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When saving $50 a month brings stress: Low-income families need compassion, not charity
Financial aid for low-income families is welcomed, but programmes tackling the root of poverty must be guided by research findings and a deep understanding of the families’ lived experiences.
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Without savings, a small financial emergency or a poor financial decision could plunge a family into debt.
PHOTO: BT FILE
Cindy Ng
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A decade ago, I piloted a debt and savings programme to help families restructure their finances in a bid to help them break out of the poverty cycle.
The “how” was sufficiently simple – a matching fund to incentivise regular repayments – but what surprised me was how small differences in implementing the scheme could reap vastly different outcomes.
