By Maria Connor, contributing author from the Del Mar Times Community News. She wrote an article about Jerry Troyer, owner of the Malachi Group, a financial company that I have worked with in workshops jointly to help the minds, bodies and Spirits of Americans to create financial success and alleviate financial stress!
What would you life look like if you can live it without financial stress? Or at least know how to manage your stress and your money?
Read on for more information
CLICK HERE to take Jerry’s financial stress survey.
Jerry Troyer, education director of the Malachi Group, tells people that financial literacy - learning to manage money - can reduce stress, improve quality of life and benefit society.
“I see the American economy [failing] if the consumers do not change their pattern of living,” said Troyer, whose office is at Rancho Santa Fe.
He’s got a point. The average employee spends 29 hours a month worrying about finances, costing companies more than $7,000 in lost productivity per employee annually, according to analysts. Research also finds eight million Americans delinquent on their credit cards, yet spending $1.22 for every dollar earned.
Statistics like these demonstrate the perilous nature of most people’s finances and the impact it has on their lives and contributions to the workplace.
Knowledge is the shovel folks need to dig themselves out of debt, according to Troyer, a certified financial literacy specialist who has developed a two-hour workshop available to employers to offer their workers or at public seminars.
Limited to 30 participants, the workshops cost $79 per individual or couple, which includes materials and follow-up assistance.
On average, participants identify $3,000 in misallocated funds that are then available for pay down debt, put into savings or tagged for retirement, according to Troyer.
Troyer spends a significant amount of his time educating employers on the value of his program, not just for employees but also for the good of the company. Employers need to understand the potential risks associated with stressed-out, distracted employees, particularly working as doctors, police, and firefighters or in constructions where mistakes can be deadly.
Besides the cost of lost productivity, employers may incur recruitment and training expenses because of staff turnover when employees move on to better paying jobs.
Employers should view financial literacy education as a job benefit that will cultivate loyalty, as well as an investment opportunity enabling employees to contribute to retirement plans and/or pay for annual health insurance increases.
After 20 years in the banking lending industry, including 10 years as a financial advisor, Troyer shifted his focus and founded The Malachi Group, a financial literacy provider company. He, and his wife Mary Jo, the company’s administrative director, relocated to California from Indiana two years ago to be closer to family.
Aside from the workshops, Troyer provides financial advising for retirement savings planning to a select group of clients.
“People are financially desperate and need help today,” Troyer said. “Sooner, or later, we all have to drive a stake in the ground or draw a line in the sand and say, ‘I can’t have it all.’” A sense of entitlement is one of the reasons so many people are in a financial crisis, along with the enticement of merchandise “on sale,” Troyer said.
“Advertisers have gotten into our psyches,” he continued, “ so if we think it’s on sale, our instant gratification kicks in and we think we need to have it now.”
One example used in the workshop to help participants understand this concept is a pair of designer jeans marked down to $60 from $100. When asked how much was saved, the typical answer was $40.“Wrong,” Troyer said, “because you’ve spent $60.”
Adult peer pressures, and the perceived inherent right to have anything, and everything, are two other factors influencing American spending habits. Equally detrimental, but less controllable, are situations such as divorce, health crises or job loss, Troyer said.
The financial literacy workshops provide information about money management, not just how to reduce debt, according to Troyer, who added classes were appropriate for everyone, not just those in trouble. He especially recommends them for young professionals, public service employees, single parents and newly engaged couples.
“It’s about looking toward the future,” Troyer said.
Participants receive paperwork to fill out before attending the workshop, detailing their expenses, income, debts and financial goals. During the class, Troyer teaches them how to set up planned spending — he doesn’t like to call it a budget. He also covers the importance of building an emergency fund, equivalent to three months income, and shows how to pay off debts without filing for bankruptcy.
If individuals still have unanswered questions at the end of the workshop, they can repeat it at no cost or address specific issues with Troyer. All information remains confidential.
“It breaks my heart to see how much financial stress there is in families,” Troyer said, “and it can be corrected easily.”
With a conviction that financial literacy leads to financial liberty, Troyer hopes individuals and employers will invest in his workshops as a means of investing in themselves.
“I’d like to see people work in the profession of their talent and giftedness,” he said, “rather than just taking a job for the paycheck.”
For information on financial literacy workshops, contact The Malachi Group at (888) 788-6685 or visit www.malachigroup.net