Greatvest Tools

At this time of year money and financial worries can be a cause for concern and a source of stress for many people, including your employees. HR Dept's latest #HR blog shows how you give support. Money problems are often exacerbated at this time of the year. Many firms pay staff early in December, and then it's a long haul to the end of January. The reality of what has been spent over Christmas often hits hard. Money and financial worries can be a cause for concern and a source of stress for many people including your employees. From day-to-day necessities like paying rent or buying food and clothes, to larger financial commitments like loan repayment and family dependencies. If left unsupported, money stress can cause all sort of problems, and interfere with a person's well-being and ability to work effectively. Problems such as lack of sleep, an inability to focus, frequent absences from work or worse. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute reports that a stagg...

  If there's one thing that's been made clear by the longest government shutdown in history, it's that financial resilience in America is in dangerously short supply. People don't tend to talk about their financial problems, but government workers who have just missed their first payday are taking to the airwaves and sharing details of their financial struggle - the missed rent payment, the empty gas tank, the stress and the shame. The Federal Reserve data that nearly half of all Americans couldn't come up with $400 in an emergency is well known; the shutdown has now given the statistic a face. It's easy to forget that the single largest employer in the U.S. is the federal government. Including state and local governments, the public sector employs more than 21 million people. All employers have both a responsibility and a business imperative to provide their employees with more than just a paycheck. Because when their workers experience a financial shock, ...

Your perfect investment mix depends on your age, how quickly you want to grow your money and how much risk you're willing to take. There is a whole world of investment possibilities out there, but for the beginner, it's best to start with good old stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Take Stock Buying stock is investing in the future performance of a company. Stocks are risky because there are many factors that can make share prices rise and fall, including things outside the company's control. When you invest in bonds, you are loaning money to a corporation or government and earning money on the interest. This makes bonds more predictable because you're collecting on a deal that's already been agreed to. However, there's always the risk of bond prices declining due to rising interest rates or the bond issuer failing to make payments on time. In the beginning, you'll probably invest in mutual funds or exchange traded funds (EFTs), which pool your money w...

Worrying about not having enough money for retirement is a major source of stress for a growing number of people. The fact I, retirement is expensive, and the sooner you can get an idea of what you will need to fund a comfortable retirement and take steps to grow your nest egg, the less stress you will have. It takes educating yourself, adjusting your spending habits and committing to savings. The following tips and tools can help you take control of your financial future for greater peace of mind, whether retirement is several decades or just a few years away.  Get a ballpark estimate of what you'll need. Some experts estimate you will need at least 70 to 90 percent of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living once you no longer work. Free planning tools can help you get the estimates you need to plan your financial route, start by tracking your current expenses. Visit: https://www.investor.gov/tools/other-resources  See how much Social Security will c...

If employer's are choosing to focus on educating their employees on how to build and manage an investment portfolio, then, it's vital to get it right. This mean starting with and emphasizing the basics of building an investment portfolio that has, first and foremost, a strong and balanced core allocation to growth and income investments, with the right amount of cash holding (not too much) and, only when that is in place, the addition of aggressive growth investments. For the past several years, as we have come to recognize the damaging effects that employee financial stress has on company productivity, more and more employers are planning to incorporate financial wellness programs into their benefits offerings. To date, most companies prioritize educating their employees on financial markets, investing and financial planning in their wellness programs. With 401(k) and other retirement plans already in place, it is an easier first step to design financial wellness pro...