Marie Boosts Her Self-Esteem Leaving Her Financially Better Off

The Better off Finance Programme came into Marie’s life, just when she needed it- not only improving her budget but, heightening her confidence to match. 

Struggling with the prospect of several years out of work, Marie's self esteem was interfering with getting back into employment. After previously leaving education with less qualifications than hoped, the only barrier stopping her from retaking these subjects- was herself.

Taking the first positive step, she enrolled on the Better Off Finance Programme after advice to attend from the Citizens Advice. Being able to access this kind of support, she began to enjoy the prospect of starting more courses and reaped the benefits out of each session. Marie completed My Turn And WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Planning) courses, beaming with knowledge and future prospects.

It was fear and confidence that she soon realised was holding her back from taking the necessary first steps towards moving into employment. The prospect of new people and new surroundings would overwhelm Marie, preventing the ambition to feel comfortable in new employment. However, attending programmes was the spring board to meet like minded individuals, potentially struggling with the same fears and troubles.

These programmes became a confidence enhancer, making find her voice and her feet in group settings and new people. In her own words being a woman who didn’t know how to discuss her opinions, embarked in new conversations feeling content and safe to do so.

'Managing me' run by the Next Chapter course, opened Marie’s awareness into herself, and the platform to then set goals and strategies to help manage anxiety. Taking volunteering on twice a week at a food bank and charity shop, she gained tremendous confidence in feeling safe around others, and her skill set continued to grow. 

Taking the small successful steps to slowly gain the confidence and esteem to now be enrolled in study and gain the qualifications that Maria aspires to have. In the mean time accessing support to write a CV and confidently looking for employment.

"Having someone supporting and encouraging me left me feeling like I was able to do things for myself."

About us: 

Better Off Finance is offering residents of the Liverpool City Region who are currently unemployed (although don't have to be claiming benefits), a bespoke programme of support. This support will be provided at a local community venue or at home if a participant prefers.

Each participant will be linked up with their own key worker who will support them to:

           Improve their financial capability through 1-2-1 support and group work

·         Access employability sessions within the programme
·         Access a Level 2 Accredited ‘Money Mentor’ opportunity
·         Progress into training and education opportunities
·         Prepare and progress into sustainable employment.

Please contact us via our Facebook or Twitter pages to make a referral or for further information.

Better Off Finance is a program jointly funded by The Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities Initiative

Joanne Feels Like A New Person After Better Off Finance

Building your confidence up after a long term of being unemployed can sometimes seem impossible! Thousands of thoughts will be running through your mind, have you got the right skills for the role? have you been unemployed too long to work anymore? they are endless and can bring your self esteem to the ground! 

Like many people, We met Joanne who questioned whether she'd ever have the confidence to climb back on the employment ladder...

Struggling with Depression and Anxiety, Joanne came to visit us after several years of unemployment feeling like she had no confidence in her abilities financially and no prospects of going back to work. Really wanting to take that step back into employability, she couldn’t find what direction to go in which only furthered her anxieties and fed her depression.

After several group sessions, Joanne now feels like a new person! She has become a financial capability volunteer at Citizens Advice and is actively looking for work. She believes that her confidence has increased so much that she is ‘forging a way forward’.

Better Off Finance can offer support with a range of different financial topics, such as looking for better supermarket deals to switching energy suppliers and insurance which Joanne has found extremely useful to use in her day to day life. Living on a tight budget with a young daughter, one useful skill she has found is to search online for better weekly shop deals by using My Supermarket, a shopping comparison website.

“I can now save on my outgoings, and I can start saving some money for a ‘rainy day’ fund”

People who participant in our Better Off Finance programme often leave the programme with the motivation to start improving their quality of life, like Joanne who is starting a computer course with Age UK and has enrolled to start another course to better her chances of employment, whilst alongside completing her level 2 in Health and Safety at working training course!

From having no confidence and fears of getting back into employment, we can now see her volunteering at Citizens Advice Wirral, where she offers support to people attending the BOF programme “I absolutely love it, I’m hooked!”

Joanne has now been able to make herself financially stable and is building her skills and CV for any potential job opportunities in the future.

“I would highly recommend the course, the level of support I received was amazing, please meet the team and see for yourself”

What a great experience, Thanks for sharing your story Joanne! and Good Luck in your future.

About us: 

Better Off Finance is offering residents of the Liverpool City Region who are currently unemployed (although don't have to be claiming benefits), a bespoke programme of support. This support will be provided at a local community venue or at home if a participant prefers.

Each participant will be linked up with their own key worker who will support them to:

• Improve their financial capability through 1-2-1 support and group work
• Access employability sessions within the programme
• Access a Level 2 Accredited ‘Money Mentor’ opportunity
• Progress into training and education opportunities
• Prepare and progress into sustainable employment.

