[W548]What Is Triple Bottom Line

It is not only high school dropouts that fail to understand their credit contacts and the factors that influence their FICO score. I have proctored a lot of seminars to attorneys where I had refused to entertain CPA's and engineers who did not have the idea that regular payment of their credit dues every month will not enhance their credit score. They also had the belief that if they closed their credit card, it will foster an unbelievable positive affect on their score. They had absolutely no idea regarding the manner in which their score influences their insurance and they did not even know how to read the details of their credit report.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "For consumers, this increases the importance of understanding the tricks for improving your score. It isn't surprising at all that people are confused by the process. Credit scores -- the arcane calculations pored over by everyone from mortgage lenders to auto dealers to decide how much they're willing to trust you to pay them back -- are growing in importance as their use spreads beyond traditional lenders to wireless-service providers, insurance companies, and even employers."
The employee's of today are basically struggling to meet their growing financial demands. This is not a problem that is solely faced by the poor households; the American middle class who earn $80,000 are equally concerned by this problem. This is according to the report filed by the Consumer Federation of America in 2003. Though the current figures are unavailable, but it is a well known fact that the nation's credit card debt stands at over $ 800 billion dollars. We are also slated to reach the trillion marks in the near future. According to a survey conducted by the 'In charge educational Foundation', 30% of the employees are found to be reeling under huge financial distress and 28% of them are in absolute distress. Their situation is defined by the ever accumulating unpaid bills whose due dates prove to be a constant reminder of the pressure of the credit card companies. The present day American employee is plagued with over 30% interest rate; the astronomical fees and the near hopeless situation of not being able pay back the balance.
Over the years, the employers have begun to realize that a happy employee happens to be a more productive employee. Due to the present day financial crisis, every employer is required to put emphasis on financial education and help their employees to compartmentalize their lives. They should be discouraged from using the working hours worrying away about their bills.
But the magnitude of the financial crisis is found to spill over into the workplace today. Over two thirds of Americans are worried about their jobs, imminent needs and their end of the month bills. Employers realize more and more that their employees' financial worries are creating a substantial impact on their businesses. In the present day economy many of the businesses do not have the money to offer financial relief for rising gas or food prices. However they can surely offer financial education to help the Americans to save money and teach them how to handle budgeting, lowering credit card bills and how to be a smart consumer and avoid financial trumps ending up in collections. The financially challenged employee is worried, confused and is cutting money out of the company bottom line by not making the right decisions for the company and by being less productive in working hours.
A professor of Law at Harvard University, Elizabeth Warren, presented an amazing fact in one of her researches. She says that the life-style of the Americans has undergone a change since the 1970s. The average American today is not spending more on clothing (which is actually 32% less compared to the expenditure during the 70s), food (here it is less by 18%), appliances (it's less by 52%) and cars (less by 24% per vehicle). These statistics are contrary to the popular claims. Rather, the expenditure is incurred more on the essentials like house (76% more, this is taking into account the inflation rate for the same size home that would have cost during the 70s), healthcare expenditure has risen by 174%, car by 54%( we need more than one vehicle, we need two wage-earners ), childcare by 100% and taxes by 25%. So, what does this finding actually say? Elizabeth Warren summarizes in her research that the fixed expenses of the average American has actually increased from half to of their respective earnings.
Absenteeism, presenteeism (working less than before), sickness, using time for personal issues are just few of the devastating effects of employee financial problems and the effect of stress spilling over to influence the company's bottom line. According to the findings of different researches, lost productivity and higher healthcare cost can contribute to the loss of thousands of dollars per employee every year. Whereas, financially literate employees feel more in charge, they are more active and make better choices for the company bottom line.
With the provision of low cost financial education and changing financial behavior, the employers can gain in many ways. They stand to receive:
1. A more focused and more productive employee section.
2. Employees who are able to make better decisions about company issues.
3. Lesser amount of sick days and lower insurance rates.
In today's environment providing financial education is essential for the survival of any company. Every $1 invested brings $3 return. My last book offers a brief and essential summary that can protect the present day consumer from the newly evolved bank tricks. Your order is followed up by monthly a newsletter, which keeps up with the newest information about credit and everyday personal finances.
I am humbled by the fact that Maria Shriver recognized my efforts by observing through her statement, "I applaud you for writing a book ...I admire your passion to educate people on the amazing benefits of maintaining good credit.