Could You Become A Money Mentor?

It’s always great to see people putting themselves forward to support others in changing their lives, and that’s exactly what’s happening on our Money Mentors course! Educating yourself to use the skills for greater good is always a rewarding feeling and that’s what our recent Money Mentors graduates at Halton Citizens Advice & 54 St James Street have been doing.

The Level 2 accredited training will encourage participants to go out into their communities and share what they’ve learned, and it’s also something great to add onto your CV!  We asked our recent graduates what they thought of the 2 days they spent learning to become Money Mentors

“I really enjoyed the course because every aspect that was covered was explained well with examples for clarity.  The course facilitator, Jose, was very knowledgeable and presented information in an easy to understand manner. I now have a better understanding of some of the methods of recovering debt and the process of debt recovery.”

Paula and Jennifer recently completed their Level 2 Money Mentors training in 'Being a Savvy Consumer' at 54 St James Street and had some great feedback about the course

“The course has been very valuable, I am more knowledgeable about consumer rights. There is so much I wasn’t aware of” 

“I feel more confident as a consumer now. The course was easy to understand and broke down the jargon. The handouts have been useful for me to refer back to after the course. Getting this certificate will help me with my volunteer application to support job seekers in my local job centre” 

What an amazing achievement, well done everyone and we can't wait to see how you use your new found skills to support and guide your community!

Do you think you could be a Money Mentor?

Money Mentors will be two days training at a local venue and will provide Level 2 accreditation in the following subjects:

• Being a community-based mentor
• Being a savvy consumer
• Supporting Universal Credit Claimants

The subjects will cover topics such as:

• Understand the causes of personal debt
• Understand different attitudes to spending money
• Understand how Universal Credit is made up and which benefits it replaces

We will even pay the travel expenses to get there and provide lunch!

If you think you could become a Money Mentor, then get in touch! to book or for more information you can contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk

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

John Has Found His Self-Esteem Through Better Off Finance

Health conditions can affect a person at the best of times, but a chronic condition can take a toll on the confidence and security felt day to day. Health conditions can be correlated with mental health conditions, as a lack of physical ability to do everyday tasks can run the risk of adding stress when resulting from your time away from work. John felt he was struggling with his condition affecting his well-being, not just financially but emotionally leading him to seek support. 

John signed up for the Better Off Finance programme, after fears that his confidence and self esteem would affect his employability chances. A physical disability that caused extreme pain to his joints, led to John struggling to leave his home for days at a time, often feeling isolated and anxious. Not afraid of hard work John is extremely intelligent and university educated, fortunately sought support in the next step to help manage his well-being alongside his finances.

He attended every session with enthusiasm and created a network by bonding and supporting the other group members. This gave John the confidence to apply as a volunteer for Citizens Advice and undertake their training programme, helping in the IT department and admin services. The Better Off Finance not only helped John understand how to budget effectively and prevent debt, but also start building his savings alongside. Talking about the programme John said:

“I definitely would encourage people to join the BOF, by explaining from a simple comparison people see where they can save money and understand how they can reduce their carbon footprint through a course which the team have access too.”

The course not only helped John create the confidence in himself to build a savings foundation, it also enabled him to pay for an online course in advanced graphic design that John is excelling. Its hard to imagine for John that dealing with a physical disability, impacting on his mental health, and the struggle scouting work, has managed to see his way through, and now creating new opportunities for himself confidently and successfully!

John went on to say “The friendly and dedicated team always went an extra mile to help out,” and even after he had been exited from the program,

“They still keep in touch, and let me know courses that may help further down the line."

Its great to know that the effects of learning to money manage has lead to the improvement not only of quality of life, but the confidence to create a new future ahead! Thank you, John, for sharing your story!

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

How to Find Volunteer Placements that Work

Volunteering can provide you with skills and knowledge you didn’t even know you wanted to learn. Maybe you did and that’s why you sought volunteering, but the benefits of a placement can be underestimated.

So, you are looking for a new career maybe? Boost your CV? Network?  All of this is possible within volunteering, whilst opportunities may show themselves that you didn’t even know were lurking.

First thing. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Knowing what you want from your volunteer placement is a good start. Do you want it to be within your field, or a complete new experience? Are you wanting to give back to the community or something that will build upon your skill set? Whatever your reasons for applying, know this within yourself and be honest in the process of looking for potential employers. This way you have a foundation of where you want to go.

Do your research. Knowing the companies, you are wanting to apply for and what is out there. There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer that can be found on advertising sites such as: Do-it.org, reachvolunteering.org.uk, or other sites that can be found within a simple google search. Whilst some may advertise there may be others who do not, but if you have a place in mind, offer your services! Do not be afraid to approach, send the email or even better show up and ask to speak to someone who may be able to help. There are employers who would be thrilled to have a non-paid worker show up and help so don’t feel discouraged in putting yourself out there!

Don’t be afraid to interview the interviewer- before taking on any role (whether volunteer or otherwise) remember you need to establish whether this is suitable for you as well as for your employer. Taking on a commitment to a new role must both meet your needs as well that of the employers, and it is important to clarify this in the early stage. Have in mind questions you wish to ask to know what to expect from the employer:

“What positions do volunteers normally take?” 

“is there a chance to learn other roles?”

 “What do you expect from your volunteers”

 “What’s the working environment and culture of the company like?”

