Does Anyone Offer...?

PipeGuy

Credit or financial counseling resources to employees? If so, what kinds and how do you administrate it?

DecksEtc

I don't Pipe.

I can't wait to see Bob's answer...

CGofMP

With this question and your last one I am curious the backstory... are you at liberty to let us in on it?

I have never worked for anyone that offered financial counseling per se. Some companies health bennies include psych which could possibly be construed to cover it.

A VERY good book on what you are interested in for this guy is "Debt Free Living" by Larry Burkett(sp?). It is full of lots of wisdom and such. Mr Burkett also has other books and workbooks on budgeting and other personal financial issues.

While offering counseling might not be an option, spending 40 bucks for a handfull of books might show concern and if the guy applies himself could actually be benneficial.

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PipeGuy

Nothing out of the ordinary. You probably know the story, good employee gets good pay, good employee buys used car, used car breaks down, good employee can't get to work, questionable employee can't afford to fix car, former employee goes on unemployment.
It just seems to me, after almost 30 years of watching guys who get paid every Friday bum money to buy a $3.00 cheeseburger off the roach-coach on Monday, that offering some kind of personal finance resources (education) to employees that want it would be benficial to all. There're few things I can imagine enjoying more (OK, there might be more than a few) than helping someone who otherwise can't seem to even keep up with his car payment figure out how to be able to put aside even 2% of his income for a rainy day. I thought maybe someone here might offer this kind of help to employees or had otherwise worked for someone who does.

PipeGuy

good idea.

CGofMP

And therein lies the crux of the matter.

I suspect most of the guys on this site, particularly those who have owned or run their small businesses understand the philosophy behind the term deferred gratification. Small business owners know they will have to buy supplies for the next job, purchase good tools, hire on help if needed, and a goodly number of other things. The idea is not limited to owners either... good tradesmen will have a hell of an investment in expensive tools and probably some professional training as well.

However, again, most Americans do NOT have a sense of deferred ANYTHING. The long term is NOT what people look at - and NET financial gain in the far-off is not what they look at. What they DO look at is "What can I "AFFORD" this month... the term 'afford' being used ONLY to mean "do I have enough cash to cover it" or "Can I put it on my credit card and not lose the card for non payment". Time and again we see advertisements for new cars at oly 200 bucks per month or some other nebulous concept. The companies dont tell you that after the 5 years of payments you coulda bout 2.5 cars with the amount you paid in interest.

Wait for gratification??? SAVE for that car??? Never!!!

You mentioned the roach coach as an example. Perfect! This is exactly the problem. The food on those things not only sucks but compared to the cost of making it at home and bringing it you are again paying double at least what you could buy the components for and prep it yourself.

The nickles and dimes DO count.

Getting people to see that is not easy.

Just as a side note, I do not spend coins that I get in change. Instead they all go into an 5 gallon alhambra jar (which is about to be emptied and rolled up).

Do you have any idea how much change you get in 10-15 years?

Last time I bought someone a wedding ring using pennies nickles dimes and quarters.

This time we are going to Hawaii.

I'm far from rich, I struggle to make ends meet too. 700 bucks would be a blow for my budget... but anyone can do a little better if they are willing to sacrifice a little bit of present comfort for their future needs.

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Ken@K&R

If the employee is a good employee alot of my former employers would have paid to fix the car and took out payroll deductions.

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ruskent

I'm almost 20. In the last year i've learned to not watch the dollors, but to watch the pennies. If i was fugual as i am now, 5 years ago, i'd be much better off today. In my youth i wasted loads of money on quads, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, etc. He'll i proably wasted 3-4k on buying lunch over the years. Now i brown bag it every day. It sucks i wasted money in the past, but when i spent the money it didn't seem like a waste. I had no idea what i wanted to do with my life when i was 14-15. It seems like people don't start saving ther emoney till they figure out what they want in there life and devlope goals. I try to talk my friends out of buying motorcycles and parts for there cars. But no one wants to listen.

Hell, if everyone saved there money and did not piss it away the economy would suck! Its good that most people are not fiscally responsible!

CGofMP

I disagree :-)

If people saved their money and did not piss it away they'd buy bigger better homes and do bigger better improvements :-)

The money eventually gets spent anyhow. Its HOW it gets spent that makes a difference in people's lives personally.

Also I commend you..... you are still a TEENAGER for gods sake and you learned a lesson that mot people NEVER get. Do not look back, you have learned in time in fact WAY ahead of time .... if you keep this philosophy, with any luck by the time you are my age you'll have enough money to retire on and be comfortable.

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ruskent

GCofMP- I don't know what happened to me, but osmethnig did. When i'd run down the lumber yard, bank or anywhere, i'd always have to stop to grab a coffee. That don't happen anymore. That saves a good 15 bucks a week. I just don't spend money anymore unless i need something for my business!

Mike Finley

Pipeguy - there is a reason your employees are employees and not business owners or fellow contractors you are competing with. You know what I mean? It's just part of what makes them candidates to be employees. If they were brilliant, super motivated, uber resourceful, self-starters, able to see the big picture in life and finances they probably wouldn't be working for you. I've always said before that it's up to an employer to do his best through his pay plan and such to help the employee not screw himself.

It's just the bell shaped curve of population. It might sound cynical, but that's the way I've always seen it.

PipeGuy

Other than this one...
all your comments are spot on. Sometimes I wrestle too much with the 'mother theresa' in me instead of just bitch slappin' her.

One thing I've come to feel strongly about is employee loans - I don't do them. I think they put both parties in an awkward position and I've found that, when pressed, there are almost always alternative sources of funding.
In fact, I just recently had a relatively new guy (bill) ask for a loan. His brother (bob) as it happens, is one of our best guys. I really didn't want to do the loan but, in a moment of weakness, I went to bob and offered to lend him the money to subsequently lend to bill (his brother). When bob said "no thanks" I woke up. Bill subsequently sold his drum set to pay the court fine.