New coaching program is designed to help you fix finances
- January 16, 2020
Many of us who made resolutions for 2020 — exercising more, decluttering and, yes, doing a better job managing our money — can relate to the idea of having a coach in our corner.
Now, Farmington Hills-based GreenPath Financial Wellness — with the support of a $345,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase — will be developing a pilot program to expand financial coaching efforts for low- to moderate-income consumers across the country.
The program will use one-on-one phone conversations along with digital tools, such as texts.
“The majority of households are struggling with financial insecurity,” said Colleen Briggs, head of community innovation at JPMorgan Chase.
Many do not have a savings buffer, she said, to deal with unexpected bills or volatility in their income. The coaching program is designed to test some virtual financial coaching methods to improve the financial health of people in underserved communities.
Many times, financial heartache is only one emergency away since most people live paycheck to paycheck.
Four out of 10 U.S. households maintain they would have trouble paying $400 for an unexpected expense, according to a Federal Reserve Board measure of financial well-being in 2018. The study was released in May 2019.
The study indicated that 61% of adults say they’d cover that $400 emergency with cash, savings or a credit card that would be paid off at the next statement.
But 27% said they would need to borrow money somehow or sell something to pay for the expense, and 12% would not be able to cover the expense at all.
Another startling stat: 17% of adults are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full.
Click below to read the full article on the featured the following media outlets:
Together We Can Develop a Plan
It all starts with a phone call. Together we can develop a custom plan to reach your financial goals. It’s free, no pressure, and confidential.
