Education Fund | Education Plan | Education Savings | Scholarship Fund | Saving For Education| Australian Scholarships Group. : Families Get Money Smart with Top Tips

Access to simple, straight-forward and concise financial information and advice can help Australians overcome the barriers to making sound financial decisions according to latest research from ASIC ^[1]. In a bid to help Australians develop their basic financial literacy, the Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) collaborated with expert financial writer Ms Justine Davies to deliver a simple, straight-forward and step-by-step guide to help Australian families establish good financial habits.

ASG's Planning Counts is a free, practical guide providing step-by-step tips, tools and information for Australian families on topics such as budgeting, planning for future goals, navigating government benefits, solutions for financial problems, investing, and many more.

ASG's General Manager Development, Ms Frida Kordovoulos reported that ASG's Members nominated financial literacy as one of the top issues they wanted to know more about.

"Financial decision for families is becoming more and more complex. More choices, competing goals, too much of the wrong kind of debt, and lack of planning being some of the main contributors," Ms Kordovoulos said.

"And while dealing with money can be overwhelming for many of us, research has shown that people are in fact relatively financially literate. There just seems to be a lack of simple and direct tools and information for families to help them practice what they know, and this is supported by the recent findings of the ASIC report.

"Most Australian families know the value of good financial health and want to develop their habits further so they achieve more with their money.

"Good financial health can help us afford lifestyle choices, plan ahead for big goals for the family such as holidays, a new car, home renovations and children's future education. It can also help us set aside money for those expenses that pop up unexpectedly from time to time.

"And that is what ASG's Planning Counts guide aims to do for families. ASG and Ms Davies focused on making this guide clear and simple without sacrificing any valuable information," Ms Kordovoulos said.

[1] ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission), Financial Literacy and Behavioural Change, March 2011.