Tutor Handbook:
Total Money
Management
February 2013
Please read the following well before conducting an ongoing training session.
This module is designed to be interactive in nature, and should involve budgeting service
governance committee members as well as budgeting service personnel likely to be involved
in any step of TMM operations. The module is essential for all services considering the
provision of TMM to clients and for those currently providing TMM to clients.
Services offering TMM may have a greater understanding of many of the issues than you as
a tutor. Thus you will need to find out which category services attending this module fall in
to, and plan delivery accordingly. In a mixed group of services, it may be valuable to draw on
the experience of these services, to help other services. However, you as tutor must always
ensure that the views expressed are in line with NZFFBS policy, and correct any misleading
statements.
Tutors need not be experienced in TMM provision to deliver this module. As a tutor, you
must however make sure you are conversant with NZFFBS policy. National Office staff are
happy to provide support and guidance to tutors with regard to understanding TMM policy.
The initial background statement in the module is very important to come to grips with. It is
vital you read the supplementary information provided with this module well in advance of
delivery and check with National Office staff if you have any questions or doubt your
understanding of it.
If you become concerned about the way in which a budgeting service is managing TMM,
adopt the following procedure:
1. Speak with the District Representative after the module has been completed and
alert him/her of your concerns.
2. If you do not feel comfortable speaking with the DR, contact the Chief Executive
Officer at National Office.
In both situations, make notes of your concerns.
Good preparation is essential in this module. Please read the preparation section carefully
and ensure you have familiarised yourself with all relevant documents well in advance of
conducting the session. Careful studying of the Supplementary Information and
Background Reading paper included with this module should ensure you have the
information required to answers participants’ questions in line with NZFFBS policy.
There is a lot to cover in the module and it is very easy for the group to become distracted
by topics of little relevance causing discussions to go off subject. This needs to be managed
carefully so that all of the material is covered in the time allowed.
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Pre-requisites
and/or
NZFFBS Certificate of Competency as a Budget Adviser
Member of NZFFBS affiliated budgeting service governance
committee.
Note: There may be occasions when a person attends this training
before they have become a certificated adviser. This is due to the
sporadic availability of the training and the NZFFBS policy that all key
personnel involved in TMM operations must attend this training. As a
result of these two points an employee of a TMM budgeting service
may attend this training prior to their BAIC training. The same applies
to advisers connected to Transitional services who intend to offer
TMM.
Time
3 hours
Preparation
It is critical that the tutor determines the status of the budgeting
service prior to training. Does the budgeting service(s) currently
employ TMM or are they considering employing it?
Prior to the session as part of your preparation you should request
copies of the service's TMM policy and procedure. These should be
photocopied for each participant (either by you or by the service) so
that everyone has their own copy. Your delivery of the module should
then centre around the service's own policy and procedure and how
these align with NZFFBS standards. This will make the workshop more
valuable for the participants.
It is also essential that you have read and fully understand the TMM
Minimum Standards as adopted at the NZFFBS AGM in November
2012. A copy of these is included with this module (Handout #1).
If you are at all unsure about how a TMM service operates and what
the minimum standards are you should consult the Training
Manager or one of the tutors experienced in the delivery of TMM
(Don and Shirley both run very large and successful TMM services)
Prepare Ice Breaker puzzles
Photocopy handouts
Ensure access to PowerPoint or overhead transparencies
Consider groupings - experienced people all together or mixed up?
Handouts
1. TMM Minimum Standards (November 2012)
2. Service’s TMM Policy and Procedure (including their assessment
plan, contract and education plan)
3. Case study scenarios
4. Budget worksheet for case study
5. Questions to consider
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Welcome and housekeeping
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thank advisers for coming.
Ask trainees to complete T2 sign in sheet.
Prayer / karakia if applicable.
Quick intro – name and service.
Explain emergency exits and procedures for premises.
Toilets, breaks, course rules etc.
Icebreaker
Devise your own icebreaker or use the method below.
Broken Dollar Puzzle
Prior to delivery, photocopy the puzzle onto coloured card - bright colours work best with
yellow being the most effective - and cut out the pieces. You will need one set for each
group of 3-4 people. Before handing out the puzzle pieces remove one of them from each
set.
Alternatively blow up a twenty dollar note and turn that into a Jigsaw puzzle, then remove
one of the pieces.
Display PowerPoint #2 / OHT #1
Say: In your groups I would like you to complete this puzzle.
Allow a couple of minutes - or wait until someone says "it's impossible there's a piece
missing"
Then say: For some of the clients we work with this is what budgeting is like - no matter
what we do as advisers, it just doesn't make sense because, for them, there is a piece
missing. That piece could be any number of things but it prevents them from easily learning
the skills they need to manage their own money effectively. These clients need a much
greater level of help and support. Sometimes that missing piece will be Total money
Management and that is the subject of today's training - how we supply the missing piece
for our most vulnerable clients while still ensuring we give them the respect, dignity and
control they are entitled to.
Timing mark: 10 minutes
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Objectives
Say: We're going to start by asking what it is you want to achieve out of today's session?
Record the responses onto flip chart paper and put onto the wall for later reference.
If anything comes up during this exercise which is not part of the module mention that we
may not have time to cover everything but will try to get it all achieved in the time
allowed.
Display PowerPoint #3 / OHT #2
Say: This module is designed as an interactive workshop for members of your budgeting
service so you can be confident about the TMM policy and implications for procedures in
employing TMM in your own service. If your service does not currently offer TMM this
module should help you decide if it is a good idea, show what you need to do to implement
it, and, if you decide not to set up your own TMM operation, what your clients can expect if
you refer them to another service for TMM.
We will:
 Look at what Total Money Management is and review your policy against the
minimum standards.
 Identify those clients who may benefit from it.
 Identify potential pitfalls.
 Work with you to determine whether your service should be using TMM or ensure
that your service considers it has safe practices and procedures in place for the use
of TMM.
Timing mark: 15 minutes
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Objective one: The definition and meaning of
TMM and development of policy
Say: Although there are only a small number of Total Money Management services around
the country, over the years these services have accounted for a disproportionate number of
the complaints received at National Office. It is for this reason that minimum standards have
been developed and continue to be reviewed regularly.
Total Money Management is a very intensive form of budgeting that has the potential to do
serious harm to clients, if misused. For this reason the New Zealand Federation of Family
Budgeting Services believes it needs to be a highly controlled activity.
This module is based on the standards adopted at the 2012 AGM which recognised there
are different kinds of TMM clients and that some of these clients may need a different
approach to others.
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Ask them to discuss in their groups the question "What is Total
Money Management?" Have them record their thoughts on the flip chart to report back to
the class. Allow five minutes for the group discussion and five minutes for feedback.
Feedback for this exercise should include:

