Money Mondays

Following hot on the heels of our entrepreneurial mini-series Zak & Emma are spending the next few episodes looking at employability; How to find a job, how to prepare for one and who can help you along the way… This episode is all about the Timspon group which specialises in employing former prisoners and other marginalised groups - They have been leading the way in this sense for a long time...

Following hot on the heels of our entrepreneurial mini-series Zak & Emma are spending the next few episodes looking at employability; How to find a job, how to prepare for one and who can help you along the way… In this episode Zak & Emma are looking at CVs - What they are, why they are useful and how to create an effective one. It can be daunting putting a CV together, particularly if you...

Up for discussion on this episode of Money Mondays, is ‘Side Hustles’ - These have been mentioned in passing on previous episodes so we thought we’d do a deeper dive on a subject which could lead to your financial freedom. Our very own Zak started off on his current path with a side hustle, growing ‘ X-Conversation ’, which led to ‘ Life After Prison ’, Money Mondays and lots more - He’s now a mul...

In what has been dubbed ‘Awful April’, bills have been increasing again and there are many other rises putting yet another squeeze on people. In this episode Zak & Emma are looking at council tax and ways to potentially save some money, particularly if you’re in prison or the partner of someone who is. Emma explains what council tax is used for, why we have to pay it and what you can do if you...

April is a BIG month in the financial calendar. It welcomes the start of the new tax year, allowances renew, the price of bills change and it’s no different in prison. Zak & Emma are here with an update on what’s changing and how it might affect you.  It’s recently been announced that the amount you can draw down from private to your spends account is increasing by 10% which looks like go...

You may have heard of Cryptocurrency in the news but what is it, how does it work and what is it for? Zak & Emma are here to answer those questions before you  From humble beginnings, the world crypto market is currently worth 2.68 trillion dollars. This figure is as of writing this, by the time you read it, it will probably have changed! Such is the volatility of crypto  Cryptocurre...

Planning for the future can be scary, it can also be something that you put off and ignore. On this episode Zak & Emma are looking at pensions, an often confusing topic, and asking, what are they? who are they for? and how do they work? Whether you choose to opt out of a workplace pension or contribute as much as you can, it is important to lay plans for the future to ensure your retirement is...

One of the key themes of Money Mondays has been using technology to make your financial future more efficient. Whether that be using online banking or shopping online, the digital age has certainly made money more manageable.  But what if you’ve never used anything like this before, maybe getting online seems like a daunting task to you? You may have heard horror stories of how people have lo...

Joining Zak & Emma on this episode is Moe who has been recently released from prison. Moe talks about how difficult it can be to adapt financially to the outside world but also shares hints and tips and shines a light on some of the charities that have helped him out. Zak & Emma reflect on Moe’s words throughout and also talk about ways to make your money stretch further and emphasise the...

Around 13% of prisoners were released to homelessness last year. Having no fixed address can make it really tough to open or maintain any kind of banking provision. Having no kind of banking provision can make it more difficult to receive benefits, wages or to pay for goods or services. Because of this HSBC, in partnership with Shelter launched the ‘No Fixed Address’ service to help people break t...

This is the fourth and final episode in a mini series exploring entrepreneurship and business mindedness  In this episode, the spotlight is now being shone on Zak as we find out more about how he was able to go from prison to business owner. Zak shares some tricks of the trade, what he has learnt and how he kept focussed when things got tough. We also explore some of the things you may need t...

This is the third episode in a mini series exploring entrepreneurship and business mindedness  On this episode we’re joined by Gary who used his time in prison to find himself, hone his business skills and find some missing pieces to his jigsaw - He talks about how his cell was covered in business plans and ideas, how the library helped him out and what his big plans are for the future Zak &a...

This is the second episode in a mini series exploring entrepreneurship and business mindedness  Zak & Emma are joined by Darryl and Sam who have both managed to turn their lives around after turbulent beginnings. Sam started with a bucket and sponge and now runs ‘ Genuine Futures ’ who seek to ‘support individuals in our communities, who may have faced difficult obstacles and barriers in...

