Financial resilience is essential for employees to thrive in today’s uncertain economic climate. As an employer, you play a vital role in supporting your employees financial wellbeing by helping them build resilience in this area. Here are ten smart money moves that you can encourage your employees to take to build financial resilience for life.
Create a budget and stick to it
A budget is a plan that helps someone manage their money by tracking income and expenses. Encourage your team to create a budget by helping them understand how to track their expenses, identify areas where they can save money and set realistic financial goals. You can provide access to budgeting tools and resources such as budgeting templates and financial calculators to help them get started. To urge them to stick to their budget, consider offering ongoing support and education such as financial workshops or one-to-one guidance.
Save for an emergency fund
An emergency fund is a savings account that can help your employees cover unexpected expenses such as car repairs, medical bills or household appliance fixtures and replacements. Encourage your employees to save 3-6 months of expenses if they can by helping them determine how much they can afford to save based on their income and outgoings. You can provide access to financial planning tools and resources such as savings calculators and budgeting worksheets to help them begin. Encourage your team to set up automatic payments from their paycheck to their emergency fund to make saving easier.
Reduce debt
Debt can have a negative impact on your employees’ financial resilience by reducing their ability to save and invest. Debt can also cause financial stress for employees, affecting their ability to be productive in the workplace. Encourage them to reduce their debt by helping them understand how to prioritise repayments, negotiate lower interest rates and avoid new debts unless absolutely necessary. You can provide access to debt reduction tools and resources such as debt payoff calculators, and recommendations for charities that provide free debt advice such as StepChange.
Invest in retirement
Encourage your employees to invest into a pension to help them prepare for retirement. Provide information about different pension saving options and investment strategies to help them make informed decisions. You can also provide access to resources such as retirement planning tools and workshops to help them set realistic goals and make plans to achieve them. Mintago’s pension dashboard allows employees to manage their pensions in one convenient place, setting goals and seeing whether they are on track to achieve their desired retirement lifestyle.
Build a solid credit history
A good credit score can help your employees access credit at favourable rates and terms, which can in turn improve their financial resilience. Encourage your employees to build a good credit history by teaching them how credit works, the factors that impact their credit score and how to establish and maintain good credit habits. You can provide access to resources such as credit counselling, credit reporting tools and credit score calculators to help them improve and monitor their score. Employees can also take Mintago’s ‘improve your credit score’ educational journey to learn more about how to boost their score.
Purchase insurance
Encourage your employees to purchase insurance to help protect their financial wellbeing. Provide information about different types of insurance and why these are important, such as health, life and disability protection. You can then help them select the right policies for their specific needs. You can also provide access to resources such as insurance calculators and insurance education to help them make informed decisions, also urging them to use comparison sites to shop around for the most affordable and comprehensive cover.
Plan for large purchases
Encourage your team to plan for large purchases such as buying a car or a house. This will help them avoid taking on excessive and unnecessary debt. Provide access to resources such as financial planning tools and workshops with experts specialising in this area to help them save towards these purchases and make wiser decisions. Suggest that they research the different options available to them, compare prices and terms and negotiate the best deals.
Live below your means
Encourage your employees to live below their means to ensure that they are not spending more than they have. You can help them to identify areas where they can cut back on spending and prioritise saving the money instead. Provide access to resources such as budgeting tools and financial advisers to help them manage their money effectively and avoid accruing large amounts of debt. Employees can speak to a financial adviser for free through the Mintago platform, gaining advice on any topic which is causing them stress or that they wish to learn more about.
Learn to invest wisely
Investing can be an effective way to build wealth and improve financial resilience, but it also comes with risk. Encourage your team to spend time researching how to invest wisely by helping them understand the different types of investments, the risks associated with each and how to make informed, sensible decisions. Provide access to investment education resources and encourage them to speak to a professional before beginning on their investment journey.
Prioritise financial education
One of the best things that you can do as an employer to help your employees build financial resilience is to stress the importance of financial education. This can take many forms including webinars, workshops, online courses and one-to-one coaching sessions. By offering financial education opportunities in the workplace, you can help your team develop the skills and knowledge they need to implement smart money moves and improve their financial wellbeing. Mintago’s platform allows employees to take educational journeys to learn more about important topics such as purchasing a house. Furthermore, Mintago’s Masterclasses are webinars delivered by financial experts on various topics, helping to boost employees’ knowledge and understanding of financial matters.
Building financial resilience for life
By encouraging your employees to take these ten smart money moves, you can help them build financial resilience, prepare for unexpected expenses, and invest in their future. By providing access to resources and support, you can help your team achieve better financial wellbeing in today’s ever-changing economic climate.