It is a service offered to clients that are temporarily or permanently unable to
manage their own finances.

It is a transparent system by which an adviser can manage the financial affairs of
a client subject to some terms agreed to by the client and the adviser.

It allows the adviser to operate an account for the client into which their money
is deposited and from which their expenses are paid in accordance with a
budget agreed between the client and the adviser.

It is a way of ensuring that the client’s bills are paid by the adviser from the
client’s income and that the client has access only to an agreed amount of
spending money for their own use.
It is also called Custodial Management because the adviser effectively has custody
(guardianship) of the client’s funds and releases them only according to the agreed
budget or to meet the urgent needs (not the ‘wants’) of the client
Display PowerPoint #4 /OHT #3
Review as follows: TMM is a service offered to clients by some budgeting services that are
equipped to deal with their special needs. Typically, clients have displayed an inability to
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manage their finances and need to surrender most of the control of their affairs to an
adviser who can operate an account on their behalf.
The NZFFBS standards for TMM define it simply as: “That type of budgeting assistance
where the client assigns all or part of their income to the budgeting service which manages
the account according to the agreed budget”.
Timing mark: 25 minutes
Ask: How does Total Money Management work?
Record the responses on the whiteboard. Ensure that each person contributes and
encourage the class to comment on each other's suggestions.
Expect answers covering the fact that budget services will receive all or part of the client's
income; this will be banked into an account from which the client’s bills will be paid. The
adviser will have negotiated with the client's creditors and will ensure payments are
made to those and any other relevant third parties based on the client's needs and
priorities.
Ensure the following is covered:





The adviser and client have signed a general agreement or contract to begin
TMM, based on an assessment by the service of the client’s need for TMM,
The adviser and client must have signed a Budgeting Agreement and the adviser
must be confident that the client understands the commitments in this contract,
The adviser and the client agree on a specific budget to follow,
The adviser has a transparent system of management for the client’s accounts
with safeguards to prevent unauthorised use of the client’s funds, and
The adviser continues to educate and empower the client as far as possible using
the written and agreed upon education plan.
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Ask them to discuss in their groups the question "Who needs Total
Money Management?" and come up with descriptions of some typical Total Money
Management clients. Ask them also to consider the reasons they feel each type of client
needs TMM. Have them record their thoughts on the flip chart to report back to the class.
Allow 10 minutes for group discussion and 10 minutes for feedback.
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Feedback from this exercise should include people with:

Physical disabilities

Mental Health disorders

Age related problems

Emotional conditions

Addictions

Learning disabilities

A lack of personal responsibility
Physical conditions can include:

Paralysis to a degree that makes conducting normal banking impractical.

Illness requiring extensive treatment or medication that renders the client
incapable of dealing with the details of their affairs.

Brain injury

Other serious long term or short term illness that may require hospitalisation or
similar care.
Mental Health disorders can include:
 Severe mental health conditions e.g. depression, schizophrenia, psychosis,
depression, bi-polar disorder
 Mild to moderate mental health conditions due to physical illness or injury.
 Depression. Depression may manifest itself through changes in the emotional state
of the client and may accompany other physical or mental conditions.
Age related problems can include:
 Deafness (especially in the aged) to a degree that prevents them from making
common financial transactions with confidence
 Blindness (especially in the aged) to a degree that prevents them from making
common financial transactions with confidence.
 Alzheimer ’s disease or confusion in the elderly that prevents clients from managing
their money reliably.
 Elder abuse whereby a family member or friend is taking advantage of an elderly
person’s vulnerability to extort money from them.
Emotional conditions can include:

Developmental delay (often from birth.)

Anger or violence.

Stress. The client can be under extraordinary levels of stress that prevents them
from making rational judgements or comprehensive plans.

Lack of experience

Temporary inability to cope - could be caused by trauma, loss of partner, loss of
job, or other life altering events
Addictions can include:

Drugs

Alcohol

Gambling

Compulsive spending
Learning disability can include:
 Lack of literacy
 Lack of numeracy
 Recent immigrants for whom the New Zealand financial system is a mystery
A lack of personal responsibility
 Individuals may not be willing to undertake personal responsibility for their situation
and prefer someone else to manage their affairs for them
 Some people who are grossly overcommitted find Total Money Management useful
while they dig themselves out of their self created hole
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It is important to discuss these fully and allow for some dissension as there may be
participants who feel each of these groups has the capacity to manage their own money
effectively. Stress that within each group there may be some who can manage their own
money just fine while others may benefit from TMM. It may be useful to stress that TMM
can be used as an effective educational tool as part of a programme towards the client
becoming self sufficient.
It is important that if the group brings up "people with lots of debt" and "people without
enough money" as responses you encourage then to consider ways these clients could be
helped without TMM. For example by the use of a structured debt payment plan and a
series of Automatic Payments; by stricter controls on their own bank accounts; or by an
intensive process of education involving the client and adviser meeting 2-3 times a week
initially until new skills and habits are learnt.
Ask: What about clients who have caregivers?
Encourage a full class discussion of how this might work and what needs to be considered if
a caregiver is involved in a client case. Ensure the following is covered:

Some clients that might normally have their affairs administered by a spouse or
relative, may seek help from TMM budgeting services when they have no such kin
or carers to help them. This may occur with aged or widowed clients.

In other cases, clients are supported by caregivers or relatives who look after their
other special needs, but who are not able to take on management of their financial
affairs as well.

Caregivers are not always immediate or extended family members. Caregivers may
be mental health professionals, gambling or drug addiction counsellors, hospital or
other social workers etc.

Consequently the adviser may sometimes have to deal with a second party – the
caregiver. This requires the adviser to take more care with their communication.
They have to ensure that caregivers also receive as much information about the
client’s finances as the client agrees that they should receive. This may mean
repeating things to the caregiver - or it may mean taking care not to do this. It all
depends on what the terms of the agreement between the client and the adviser
are.

The client may set limits on what caregivers can know about their finances. The
client may also delegate some authority over their expenditure to their caregiver.
This should be clearly understood at the start by all three parties and should be
included in the terms of the TMM agreement signed by adviser and client.

Advisers must remember that they are the agents of the client – not the agents of
the caregiver. The client’s right to privacy must be protected and confidentiality
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must be maintained. The client (unless they are a ward of someone else) retains
ultimate rights to exercise their own judgement – even if faulty.
Say: The Total Money Management standards adopted in 2012 separated clients into two
groups - Standard and Custodial.
Ask: Of the groups identified in the last exercise which ones would fit into the standard
category? Which ones are more likely to fit into the Custodial category?
Record answers on the whiteboard under the headings Standard and Custodial and discuss.
Ensure the discussion conveys the following:
Standard clients are those for whom education is an integral part of the ongoing
budgeting process and for whom the expectation is that they will be on TMM for a
short time only. Examples might include:
 Physical disabilities (particularly if temporary in nature)
 Mental Health disorders of a temporary nature such as untreated psychosis or
depression
 Emotional conditions of a temporary nature such as stress, anger or violence
 Addictions for which the client is undergoing treatment
 Learning disabilities which can be managed with more intensive education
 Lack of personal responsibility which can be dealt with through education
Custodial clients are those for whom education is probably not possible or practicable.
Examples may include:
 Elderly patients with Alzheimer's or Dementia
 Mental Health disorders of a permanent nature which cannot be controlled by
medication
 Physical conditions of a permanent nature which result in severe limits on
functionality of the client
Important Note: Custodial cases should include as much of an educational component
as is possible. Although these clients may have limited ability to learn the required
skills they must be given every opportunity to gain experience and confidence in
financial matters.
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Ask: How can Total Money Management benefit the client's family?
Ensure the following is covered:
Record answers on the whiteboard and discuss the reasons why these are positives for the
 It gives them a sense of security as the budget is a shared responsibility
family.
between their family member and the budget adviser
 The family gain knowledge of affairs which the client may have kept secret
 Mitigation of the damage done to the family as a result of the spending by the
client
 More chance of children being properly cared for as their financial needs are
met in the agreed budget
 Less stress (and potentially less domestic violence) as a result of financial affairs
being managed for the benefit of the entire family
Timing mark: 55 minutes
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Objective two: Operation of TMM cases within
the framework of the NZFFBS Standards
Distribute the Total Money Management Minimum Standards (November 2012) handout.
Ensure the group is referring to these standards during the following exercises.
Display PowerPoint #5 / OHT #4
Say: The NZFFBS developed national standards for all TMM budgeting services in 2002.
These were reviewed and updated in November 2012. These standards define the minimum
procedures and precautions that should be followed by services when they devise their own
comprehensive policy for handling TMM cases.
It is not the responsibility of the NZFFBS to develop the detailed policies and procedures for
each service. Every TMM service has unique needs and peculiarities that demand that it
develop its own policies and procedures – but these must conform to the NZFFBS TMM
standards.
The NZFFBS standards cover four areas:
1. Setting up TMM - the need for each service to write its own TMM policy and
procedures and to ensure that all staff and governance members are adequately
informed and trained in the area of Total Money Management.
2. Operating TMM – Every client is assigned to a certificated and TMM trained adviser,
there are controls over how money is handled for the client by the adviser, no
charge is made for the service.
3. Implementing TMM - ensuring that the client is in need of TMM, that he or she is an
informed and willing participant in the process, and that education is an integral part
of the process for all standard cases.
4. Monitoring TMM - Supervision of the adviser’s management of the client is
conducted regularly by a co-ordinator, regular auditing of the services operation by a
suitably qualified person and ensuring that the TMM policy and operation of the
service can be checked by the NZFFBS
Underpinning the standards are some basic principles that should be known to services
before they devise their own policies. These principles follow on from each other and they
are designed to minimise the risks faced by services, and in doing so, to deliver quality
service to clients. This is the main focus of this module.
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Display PowerPoint #6 / OHT #5
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Ensure they all have copies of their own service policy and
procedures. Allocate each group one of the standards (if fewer than four groups then give
one group an extra standard - ideally this will be the group with the service coordinator and
or chairperson in it). Ask them to compare their own operation to the standard and answer
the questions on the slide/OHT. Have them record their answers and thoughts on the flip
chart to report back to the class. Allow 10 minutes for group discussion and 10 minutes for
feedback.

What is the reason for this standard?

What needs to be done to comply with this standard?

What does our service need to put into place to achieve this standard? eg
personnel (training needs), time (time for each client each week), resources
etc.
If risks are mentioned during the feedback of this exercise record them on the
whiteboard to be used in the next exercise.
Display PowerPoint #7 / OHT #6
Remind participants of the Code of Ethics by saying:
Remember that the NZFFBS Code of Ethics also applies – particularly Clauses 1, 3 and 4.
Clause 1 reminds us to respect for the client’s rights and independence, something that can
be forgotten as we take over the management of their affairs.
Clause 3 protects the client’s confidentiality, something that can be forgotten in our
dealings with caregivers.
Clause 4 requires us to be accountable, something that is very important in situations where
advisers control so much of the client’s affairs.
Timing mark: 1 hour 30 minutes
Coffee Break - Ensure everyone knows to be back on time
Facilitator Notes:
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Objective three: Managing Total Money
Management cases
Ask the group about the risks involved with TMM cases. Record these on the whiteboard.
It is important during this exercise to use the group's experience and feedback. Some of the
risks which may be identified are:






Work and Income and other agencies want every one of their clients to be on TMM
People hear about TMM and won't come to budgeting because they think you will
take their money
People become dependent on TMM and don’t use any financial skills they do have
The TMM service becomes the default bank for people who can't get an account of
their own due to criminal or insolvent histories
Advisers stop teaching people to manage their own money and just put everyone
on TMM
Staff may be tempted by the client's money and commit fraud or embezzlement
This is not a comprehensive list and the people who are involved in TMM operations should
come up with more.
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Allocate each group 2-3 of the risks from the whiteboard and ask
them to come up with strategies for dealing with them. Have them record their answers and
thoughts on the flip chart to report back to the class.
There are no right or wrong answers for this exercise. The important thing is that
participants consider the risk and formulate a meaningful strategy to reduce or eliminate
that risk.
Timing mark: 2 hours
Say: We are now going to look at some case studies and consider whether Total Money
Management is an appropriate strategy for each of them.
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Hand out the case study scenarios (Handout #3) and ask the group
to consider each of the situations and answers the questions. Have them record their
answers and thoughts on the flip chart to report back to the class.
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There are no right or wrong answers to these questions - the important thing is for
participants to carefully consider the reasons why TMM may be appropriate for a particular
client and whether they may be other alternatives.
Case study #1:
Mercedes is a single mum in her mid twenties for whom a budget worksheet is attached.
Mercedes has approached the Wildwest BAS and asked them for TMM as she has heard
that ‘youse take over everything and fix it all up’. The children, both daughters, are 6 and 1
though Mercedes only has custody of the older one. While there is plenty of seasonal berry
picking available for the summer months Mercedes prefers not to seek this. She has
recently filed a NAP disposing of $14,500 worth of unsecured debt but owes Easyas
Household $4300 on furniture and ShopwithMe $1992 for clothing and kitchenware. Her
rent is two weeks behind and electricity $230 overdue.
1. Should/could WWBAS offer Mercedes TMM? Why or why not?
2. What conditions might WWBAS place upon a provisional offer of TMM?
3. What might/should the WWBAS policy say about accepting/not accepting clients
into the TMM programme.
The following should be considered as part of the responses from the group:
1. They should not as she has a deficit budget.
2. That TMM will be provided as long as Mercedes obtains sufficient reliable income to
create a workable budget and is willing to work with WWBAS not merely hand over
her problems and abdicate responsibility.
3. It should stipulate a workable budget and cash-flow as a pre-requisite along with a
clause relating to withdrawal should agreement (109) be broken
Case study #2:
Elspeth has long standing mental health problems and has been a TMM client for nine
years as has her husband from whom she has separated six times over those years. She is
currently living alone in a near new Limestone Trust flat which costs $145 a week (power
and phone included). The rent is paid by an attachment on her benefit leaving $192 per
week coming to her TMM account.
Elspeth is a chronic smoker who spends a lot of time wandering the streets collecting butts
for when she runs out and knocks on the doors of strangers seeking money and food.
Each week she comes to the budget office and is given a cheque for $90 made out to a
local supermarket and $75 for personal cash (all of which is spent on smokes). A caregiver
then takes her grocery shopping. Once a month a $20 cheque is made out for a bus pass
and an extra $30 offered (though not always taken) for a grocery top up.
Elspeth has never indicated a desire to manage her own affairs and support folk (especially
those in the mental health arena) are particularly anxious that she remain with TMM. She
is not yet 60 and is in the process of divorcing the ex husband who is some years younger
and has found a new girlfriend.
1. Is TMM appropriate for this client?
2. What are the risks involved in continuing to offer TMM to Elspeth?
3. Is there an alternative way for Elspeth to mange her affairs that does not involve
TMM?
The following should be considered as part of the responses from the group:
 TMM may be causing dependence in this client
 Are attempts being made to educate Elspeth
 Could Elspeth's caregivers take more of a role in managing her money.
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Management
Marchwho
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Is there
any other -family
may be able to be involved
 How much education is Elspeth capable of absorbing
Case study #3:
Fred approached the Toptown BAS seeking ‘someone to look after me money’. Fred, who
was 71 when he presented to TBAS had been widowed some four years previously and,
through loneliness had turned to gambling. He had always had something of a predilection
for horses and quite fancied himself as a judge of form but this had evolved into daily trips
to the pokie machines until the pension ran out. Fred was not atypical of elderly clients
whose partner had controlled the finances. “Oh we had our rows,” he offered, “but Sylv
