the Situation
Between 2001 and 2004 the average U.S. stock portfolio dropped 34%, while the average U.S. House value increased 21%. This dramatic shift moved wealth from the more traditionally managed world of stocks and mutual funds to the less understood world of house equity. Since then, we have seen the stock market reach new highs...followed by an unprecendented decline in home values, the collapse of major financial institutions, and necessary government invervention in others. Now, more than ever, your employees need a sense of clarity which will increase their confidence. Currently, more than 67% of Americans have more wealth in their house than all their other investments combined. The wealth now located in the house has created a new paradigm for the old ‘location, location, location’, as consumers are now faced with the daunting decision of whether to leave the wealth inside the house, or utilize it for present or future needs. On the other side of the coin are the 33% of Americans that are currently underwater (owing more on their home than it's present market value) and the 13% that are currently in default on their mortgage. The situation is that from every angle concievable, confidence has slipped to a place that has left most paralyzed.
The problem: a national deficit of financial literacy.
In 2005, the Personal Savings Rate was negative for the first time since the Great Depression. Since then, through March of 2008, it has averaged only .3%, which is 2.6% less than inflation. It is of no surprise that financial stress is the #1 cause of divorce, family conflict, and decreased morale and productivity.
According to the Federal Reserve, “the cost of presenteeism has surpassed the cost of absenteeism, with employees spending an average of 28 hours a month at work on personal financial distractions.”
With increasing healthcare costs, rising bankruptcies and foreclosures, high debt levels, and near negative savings levels, it has been estimated that more than 70% of employees today are “seriously” stressed over their finances.
The average employee's consumer debt is greater than his or her annual income. Over 30% of U.S. households have NO financial assets, while on the other side of their balance sheets are adjustable rate mortgages waiting to adjust. The case studies and statistics are staggering in number, and obviously getting worse. There could not be a better time for an employer to take a leadership role, and deliver to their employees a transformational curriculum that is guaranteed to increase their clarity, confidence, and understanding of today’s market and what it means to them.
Meridian Foster. By providing Leadership, Relationships, and Creativity to our members and clients, we leverage many resources to provide maximum value - at every level. Our selection of partners is critical to the advancement of our mission, and to the value that we bring to the marketplace.
Meridian Foster and our affiliates are comprised of exceptional leaders, educators, and professionals. Their experience and expertise is combined to produce our extensive curriculum, which is shared via live online classes, recorded web classes, live local events, and personal coaching and mentorship.
Leveraging Meridian Foster, your employees will have a better understanding about the importance of managing the three sides of their balance sheet: their assets, their liabilities, and themselves. They will see how their individual decisions about liabilities, lifestyle, time, money and family impact their ability to create wealth (both from a monetary perspective: money, and an emotional perspective: fulfillment), and how these decisions, like interest, compound over time.