This is the first episode in a mini series exploring entrepreneurship and business mindedness  To start the episode, Emma asks Zak about how he turned 3 prison sentences into a positive and was able to use his lived experience to carve a new path for himself. Zak opens up about the skills he learned inside and how he managed to change his mindset and his social circle to become an award winni...

The ‘ Prisoner Banking Programme ’ allows eligible prisoners to apply for a basic bank account whilst in custody. Sentenced prisoners with no more than 6 months and no less than 6 weeks left until their release are encouraged to reach out to see if their prison supports the scheme We spoke with the New Futures Network about the ‘ PBP ’ back on Episode 11 and are now delighted to welcome Emma &...

On this episode, Zak & Emma are joined by the brilliant Steph from the ‘ Good Money Tribe ’ Steph was never educated around money and after making her own financial mistakes she decided to dedicate her career to learning everything she could about financial literacy. She set up the ‘Good Money Tribe’ who have helped over 30000 people to reduce money stress and become more comfortable with thei...

With the cold months really setting in, it’s extra important to make sure you're as energy efficient as possible to save some pennies but more importantly, to make sure that you remain warm and safe at home; National Energy Action are the national fuel poverty charity aiming to ensure that everyone in England, Wales & Northern Ireland can achieve that level of warmth and safety and to help every o...

It’s a brand new series of Money Mondays! Zak & Emma are refreshed after their festive break and gearing up to give you another year of hints, tips and financial support Every year, over 2000 people are released from prison after serving long sentences. Adapting to life after release always comes with challenges but these can be amplified if you’ve been away for a prolonged period of time. The Har...

The 18th - 24th November is 'Safer Gambling Week' - A cross-industry initiative to promote safer gambling in the UK & Ireland Gambling can have a huge effect on your finances as our guest Ben found out first hand. Ben's gambling started small before spiralling out of control and eventually culminated in a prison sentence after stealing from his employer to fund his addiction.  Ben now supports peo...

When you first land in prison, contacting your bank and creditors may well be towards the bottom of your list of priorities. However, once you’re a bit more settled you can make life easier on yourself and reduce stress by ensuring your bank is aware of your current circumstances. This could stop your accounts going dormant, reduce charges/interest and make it more likely that you have banking in...

We have mentioned benefit checkers on Money Mondays in the past and to tell us a bit more about what they are and how they work is David from the amazing organisation ' Turn2us ' We want to ensure that the money YOU’RE entitled to doesn’t make up the £30 BILLION that goes unclaimed every year. David has loads of great info on how to make the most of benefit checkers, what grants you could be eligi...

Money Mondays on a…….Tuesday!? What is this sorcery?? Well, it just so happens that National Prison Radio has another podcast that drops on a Tuesday too and we’d love to tell you all about it ‘ Outside In ’ is a brand new podcast hosted by people who learnt their trade working with National Prison Radio in HMP Brixton. They share the inspirational stories of people who have links with the Crimina...

This week is ‘World Savings Day’ so Zak & Emma are putting on their thrift caps and letting you know why it’s important to save, how to build a savings habit and how to get started in today's tough economic climate Zak shares why having that ‘rainy day fund’ was super important to him this week and Emma opens up about how having money put away has allowed her to have a more fulfilling life    USEF...

Zak & Emma have talked about debt many times on Money Mondays but this has usually centred around debts you can accumulate outside of prison. On this episode they are looking at what happens if you fall in to debt while you’re in prison  Zak explains how easy it can be to have your prison debts spiral out of control, addressing the potential dangers of this and also looks at ways to avoid falling...

Prison and poverty are often interlinked. On this episode we are investigating those links - Why are you more likely to end up in Prison if you're from a deprived area and what can be done about the situation? Joining us to give us some more context to this is Morgan from the amazing organisation, the ' Joseph Rowntree Foundation ' - Morgan gives us some chastening statitics, tells us why things a...