The money taboo: Who profits from our silence?

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Surveys show most of us think we understand money, but far fewer can explain basic financial terms. Meanwhile, £1.28 billion was stolen through payment fraud last year, around £24 billion in benefits goes unclaimed every year, and MPs say a generation of students were mis-sold their loans. Into that gap have stepped finfluencers, manosphere “hustle” gurus (yes, Andrew Tate) and increasingly sophisticated AI scammers.

At the root of this is a cultural taboo: don’t talk about money, don’t tell colleagues your salary. Half of Britons say talking about money feels rude or taboo. But that silence isn’t neutral. It helps unequal pay employers, lenders, scammers and abusers.

With the Autumn Budget days away and money pages full of tax avoidance rather than debt avoidance, Mathilda and Helena ask: whose money worries does our media actually serve? And who’s deliberately kept out of understanding money?

Helena and Mathilda are joined by Sammie Ellard-King, the founder of Up The Gains, host of The Money Gains Podcast and Money Content Creator of the Year 2024. He left university £24,000 in debt and kept it secret, then built one of the UK’s best-known personal finance brands.

Plus, Harleen Nottay: a broadcaster and fraud investigator. She reports on BBC One’s Scam Interceptors and co-hosts the Scam Clinic podcast. Her Channel 4 documentary, The £12 Million Rental Scam, was nominated for Best Investigation at the Asian Media Awards.

Support and resources:

Debt advice: StepChange or Citizens Advice

Surviving Economic Abuse

National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge): 0808 2000 247, free and 24/7

Scams: if you think you’ve been scammed, call your bank on the number on the back of your card, then report it to Action Fraud

Check what you’re entitled to: free benefits calculators from Policy in Practice or Turn2us

Free, impartial money guidance: MoneyHelper

This episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

It was edited by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Christy Callaway-Gale⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The music is by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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