Please contact us via our Facebook or Twitter pages to make a referral or for further information.
 

Better Off Finance is a program jointly funded by The Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities Initiative 

Shannon Is Prepped For Living Independently

Here at Better Off Finance we’re always happy when our programme is suggested to people in need of financial support, especially by other projects who are supporting people to better themselves, and that was the case recently with one of our participants Shannon who heard about our programme through Talent Match, a project helping her explore employment options.

One in six young people in the UK spend at least 6 months out of education, work or training and this is how Shannon found herself when she left school. Unsure with what she wanted to focus on in the future and with desires to move out of her family home and gain her own independence it was time for her to learn the essentials on how to manage personal budgets, something which Better Off Finance key workers specialise in.

People under 35 wanting to move out are often dubbed "generation rent" and being unable to get on the property ladder leaves 41% of 21-35 year olds still living at home, due to simply not being able to afford to move out. Shannon was able to understand the issues she may face by having a dedicated key worker covering a range of topics such as debt, saving money, and personal budgeting.  

“I found the sessions extremely useful as I was totally unaware of how to budget or what bills to expect when leaving home”

The average price of living at home with parents in the UK is said to be around £1,584 per year, which is just a drop in the ocean compared to living independently. Moving out and living independently can throw up all sorts of unexpected living costs and like many young people Shannon was unaware of the hidden costs of paying water bills or being legally obliged to pay for a TV license.

Introducing Shannon to budgeting apps that could be accessed through a phone has become useful in her day to day life and has made her aware of the little things that could save you cash like the amount of money she spends on coffee from Costa and Starbucks every year.

“Being shown how to use the budgeting apps were really great, it has made me more aware of my spending and what I can try and do to cut back in the future”

Shannon felt that the one to one support helped her have more awareness of financial issues, increasing her confidence regarding her finances on leaving home. Along with her abilities to budget she has also gained confidence about going into employment and through the support from Better Off Finance and Talent Match has gone on to secure employment in retail.

“I would highly recommend this programme to anyone else, I felt very supported and I think skills like this should have been taught at school”

Congratulations to Shannon on her new job and thanks very much for sharing your story! We hope you continue to have a bright future ahead!

About us: 

Better Off Finance is offering residents of the Liverpool City Region who are currently unemployed (although don't have to be claiming benefits), a bespoke programme of support. This support will be provided at a local community venue or at home if a participant prefers.

Each participant will be linked up with their own key worker who will support them to:

• Improve their financial capability through 1-2-1 support and group work

• Access employability sessions within the programme

• Access a Level 2 Accredited ‘Money Mentor’ opportunity

• Progress into training and education opportunities

• Prepare and progress into sustainable employment.

Please contact us via our Facebook or Twitter pages to make a referral or for further information.

Better Off Finance is a program jointly funded by The Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities Initiative 

Nicola Regains Her Confidence After Accessing Support From Better Off Finance

Nicola had desperately been seeking employment since completing university in 2016. She was on benefits, struggling to make ends meet, and was totally ‘daunted by finances’. So when she attended a presentation by H and James, the Financial Capability Workers from The Better off Finance project at Citizens Advice Wirral, she just knew that she just had to sign up for help!

Nicola (middle) with H and James

Since her enrolement on the project, she has completed several sessions on debts, budgeting, energy cost comparison and shopping around for better deals, which she stated ‘was one of the best sessions’ she said she is still using ‘my Supermarket.com’ to look for good deals on food shopping.  

Nicola enjoyed being part of a group and attended these sessions with the key workers as well as group employability sessions before successfully applying and obtaining a job role at Premier Inn.

On being asked about her journey, she told us: 

'After being out of work for so long, the depression had kicked in and self-confidence was low. How could I put my skills into words and sell my self when i was feeling so down!?'

  

I now have a greater confidence both personally and financially, and armed with the knowledge I have learnt, I am able to confidently stay within my budget between paydays”

And what would she say to someone else who was thinking about accessing the support of the project?

 “Go for it, it's been invaluable!”

We hope that this is the start or a new life for Nicola and thank her for sharing her journey with us.!

About us: 

Better Off Finance is offering residents of the Liverpool City Region who are currently unemployed (although don't have to be claiming benefits), a bespoke programme of support. This support will be provided at a local community venue or at home if a participant prefers.

Each participant will be linked up with their own key worker who will support them to:

• Improve their financial capability through 1-2-1 support and group work

• Access employability sessions within the programme

• Access a Level 2 Accredited ‘Money Mentor’ opportunity

• Progress into training and education opportunities

• Prepare and progress into sustainable employment.

Please contact us via our Facebook or Twitter pages to make a referral or for further information.

Better Off Finance is a program jointly funded by The Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities Initiative