Mentoro’s Founder, Rick Kent, provides insight about how many financial wellness programs are failing to truly provide the help they promise
Despite the advent of financial wellness programs, many Americans are still struggling to manage their money well. In fact, recent statistics show:
- 60% are living paycheck to paycheck
- 40% are finding it somewhat or very difficult to pay for household expenses
- 56% are unable to cover an unexpected $1,000 bill with savings
- Around 55% say they’re behind on saving for retirement
This list could go on and on. To help us understand why financial wellness does not work, Mentoro sat down with its founder, Rick Kent. In addition to starting Mentoro, Rick is the CEO and founder of Merit Financial Advisors. Merit has 36 offices nationwide and services over $6.1 billion in assets.
To start our conversation, Rick said, “When I first heard the concept, financial wellness had a nice ring to it.” He went on discussing how many companies grabbed ahold of this phrase. However, instead of offering true financial wellness, they used it to push a certain product such as retirement savings or insurance. In addition, many companies offered financial wellness for free. That should be a sign that there is probably a hidden agenda.
Rick then described the current HR department. Many really want to help their employees but there is only so much they can do. They cannot sit with each person. They can put out information and newsletters, but this is not getting their employees enough help.
To change the face of financial wellness, change needs to happen. First, there needs to be a community for people. In addition, it has to be affordable with real tools an individual needs.
For instance, if someone wants to get out of debt, she needs access to a debt calculator to see how she can eliminate debt and which approach is best to do so.
In addition to cutting edge technology, individuals need a live person. This is what separates Mentoro from other companies. Mentoro has money mentors for its members to talk with. In addition, Mentoro has made experts part of the community. Many have struggled in life and their passion is to pay it forward and help someone.
With the changes in financial wellness, we asked Rick what has kept him motivated. He stated,
“I really see a need that is out there. And I like to believe that I can come up with a solution to address the people that really need help.” Rick continued by sharing that money causes many of the world’s biggest problems and so many people have little or no choice. While the challenge is great, Rick pointed out, “The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity for success.”
To conclude our conversation, we asked Rick to look into his crystal ball and predict what others will be saying about Mentoro in 30 years. His response was, “There was a shift in education and Mentoro figured out how to connect people to help people.”
Mentoro is starting something big to change the face of financial wellness. Visit the MyMentoro portal today to set up your account. Let’s do this together!
