Page 38 - Christiana Care Focus October 2018

Let’s Commit To Be Fit |
Committing to good financial health
An unexpected car repair. Student loan payments. Saving to buy a home.
Life comes with lots of financial demands. Meeting those demands can be stressful. Having a coach on your team who can teach you the skills to overcome obstacles can help you achieve your goals and enhance your financial health.
“Coaching is not case management, telling people what to do,” said Manoj Philip, a personal financial coach who guides Christiana Care employees and contractors through the $tand By Me program. “It’s acting as a guide as clients work toward their goals. We discuss available options and resources, pros and cons of different ideas and solutions, etc. We help them develop a strategy for achieving their goals that fits their lifestyle, budget and personality. Financial coaching is client-driven and client-centric.”
The coach can provide you with free credit reports, help you create a budget, develop a debt repayment plan for you and more. $tand By Me is free and confidential.
“It’s not just theory. It’s practical strategies,” Philip said.
The coach logs about 1,000 sessions a year at Christiana and Wilmington hospitals. About one in five people are able to get the guidance they need in one session. The rest meet with the coach
several times, either face-to-face or via teleconference. Philip also is available for workshops on such topics as dealing with undergraduate and graduate school debt, such as medical school loans and PLUS loans.
Some people are in a state of financial crisis. A spouse or partner has lost a job. They can’t pay the rent because credit card bills are piling up. The roof is leaking and the kids need money for school supplies.
It’s important to come up with a plan to remedy these sorts of problems because they have a tendency to cascade and create even more problems.
“You have a fender bender and can’t get the car fixed. Now you can’t get to work. You pay your rent late and get a 5-percent penalty. Or you overdraw your bank account and you get a $35 overdraft fee,” Philip said.
Others are doing well financially but have a specific goal they want to achieve, such as paying for their children’s college education, planning for retirement or increasing their savings.
“The goal is to be able to pay for the things that are important to you,” Philip said.
Here are a few tips for good financial health:
• If you are spending too much money on eating out, plan ahead and cook at home more often.
• Shoot for 10 percent of your net income to go into savings, above and beyond your retirement savings.
• If you have reduced your expenses and still can’t make ends meet, get a second job to earn extra money.
If you dream of buying a home, your coach can guide you on
what you need to do to be pre-approved for a mortgage. You will talk about how to build your credit profile and how to estimate your down payment and closing costs. Your coach also can provide information on potential state or county programs to help homebuyers.
“We work with people instead of just telling them what to do,” he said. “We give them good, sound principles and lots of information. They grab the baton and come up with a strategy that fits their needs and goals.” 
To schedule an appointment, visit www.StandByMe.as.me
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