Profile of Life. Money. You.
Life. Money. You.® (LMY) is a free, holistic workplace financial well-being program offered by BCU. As a not-for-profit credit union, BCU can combine the services of Life. Money. You. with credit union membership to serve the needs of people in different phases of their life. Individuals can enroll in Life. Money. You. on their own, or employers can offer the program as part of their financial wellness benefits package. BCU Membership is not required to participate in the Life. Money. You. Program.
Financial health improvement is offered in a step-by-step format to guide people through the process of making changes in their finances. Life. Money. You. offers support and guidance for current financial situations, such as improving credit scores and help planning for future financial goals, such as saving for a college degree. People are provided practical advice and options for the next steps when addressing their financial situation and unique needs.
LMY experts share their personal stories of how they have handled a variety of financial situations. Speaking from a place of experience, experts share how they prepared themselves, what they learned, what worked, and even what they could have done differently. For example, an expert may tell the story of how they prepared financially for a cross-country move and what they faced during the process. These real-life examples can help the LMY experts relate in a way that strengthens the impact of the information being shared, while building trust and rapport, too.
According to Bjorn Larson, Executive Director of Life. Money. You., “The key to truly helping people improve their financial lives is to be very practical and relatable,” - “working as hard as you can to put yourself in another’s shoes. Rather than share generic, nationwide stats, ask good questions to better understand that person’s goals, and better prescribe financial solutions to achieve them.”
Features of Life. Money. You.:
- Self-service tools
- One-on-one support
- Podcasts, videos, virtual events, newsletter, in-person events
- Access to credit union membership
- MoneyTracksTM mobile app offering virtual services
Getting Started
Helping employers implement Life. Money. You.® as a financial well-being benefit begins with the team at Life. Money. You. understanding the financial situations of the employer’s employees. Using needs-based analysis, employee surveys and focus groups, information is collected about the financial stressors facing employees and areas where they feel confident and healthy.
Measuring Impact
Employers are often interested in hard data to measure how employees are using a benefit and what changes are taking place in their financial lives. Life. Money. You. demonstrates impact of the data and feedback in the form of testimonials.
- Data related to credit scores shows that more than one-third of the credit score tool users have made an improvement in their credit band – meaning what range their credit score falls in.
- Engagement in educational content has surpassed 100,000 total views on a variety of topics.
- Changes in financial well-being using the Financial Health Network’s financial assessment are displayed for employees and their employers to see.
- When employees are or become members of BCU, data can be provided to show how much more money they have saved through higher interest rates on savings accounts.
- Testimonials from employees describe how using the program has changed their lives and given them hope for a better and brighter financial future.
According to Larson, partner employers want to see that the program is helping to improve the financial health of their people. Both data and testimonials provide tangible proof to measure and support this positive impact.
Larson adds, “The Life. Money. You. program not only helps change people’s financial lives, but it offers money-saving products to help people take the next step on their financial journey, whether it’s to save more, spend less, refinance debt, our program can help. Sure, most programs improve financial lives, but after building a relationship, they often have to transfer people to another organization for next steps,” – something we solve for with a streamlined and personalized process.
If you’re an employer interested in Life. Money. You.® for your financial wellness benefits package, contact info@lifemoneyyou.com. We’re ready to help your employees discover even greater financial freedom!