In return the employer may ask questions to you that you need to be prepared for such as:

“What do you expect from us” 

“Tell me about your work history and how does it relate to volunteering here?” 

“How long is the length of commitment we can expect from you” 

“How many hours a week can you commit”

 “What do you want to achieve within the time that you spend here with us”

These questions, even though they may seem overwhelming, are really telling to see whether they and you are both suitable for working with each other. The one element to have in this process is confidence. Regardless of whether this placement is suitable for you or not, the right one will show whether now or on the next attempt, don’t give up if its something you want. 

When the right one comes along you will have added skills, knowledge and potential pathways that you wouldn’t have found accessible in a more easy, productive way. Good foundations are worth investing in!

Remember to check out reachvolunteering.org.uk and do-it.org, Your next volunteering opportunity is just a click away!

If volunteering is something you would like to explore, talk to your Better Off Finance Key Worker about local routeways to volunteering and how the programme can help.

Better Off Finance is jointly funded by European Social Fund and National Lottery to support those out of work in the Liverpool City Region to improve their financial position and employment opportunities.

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 

Journey Through The My Turn Programme

Since the launch of our My Turn Programme in April 2018, our trainers have been travelling around the Liverpool City Region helping people just like you Think, Believe & Achieve! We were lucky enough to hear from our trainer Victoria Hart who gave us a taster of what My Turn covers. 

Let’s hand over to Victoria as she takes us through the MyTurn journey during her Wirral Citizens Advice sessions…

Starting off the "Think, Believe & Achieve" session with 10 participants, we start with an icebreaker session, which is always a brilliant way to allow a group to get to know each other and meet the people they are going to be spending the programme with. We found out about hobbies and achievements which produced some brilliant discussions, including finding out one member of the group had abseiled down Devils Gorge in Mold, and another had met Amanda Holden! It was a fantastic way for everyone to introduce themselves.

We moved on to an important discussion of confidence and what the group thought confidence was. From this discussion, some great suggestions were put forward

“Being comfortable with yourself” and “being able to say no”

From the points raised, the group then identified situations where they would need to feel confident. Throughout the morning, we focused on the practical strategies for improving confidence on a day to day basis, from visualisation to power stances.

Before breaking for lunch, we also delved into barriers that the group through they needed to overcome and were able to help each other thing about the ways in which they could overcome them. The group found hearing other people’s stories useful, as it made them realise that others are going through the same thing, something that made them feel less isolated.

We recommenced with assertiveness. In a group, we identified the differences between aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive and assertive behaviour. Using celebrities, the group identified that assertive behaviour can sometimes be seem as a negative thing and that there are many derogatory words related to being assertive. We discussed how assertiveness can be used in different situations and how confidence has a link to assertiveness.

The group reflected on what they found the most useful during the session

“Understanding how confidence and the relation to wellbeing”

“Meeting new people and learning new things about other people’s issues”

“It’s good information with useful practical advice”

Thanks Victoria! Sounds like some great things were covered, and big congratulations to our My Turn participants! 

New dates available below!

About us:

Working as part of the Better off Finance Programme My Turn is a 2-day Programme of personal development. The My Turn Programme will provide the opportunity for you to take time out for yourself and think about ‘What’s next?’

The programme offers you the opportunity to attend both days or just one day. You can find out more information about the programme here 

Please contact us by calling 0151 706 8111 or email hello@thewo.org.uk to book onto the programme 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 

Helping Adam To Adjust

You may have heard about Universal Credit and how it's affecting people in the benefit system. With 1.42 million unemployed people in the UK, the welfare state is becoming more relied on than ever. It's predicted that by 2022, more than seven million households will be scheduled to receive Universal Credit, and with many people talking about the underlying problems with the new system, it's vital that people can properly understand the changes they will be going through. 

People like Adam, who came to get support from our Better Off Finance Knowsley team after recently having been switched from ESA (a health related benefit) and moved to Universal Credit. Like many others, he wasn't completely clear about what these changed meant and we were able to help. 

Struggling to manage day to day living costs was hard, especially on his newly reduced income but with the support from his key worker, Adam is now able to understand his benefits more and can manage the money he has coming in.

“I didn’t understand the changes to my benefits, particularly Universal Credit. I got a lot of advice and information on what it means as well as help applying for further support”

Here at Better Off Finance we want to help our participants understand the benefits system,  and be able to take the pressure off understanding the important stuff when it comes to claiming what you’re entitled to. As well as being experts around the benefits system, our key workers are also able to advise people on grants and awards to help them out of hardship and enable them to start thinking about a more positive future. This is exactly how they helped Adam with his debt.

“My key worker helped me access a charitable trust award of £220 towards clothes which has enabled me to buy smart clean clothes to be prepared for potential interviews”

Adam really benefited from having the constant financial support to help him make more sense of his money and his future options. When asked about what he would say about anyone looking for help he said: “I would really recommend Better Off Finance. Before this support I felt very down and didn’t know where to turn for advice, but I feel much more positive now”

Feeling more confident and able to take on new challenges, Adam is ready to move on towards a positive future and raves about the free support he went into not knowing what to expect 

“On signing up I expected one or two appointments, but I’ve be able to return multiple times across the last few months and have gotten help with issues I didn’t even know I could get help with!”

Good luck to you on your journey Adam and thank you for sharing your story!

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