knowledge, concepts, skills, behaviours, opinions, attitudes, values and cognitive representations related to the world of the economy by a young person. During socialization, an individual develops the ability to cope in the world of economy. These skills are acquired during negotiations, using money, observing everyday consumer behaviour. Unfortunately, the pupils of orphanages and youth educational centres (Młodzieżowe Ośrodki Wychowawcze) often do not have the opportunity to learn good economic habits through observations of their closest friends and family (learning by modelling) or through skills training (the pupils of youth educational centres are taken care of by the centre on a closed basis). In the natural environment, children observe their parents in everyday situations, e.g. during shopping, household budget talks, planning expenses etc.  Orphanages and youth educational centres do not have similar tools to prepare children and young people to enter the world of finance. The authors of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK)  report from 2015 observed that children from orphanages after leaving the institution often have problems with the simplest tasks: shopping, reasonable money management, cooking, etc. The pupils of orphanages are also more exposed to homelessness, unemployment and conflict with the law. NIK established that in the years 2010-2011, every fourth person out of thousands of people whose cases were analysed used social assistance services. On the other hand, out of over 300 persons who reached the age of majority in 2012, every third person registered in the labour office and every sixth person resigned from trying to live independently, returning to an orphanage or to a foster family. On the basis of these studies, it can be concluded that the situation is similar to that of the young people from MOWs.  The above data show how important it is to provide effective and comprehensive assistance in empowering young people from orphanages and youth educational centres (MOW).

Therefore, the main objective of the project is to increase the level of knowledge of persons from youth educational centres (MOWs) and youngsters from orphanages about the management of the household budget. The goal will be achieved by organizing 20 workshops in the Mazowieckie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Podkarpackie Voivodships.  About 260 people will take part in the workshops (we plan 20 groups of 12-15 people each).

Sponsor: National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski)