Our latest research revealed that 85% of students are worried about money. Of that number, 54% of students say it negatively impacts their mental health, with a further 7/10 students reporting they feel isolated when it comes to financial worries during their time in higher education.
Talking about money can be difficult, especially against a troubling economic backdrop. But at times like these, keeping the dialogue about money open is most important. When conversations about money stop, there’s a risk that some students will retreat into isolation, left to struggle with their money problems alone.
Spend Stories
That’s why our latest playbook campaign Spend Stories – (previously Money Confessions) invites students to share their money stories and experiences, both good and bad, to our Instagram stories. This allows students an anonymous forum to share their financial experiences but also provides a place they can go to read other people’s experiences. Either way, Spend Stories allows students to share their experiences and seek solace in the fact that they aren’t alone.
Any student who submits a response will be entered into a prize draw to be in with the chance of winning £50.
When is it?
This year, Spend Stories 2024 runs in two instalments.
- 3-7 June
- 1-5 July
During these weeks, students will have the opportunity to submit a finance-related worry, experience or a tip – through our Instagram Story.
How do students get involved?
There will be a prize draw each week of the campaign, with one lucky winner picked at random to win £50!
The winner will be given the choice of being paid £50, or we will make a £50 donation in the winner’s name to a charity of their choice.
To enter the prize draw and have the chance to win £50, students must:
- Study at one of our partner universities or colleges
- Submit an entry on our Instagram stories during one of the Money Confessions weeks
- Have a Blackbullion account
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
How does it benefit students?
It’s easy to feel stressed or embarrassed when the topic of money comes up. Spend Stories will allow your students to participate and help to normalise having open and honest conversations about their spending.
Spend Stories provides students with a safe, non-judgemental space to share their experience with money and allows other students to see what their peers have been saying too. It’s also a good opportunity for staff to highlight resources and areas students can go to for help if they are struggling.
What can you do to promote it to your students?
This campaign is run through our Instagram page. All you need to do is direct students to our Instagram during the Spend Stories weeks, and also resharing our posts throughout June and July.
We’ve also created a campaign ‘cheat sheet’ for staff at our partner universities and colleges to download and use to let students know when Spend Stories is upcoming and encourage them to take part during the campaign weeks.
The cheat sheet includes email templates and social media posts for you to copy, paste and send. You can find it here.
Join the Blackbullion community
If you’re not yet a Blackbullion partner and want to be part of the community of over 75+ universities, colleges and businesses across the UK, get in touch for a chat.
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