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Does your salary affect your credit score? Nope, and neither does checking it. But your savings don’t directly boost it either. Five credit myths, busted, with research from giffgaff. -ad bigissue.com/sponsored/busti…
Michael knows it’s a difficult time of year for everyone, having to make money stretch even further.
But he also knows that Christmas can be a particularly positive time for selling the Big Issue, for community and looking ahead to new possibilities.
❤️ There are 3 ways you can help to change a vendor's life this Christmas.
📖Buy the magazine. Every sale helps a vendor to earn, and you walk away with an excellent read.
📱Subscribe to the Big Issue via your local vendor online
Vendors can earn up to £75 each year from a subscription which provides the security of a guaranteed income.
💰Buy a Vendor Support Kit online
Help vendors stay warm and fuelled on their pitches and receive the tools and training to build a better life.
Change a vendor's life this Christmas: bigissue.com/christmas
📍 Michael sells on Park Street, Bristol
Sam’s working day runs on a phone from @giffgaff. Follow him across Bristol as he keeps @Dott’s bikes and scooters safe to ride – a job he does with @BigIssueRecruit. “Without my phone, I’d be stranded.” -Ad
Christmas is just 7 weeks away, and every sale counts for Big Issue vendors. ❤️
A Vendor Support Kit helps vendors stay warm, build their skills and take cashless payments, helping them earn more during the busiest time of year.
Big Issue vendor John has been supported to take cashless payments and says it makes a real difference:
“You’ve got to take cashless in this day and age. There’s less cash around and people automatically expect it. I’d say my sales are half and half.”
Here’s how you can make a difference this Christmas:
❤️ Buy from your local vendor and always take your magazine. It’s a sale, not a handout. Taking your copy supports vendors to work with dignity and independence.
❤️ Buy a Vendor Support Kit for £36.99.
Make a difference this Christmas: shop.bigissue.dsb-fly.net/th…
Over 1,000 refurbished phones from @giffgaff have gone to people shut out of work by digital exclusion. One went to Sam, who keeps @Dott’s Bristol bikes safe to ride with @BigIssueRecruit. “Without it, I’d be stranded.” -Ad bigissue.com/life/giffgaff-b…
A little kindness can go a long way, says celebrated artist and author Charlie Mackesy ❤️
The creator of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, who illustrated this week’s exclusive cover, reminds us that “small things can be huge".
"The smile. The text, ‘How are you getting on?’ Getting someone a cup of tea. Small acts of kindness can save a life.”
To read more, pick up a copy from your local Big Issue vendor today!
"I'm getting a rapport with the locals and there's a hell of a lot of tourists here as well.”
📍 Chris sells Big Issue outside Round Church, Cambridge
➡️ Read the full interview: bigissue.com/vendors/big-iss…
Everyone agrees we need more homes. So why aren’t they being built?
We spoke to @WatesGroup’s Pip Prongué about the barriers holding housing back – and why homes need to be planned like infrastructure, beyond political cycles.
Read more 👇 -Ad
bigissue.com/news/housing/wh…
This week’s Big Issue is out today! Inside:
💡 Rethinking prisons
🐶 Could you choose between your dog and your home?
🎧 Superstar DJs Chase & Status play it back
Buy a copy from your local vendor – and read a sneak peak here. bigissue.com/behind-the-scen…
💛 How do you buy your Big Issue?
Whether cash or contactless, here are some top tips to give you the best buying experience.
When buying your Big Issue, you should:
📅 Check the vendors badge is in date
📕 Check the date on the front cover
💰 Pay with cash, card or the QR code
Remember to take the magazine and enjoy the read!
“Last year my flat caught on fire. If it wasn’t for Big Issue I’d have nothing”
📍 Karl Burns sells Big Issue outside NatWest, The Square, Bournemouth
“I don’t know if you remember but there was a homeless man beaten half to death in St Peter’s Church. That was me.”
➡️ Read the full interview on our website : bigissue.com/vendors/karl-bu…
Campaign win 🚨
We have won our call to make it easier for councils to bring empty homes back into use.
After months of campaigning, the government has listened. Councils will now be able to take control of empty properties after only 6 months and rent them to people who need them.
With 309,000 long-term empty homes in the UK and record levels of people experiencing homelessness, this is an important first step. But there is still more to do to. We are continuing to call for a National Empty Homes strategy to bring these properties back into use as low-cost rental accommodation.
👉 Read more about this campaign: bigissue.com/news/housing/em…
This week’s Big Issue is out today! Inside:
⭐ The limitless Lenny Rush
✏️ Mapping homelessness
💷 How Right to Buy is costing councils
Buy a copy from your local vendor – and read a sneak peek here. 👀bigissue.com/behind-the-scen…
🐾🏠 Sleep rough or give up your dog?
The people we asked didn't even need to think about it. But for people experiencing homelessness, being locked out of safe accommodation because of your pet can have devastating consequences.
Nobody should have to make that choice.
Around 1 in 4 people experiencing homelessness has a pet, yet temporary and emergency accommodation often doesn't allow animals.
That means people are being forced to choose between a safe place to sleep and the animal they love.
This is #TheImpawsibleChoice. It shouldn't exist.
On World Homeless Day, we’re calling on the government to make temporary and emergency housing pet-friendly by default.
✍️ Help us reach 10,000 signatures. Sign the petition via the link in comments.
This week's Big Issue is out now! Inside:
🥫 Food for good
🤝 The charity showing Labour the way
🎨 Louis Theroux gets his portrait done
Buy a copy from your local vendor today! And read a sneak peak here. 👀
bigissue.com/behind-the-scen…
“I would describe my upbringing as living through hell.”
📍 Richard Broadway sells Big Issue outside Co-op, Westgate-on-Sea & Co-op, Birchington
“When I’ve been at my lowest, just wanting to end it all, the friends I’ve made over the years have kept me going.”
“I would recommend Big Issue to anyone that has a mental health problem. It stops you thinking about the bad stuff.”
“I went through five and a half years of suffering, and I watched my mum and sister suffer too.”
“All I want is to get my garden clean and manageable, and then I could get myself a dog. That would solve a hell of a lot of my problems. It would mean the world.”
“I’m known in Westgate and Birchington as the dog whisperer. Their owners get dragged to where I am!”
➡️Read the full interview: bigissue.com/vendors/richard…
This week's cover star KSI looked back on his 2023 cover of Big Issue 💫
He reflected on how different his life looked then compared to now.
YouTuber, musician, entrepreneur and talent scout, KSI has worn plenty of hats.
Now he’s added another to the list: part-owner of Dagenham & Redbridge FC. He told us all about his new role in this week’s magazine – pick up a copy from your local Big Issue vendor 🗞️
💛 Buy this weeks edition of Big Issue, featuring cover star @ksi, from your local vendor.
YouTuber, musician, entrepreneur and talent scout, KSI has worn plenty of hats.
Now he’s added another to the list: part-owner of Dagenham & Redbridge FC. He told us all about his new role in this week’s magazine 🗞️