Free managing your money workshops from local mental health charity

Local mental health charity, Leeds Mind, is offering free ‘financial wellbeing’ workshops, to help people manage their money and their mental health.

Through its programme, Money in Mind, the charity offers a range of sessions covering everything from budgeting, increasing income, using technology to manage finances, regaining control over spending habits and more.

The workshops were developed in response to the Cost of Living crisis, with the charity experiencing an increase in demand for support around financial difficulties and debt. Research from Mind found thatalmost half of people experienced a decline in their mental health due to the crisis.

Jacob Day, Senior Money and Mental Health Coach for Leeds Mind, said: “We know that money and mental health are closely linked. Mental health difficulties can make managing your money harder, and financial difficulties can impact your mental wellbeing.

“With the Cost of Living continuing to impact our day-to-day lives, we wanted to give people the tools and skills they need to stay in control of their finances, and make managing money as easy and stress-free as possible.”

The charity sees stigma as a major obstacle for people seeking support, saying that people often approach them with a sense of ‘shame’, or feeling as though being stressed about money is just an unavoidable fact of life.

Jacob added: “We get all sorts of people seeking support, whether their difficulty stems from low income, benefit cuts or high earners who find it difficult to control impulsive or therapeutic spending.

“I’d really urge everyone to seek support if money is having an impact on your mental health. We’re not taught this stuff in school, but it can have a profound impact on our quality of life. While it’s OK to not be OK, that doesn’t mean you have to suffer in silence.”

The in-person workshops will be held in Kirkstall, Leeds, while the online workshops will make the free support accessible to people from across Leeds. Additional Money in Mind workshops with Better Leeds Communities are in a location TBC.

Dates run throughout October, November and December. Full details can be found on the Money in Mind web page, by calling 0113 305 5800 or by emailing [email protected]

The workshops are free to sign up to and attend.