Are you ready for the holiday season? ENJOY it this year by doing a little planning to make it easier to manage your budget. Create a budget for all gifts by family member/friend and dollar amount…AND stick to it! Add a 20% buffer because you and I are growing wiser (older) and we forget to account for some of our friends and family. Take advantage of online shopping so you’re not tempted by miscellaneous purchases or other expenses that are associated with physical shopping trips like gas,...

While the current economy is healthy and the unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1969, Americans are struggling with financial stress. Many are still trying to recover from the Great Recession of 2008. The end of 2017 saw credit card debt at an all time high of over $1 trillion. 40% of adults in U.S. households have indicated they are unable to pay for a $400 unexpected expense1 and over 20% are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full. On top of these worries, many Americans...

​71% of Americans are stressed by money. Take a look around your organization at your employees. Many of the signs of stress are there for you to see: Reduced work efficiency or productivity Forgetfulness, disorganization, confusion Difficulty making decisions Reduced punctuality Financial stress takes a direct toll on businesses, costing them about $250 billion in lost wages1, in part, because employees who are struggling financially may spend two to three hours per week dealing with personal...

Well, maybe not. We’re all familiar with absenteeism. “Bob is out sick today.” He’s not here, so don’t expect any production from him. Management understands that unless the other workers pick up Bob’s production, output will be down today by one Bob. But what about presenteeism? Bob’s here at work – see, that’s him over there – but, is he actually being productive right now, or is he really trying to figure out how to pay for a new transmission for his car? Absenteeism is usually regarded as...

Many of today’s employees begin their adult lives without essential financial knowledge. They don’t know the basics of balancing a checking account, or how to use credit responsibly. Nor do they know how to save, budget, buy a home or plan for the future. Schools will teach students about history, but not money. In fact, according to the 2017 Financial Report Card1 from Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy, only 5 states earned an A on the ability of their financial literacy education...

Why? In my 10 years as a CPA and 20 years in the consumer financial industry, I have experienced countless scenarios of challenging situations. Here is the formula that has worked in almost every one of them: solve today’s challenges before focusing on tomorrow’s. Depending on the source, you will find general agreement in the marketplace that some 76-78% of our mid-market, fully-employed American workforce is living paycheck to paycheck. To add to that disturbing challenge, we all know that life...

The ROI on employee financial wellness programs is three to one The return on investment for employee financial wellness programs, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and others, has been estimated at 3:1. Every $1 invested in financial wellness benefits returns $3 in cost savings and productivity increases. It all makes sense. If three-quarters of working Americans don’t have $1,000 available for an emergency and they spend eight or more hours a day working, they are going to spend...

Do you remember that moment when you had to ask that person to the high school prom, or even just for a date? You were 15 and your heart was thumping through your chest. You thought you were going to faint, but yet you had to muster up the courage in order to accomplish your heart’s desire. Now imagine feeling that type of stress every single day. This daily stress, however, is much more challenging. It’s not about a date, but your ability to survive and live a life of comfort and satisfaction. Stress...

David Kilby wants to leave his competitors in the dust. And he believes he’s already doing a good job of it. David Kilby, president of FinFit in Virginia Beach, says his company grew due to the high and growing demand for financial wellness. The president of Virginia Beach-based Finfit, an online platform that provides financial wellness resources and services to employees, started the company in 2008 and had 17 clients at the end of that first year. That was the extent of all the friends...