Articles Posted in financial wellness

Employees are starting to get back to work. Quarantines are gradually being lifted as business establishments are allowed to reopen. It is a great relief for many people, but there are still some issues to be addressed. Financial wellness is still resting on unstable grounds.

The College Debt Is Not Going Away

Many young employees financed their college years through substantial loans. They are now faced with monthly bills that must be paid eventually. Some will use forbearance but that only delays things. The size of many college loan debts is equal to a home mortgage. It is tough for many young people. Continue reading

COVID-19 is making dramatic changes in the workplace. The old cubicles might replace open space offices as organizations try to reduce the chance of viral infection. Work from home is no longer something to think about; it is now becoming a corporate reality. The opportunity for people to work from home provides a lot of benefits for everyone. Smart employers are going to look beyond the commonly discussed opportunities for home-based work. They look at ways to use employee benefits to make working from home more enjoyable and increase the chances of higher productivity as a consequence. Continue reading

Employers have been wonderful in helping their employees during this time of national crisis. Many organizations decided to pay the full premium on the group health insurance, giving their hard-working staff some relief from financial obligations. It is great to see employers who genuinely care about their employees.

These are not easy times for anyone. Medical conditions may be causing considerable strain on a person’s budget. Deductibles and copayments on major medical treatments can cost thousands of dollars. The expense can drive a person’s anxiety through the ceiling. Continue reading

The entire economy is still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Furloughs are everywhere and unemployment checks do not always cover the bills. Times like these are when people turn to their credit cards. We recognize this is only natural, but it can be dangerous.

An individual’s financial wellness is threatened during times of economic slowdown. Decisions need to be made that can be drastic. Credit cards are sometimes an easy way out. An individual pays the bill on credit and settles the balance later. There is a risk involved.

Credit card balances must be paid and running up a massive debt balance is risky. Some do not realize this, but the interest rates charged on credit cards are double-digit numbers. Failure to pay the minimum on time adds a penalty to the balances. An over-reliance on credit cards may lead to domestic chaos. The financial wellness of a hard-working employee can come crashing down.

The public has been dealing with the coronavirus quarantines for more than three months. Stress is starting to show in many households as people try to stretch scarce dollars even further. An issue that is critical deals with public utilities and services to customers.

Utilities are in a tight spot financially. There has been an increase in unpaid utility bills. Many hard-working people, especially low-paid employees, are confronting food or electricity and water bills. It is challenging to cover both because the pandemic has hit financial wellness. In ordinary circumstances, non-payment of the utility bill will ultimately end up in services being shut off. That can create severe emergencies in various homes as the hot summer begins without the electricity needed for air conditioning. Continue reading

COVID-19 has disrupted ordinary lives and that is an understatement. It is more than just quarantines and stay-at-home orders. The financial wellness of ordinary citizens is placed in jeopardy and certain arrangements are threatened. Alimony is one of those.

The court establishes in the divorce decree how much a spouse needs to pay the other. It is based on the financial information at the time. Granted, the loss of a job or income can be an issue. The difference between an ordinary job loss and the coronavirus pandemic is that the temporary loss of employment was the result of a state decree. Continue reading

The coronavirus pandemic has become a brutal shock to many people’s wallets. States have ordered businesses to close during necessary lockdowns, causing people to lose their paychecks. Unemployment compensation and the added stimulus amounts have helped some stay above water, but some are faced with severe difficulties.

Child Support

Divorce happens and ex-spouses may be required to pay child support for the children. The parent with custody often depends on the child support to make ends meet. The current trouble stems from the lockdowns and business closings in the short term. The ex-spouse who must pay the child support is not able to due to no personal fault. Continue reading

COVID-19 is focusing people’s attention on what will happen after the pandemic has faded away. Many wonder what the future will hold and how the new normal will affect their lives. A smart person should look at the coronavirus quarantine as an opportunity to address financial issues. Estate planning is an activity everyone keeps putting off, but now is an excellent time to think about it.

Estate planning is not something that only those approaching retirement must do. Younger employees, especially those with small children, ought to be investigating estate planning. There are documents such as last wills and powers of attorney that require deliberation, but the finances of an estate are necessary. Continue reading

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing people to think about things they have ignored for too long. The possibility of dying from this disease makes people stop a moment and consider the condition of their estate and what they will be leaving behind. It is time an individual review how prepared his or her estate is for a possible tragedy.

Estate planning is a process far too many people put off because they are young. It is something that only senior citizens do but the circumstances have changed. It is crucial to look at the estate and how it will affect the financial wellness of family survivors. Continue reading

It is an evil wind that blows no good and on March 27, 2020, students who had federal loans received a break due to the coronavirus pandemic. The CARES Act was signed, and it impacts federal student loan borrowers, whose loans are from the US Department of Education. The primary features include:

• 0% interest. From March 13, 2020 until September 30, 2020 a borrower is not going to be charged interest on the loans.
• Administrative forbearance. Those same loans are in administrative forbearance for the same. A borrower is not going to have to pay the monthly payments.

None of this is going to stop you from making monthly payments if you want to do that. It is enough to say that financial wellness of a recent college graduate is now more secure, but that is no reason to sit back and relax. Continue reading