Articles Posted in financial wellness

The new year is a great time to organize your finances. The 2019 calendar year is just starting, and a person can plan for the months ahead. Personal budgets are new territory for some people and financial wellness guidance can help.

Starting on the Right Foot

People are not always in financial trouble; they only need some new ideas. A new college graduate is seeing the end of the loan grace period. That person wants to know how to budget and meet the monthly loan repayments. Someone else wants to stretch his or her income a bit to pay bills and still save some money. Every individual has a personal need.

Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services provides a financial wellness program for employers to consider. It is a benefit to assist employees in keeping their financial house in order. Continue reading

Christmas has come and gone, leaving wrapping paper all over the floor and boxes waiting to be tossed out. It is no secret people enjoy this holiday and they want to be generous with family and friends. A person may become a little too generous and overuse the credit card. It creates a situation that threatens financial wellness. The same person who acted like Santa Claus will face a credit card bill that is above and beyond what he or she can afford.

Credit cards are convenient. There is no question about that. Retailers will admit they prefer people using credit cards because the shoppers will spend more money than if they use cash. These conveniences, which are almost necessities for some, will carry double-digit interest rates. There also may be other penalties, depending on the card. Anyone can get overwhelmed by the bill received in January. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services understands the anxiety of post-holiday debt. We have a program that assists in making the payments without drastic decisions.

Last Minute Shopping Is Expensive

Last minute Christmas shopping is frantic, and buyers won’t always look at the price tags. The day of reckoning arrives in January and the cost of Christmas presents becomes obvious. Folks can panic and wonder how to pay the bill. Countrywide has the answer. Continue reading

Deductibles are the part of a medical bill the patient is responsible for paying. Standard deductibles have been rising to keep group health premiums down and $5000 deductibles are common. Most people do not understand how deductibles operate. These financial obligations can easily go out of control.

Deductibles will renew every year. A person who has paid the full deductible in 2018 is liable for the full amount in 2019 (e. g. Assume a deductible of $5000 in 2018. A plan member must pay up to $5000 in 2019 as well.). Medical treatment can overlap the new year. A person easily accrues thousands of dollars in medical debt with one single operation or treatment.

Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services knows the stress caused by such financial obligations. Our Financial Wellness Plan is designed to help folks better manage medical debt. Continue reading

American colleges and universities are graduating some of the most technically astute people in our history. The Z generation grew up with technology and have a better understanding of social media than even their older siblings. Unfortunately, it does not mean that they are masters of all subjects. Personal finances can be a nightmare for them. Financial wellness education is essential to surviving in the real world. Learning how to deal with problems is important and the biggest problem these young people face is the college debt they accrued while earning that college degree.

Payment Can Be a Horror Story

Nobody can blame a college student for trying to ignore the mounting costs. A student must get through school and loans are sometimes the only way to pay for the education. What happens too often is that an individual graduates from college and then six months later is hit with a major shock. The final debt figure can be enormous. Many graduates have loan obligations in the tens of thousands of dollars. An unlucky few will have over $100,000 in debt and are looking at payment obligations that will stretch out for decades.

Shock can lead to panic that, in turn, will generate poor decisions with bad consequences. The new college graduate may use forbearance but that only delays the final responsibility and can cause payment problems to develop. Others will try to ignore the debt completely, but that is not a wise decision. A final, and very drastic move has a young person declaring bankruptcy. That can damage credit rating at a time when the individual needs to have good credit status. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services sympathizes with the plight of a recent graduate. We want to help, and a benefit option of our financial wellness plan is assistance in dealing with college debt. Continue reading

Medical premiums and expenses are rising, not falling. People are always looking for ways to curb expenses. We commend those employers who have proactive wellness plans. Benefits such as smoking cessation and weight control improve health and lower costs. We suggest that organizations go one step further and address financial wellness.

Sudden Emergencies Will Surface

Employees rarely budget for future medical costs. They assume the group health insurance plan will cover expenses. It doesn’t happen that way. People will bear responsibility for treatments not covered by the plan and pay for the deductibles, as well. A sudden medical bill costing thousands of dollars is not out of the question.

People will panic at the price. They may consider taking out loans or a second mortgage to make the required payments. The stress and anxiety are considerable. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services wants to relieve the pressure and help a person overcome the challenge. Our financial wellness plan provides welcome assistance to those in financial stress. Continue reading

Debt is often a heavy weight to bear. Credit cards are the common means of paying for gifts and the plastic charges double-digit interest. College graduates face loan debt the size of a house mortgage and medical emergencies are expensive.

The debt will cause major stress and anxiety. People will worry and wonder if there is a way out of the mess. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to end financial trouble. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has a financial wellness plan that guides an individual to fiscal sanity.

Advice, Not Sermons

Our program is more than a web page of useful advice. We have certified counselors who are knowledgeable about personal finances. These professionals provide the services a plan member needs. Continue reading

Financial wellness plans will help resolve emergencies, but that is only one use for this benefit. A good program enables a person to have better control over their finances and plan for the future. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offers a financial wellness plan. Our benefit includes tools anyone can use to manage their money.

Tools of the Trade

Countrywide has a nationwide network of certified counselors who provide service. These experts are easy to reach and help people sort out their finances.

Recent college graduates might have no experience with budgeting. Lack of knowledge has a negative effect on their spending habits. Our counselor will perform a budget analysis for a young plan member. This professional will review expenses and income and design a sensible budget. A young employee is thus able to pay all the bills and still have money to save. Continue reading