Good Cents Course

Good Cents is a course for people who are sick of being broke and want to take control and make changes.

We know that money affects all areas of our lives – our personal wellbeing, our families and our participation in our communities.  We can feel isolated and ashamed when our finances are out of control. The course was designed by the people who came to Wesley House for help with food, and were experiencing hardship and high debt levels

We believe that each person is the expert in their life, and they are the best person to decide what is right for them. We don’t judge, and we know how to keep it real. Participants come together with other people in the same situation, learn new solutions, support each other and create a more hopeful future. It has been running for over ten years now, so we have refined what works to support people to make the changes that work for them. We won’t tell people what to do, and we don’t ask for any of their information, which is quite different to a traditional budgeting service. We believe that it is important to maanaki people – to look after them and host them well. We provide a really great morning tea to nurture the body and the mind.

The course is one two hour session a week for eight weeks. Each week participants learn a new money idea, take it away and try it to see how it works in their life. Then the next week, participants come together and share what worked and what they learnt. They have eight weeks to test and develop their own ideas about what changes will work for them, and discuss it with others.

There are courses every term at Wesley House in Canons Creek, condensed courses for youth through Partners Porirua, and we area working with other communities to share the model with them. We have just started working in Naenae and Kāpiti, in partnership with others.

People in the drivers seat

A few years ago, one of our Good Cents groups decided to make a video to share all that they had done and learnt together.

Global learning

We have been a part of the Human Learning Systems project - you can read our case study here and watch us on video.

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In the Te Hiko whānau: How is this contributing to growing better economic systems and adding value in our communities?

Good Cents was one of our first intentional steps to learn about growing better economic systems. It is part of the foundation of our work at Te Hiko to privilege local voice and co-design solutions to the issues people are experiencing.

A key part of Good Cents is acknowledging the expertise in the people experiencing financial stress. We believe, and have seen over and over again in Good Cents, that people who are in financial stress are able to make amazing changes in their life if they have space to connect with others, and make mind shifts in the way the see themselves. We have found the power of the group and the power of people finding their own power in that.