knew best and kept us well.”
Fred’s expressed hope was that TBAS would ‘take over’ give him his grocery money in a
form that meant it had to be spent only on groceries, see to his rent, power and phone,
make sure the doctor’s bills were paid, save a little ‘for clothes and that’, give him a non
negotiable amount of spending money and make sure there was enough each year for ‘a
good blowout at Trentham’.
As he lived in a Council flat rent was just $140 a fortnight, power averaged $130 a month
and with all items taken care of there was a surplus of $36 per fortnight (Trentham money).
Unfortunately rent was almost $1,000 in arrears thanks to a lackadaisical management style
at TopTown District Council and electricity a month behind. Otherwise no debts. Fred
appeared to have a good wardrobe and took care of his appearance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
TBAS have offered Fred TMM. Why or why not?
What goals could have been worthwhile for Fred whilst under TMM?
What policy ramifications are there for cases such as these?
What other support might TBAS offer or see that was in place for Fred?
The following should be considered as part of the responses from the group:
 There is a risk of dependence developing in this client
 Fred is unlikely to seek addiction counselling and so the budgeting service could be
enabling his gambling addiction by putting him on TMM
 The budgeting service does not want to gain a reputation of being a soft touch for
those who do not wish to take personal responsibility for their finances
Case study #4:
Darren is a client with a head injury who has debts as the result of an inability to cope while
he was unwell, and an ex partner who abused his generosity. He panics if anything is
different to normal. His budget is able to be balanced and the debts can be repaid in full
over a two year period. His finances are reasonably simple however his family are
concerned about how he is managing and would like him to go on TMM.
1. Is TMM appropriate for this client?
2. What are the risks involved in continuing to offer TMM to Darren?
3. Are there alternative ways for Darren to mange his affairs that do not involve TMM?
The following should be considered as part of the responses from the group:
 There is no real need for Darren to have TMM
 He could be at risk of developing dependency and learning to rely on others
 Darren's debts could be managed using a Summary Instalment order or negotiated
debt payment plan using automatic payments
 Darren's family could involve themselves more in the running of his finances if there
is evidence of his not being able to cope
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Case study #5:
Deidre had been on TMM for several years during which time her situation had changed
several times (breakup of a relationship, lost her job, had a car accident and had to
replace her car). During that time the budgeting service had paid off all her debts and
helped her save. She had a holiday in Australia. Once everything was on an even keel
and savings were happening she lacked the confidence to manage on her own.
At her review the budgeting service talked about a managed process over 6 months to
make sure she was coping well before taking her off all together.
They got her to set up one AP and let it run for 2 months, then another 2 APs for the
next two months. They changed all payments to her then and monitored it for the next
2 months.
She then stayed on the service's books for 2 more months to make sure everything was
running okay before closing her off as a client.
1. Is this an appropriate strategy for dealing with this client?
2. How would you handle the situation?
Case study #6
Russell is an alcoholic who has been on TMM for ten years. Twice the budgeting service
have managed to save large sums of money for him which he has used to pay lump
sums off his mortgage. They have talked to him about giving him extra money but he
says that he is managing on what he gets and if they give him more he will spend it on
alcohol. He acknowledges that if he goes off TMM he would spend his money on alcohol
and get back into a situation of not paying bills and running up debt. As long as he is on
TMM he does not spend money on alcohol.
1. Is this an appropriate strategy for dealing with this client?
2. How would you handle the situation?
3. What needs to be considered regarding this client continuing with TMM?
If timing is tight you will need to allocate some case studies to each of the groups rather
than have everyone attempt them all. One way to do this would be to have groups start on
different problems or give them alternate numbers. Each group should ideally work through
at least 3 of the case studies.
If you have extra time or would like to run this exercise differently, you can use optional
handout #6 and ask groups to determine which category they think each client belongs in
and give their reasons.
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Optional exercise:
Determine which column you believe each case study belongs in:
Not TMM
Standard TMM
Custodial TMM
Mercedes
Elspeth
Fred
Darren
Deidre
Russell
There are no right or wrong answers to this exercise however it should be quite clear that
with Mercedes TMM is not an option until the budget is balanced. This point must be
emphasised as some clients and referring agencies believe TMM is the solution to a budget
which cannot be balanced and this opens the adviser and the service up to liability issues and
a great deal of extra stress.
Timing mark: 2 hours 40 minutes
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Objective four: Next steps – to TMM or not to
TMM?
Say: The next part of this session asks you to consider your own operation of Total Money
Management in the context of what you have learned today and decide if it is something
you wish to continue with and if there are any changes you feel may need to be made.
Display PowerPoint #8 /OHT #7
Say: Delivering Total Money Management means being held to a high level of
accountability. There are things which must be done at certain times and to a certain
standard. Everyone involved with the TMM operation needs to know what all the processes
are and what is involved at every step of that process. Each step needs to be carefully
documented including who is responsible, time limits and risk factors.
Small group activity: Divide class into groups of three or four. Give each group flip chart
paper and marker pens. Give Handout #4 - questions to consider and have the groups
answer them. (Depending on your class this may devolve into a full group discussion and
this is to be encouraged.) Have them record their answers and thoughts on the flip chart.
Allow 10 minutes for discussion. If there is time you can review this in class, if not tell the
group it is important to take these thoughts back to the next governance meeting for a full
review of their TMM position.
Questions to consider:

What is the demand for TMM in our area?

What capacity does our budgeting service have to meet this need?

Should we be offering this service? How will we develop procedures in line with
the NZFFBS policies and minimum standards?

Do we need to limit the number of clients who will be offered TMM?

What do we need to have in place to ensure that TMM provision will be both safe
and effective? (e.g. personnel, training needs, physical resources – interview
rooms, computers, support for staff, safeguards, auditing processes etc)

What processes will the service put in place for
1. Assessment of client suitability for TMM?
2. Review of client cases?
3. Education of clients to become self sufficient in handling finances?

What monitoring and review process will be established for all of the above?
 How will we differentiate between Standard and Custodial Cases?
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Conclusion:
Say: We have now come to the end of the session and I would like to check you are all
happy you have achieved what you wanted to.
Refer back to the flip chart from the start of the session and tick everything off as
completed. If anything has not been covered go over that now.
Ask each of the participants to share with the rest of the class one thing they have learned
as a result of today's session then ask if anyone is going to change anything in the way they
operate TMM as a result of the session.
Any final questions?
Thank the trainees for attending the course.
Ask them to complete the evaluation forms before leaving (T7).
It is important that all flip chart papers which have been produced during the module are
collected up and given to the service manager or chairperson so they can be used to
inform any future discussions at management or governance level.
Tutor to complete T8OT.
Forward T2, T7 and T8OT to Training Manager.
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