Right now, the cost of everything is rising and millions of people are feeling the financial squeeze. Having good digital skills is one thing that can help. It means people use the internet to shop around, compare prices, access benefits and information and take advantage of special offers.
In fact, saving money is rated as one of the top benefits of being online and the average person can save at least £228 per year.*
So we've pulled together some handy top tips to help you help beginners build their digital skills so they can save money:
- Start slowly. Start by taking time to understand what your learner really wants to do online and what they’re worried about. It’s important to help people feel comfortable with what they’re doing online before they actually do it, particularly if they’re going to buy something.
- Start small. Try and agree 2 or 3 small aims to achieve by the end of the session. Break the task down into distinct steps, however simple. It will help you and your learner feel like you’re making progress.
- Make it sound fun. Make your money-saving session sound engaging and personal. Give it an alternative spin. Rather than ‘help with budgeting’, think ‘how to save pennies that can turn into pounds’.
- Practice form-filling. Online forms aren’t always easy. Help your learner get to grips with drop down menus, entering dates the right way and moving from field to field with a practice form. Like this one: Practice webform for learners | Digital Unite
- Build confidence Ordering an online shop is a massive step for someone who has never done it before. Start by just putting things in their basket first. Or creating a shopping list. They can look around a supermarket’s website, comparing products, use it to manage a budget or even create a shopping list. Then when they understand it a little more, they’ll feel ready to place an order.
Encourage safe transactions. Remind your learner that using a credit card online is much safer than a debit card as they’ll be protected under the Consumer Credit Act if anything fraudulent happens.
- Go incognito. Help your learner to clear their browsing history and cookies to get less biased prices. If a website can see they have already been looking at certain products, they could find prices increase as it knows they’re keen on those particular items. Switching on Private Browsing in Internet Explorer means search history and local data isn't stored.
- Support safe surfing. If your learner wants to use an unfamiliar website, it's worth doing extra checks to make sure it's genuine. Check the website URL starts with https// or equivalent and look for the padlock. Search for independent reviews to see if anyone has had problems with it before. Spelling mistakes on a website are also a red flag that it could be fake.
- Strong passwords are a must. Show your learner how to create a strong password and emphasis their importance. Share top tips like avoid the obvious, go long, don’t use personal information and start with a memorable phrase or sentence. Our guide might help.
- Avert your eyes. Make sure you look away if a learner is entering a password, bank account details or other sensitive information. And never ask for or record a learner’s passwords - recommend they use a password manager or keep them in a special notebook.
For more top tips like this, head to our free guides on our website by clicking here. There are hundreds to choose from.
Or better still, turn your people into brilliant Digital Champions who can support your community with being online. Our Digital Champions Network can help. Go here to find out more about our award winning training.
*Lloyds Consumer Digital Index 2021