Some Companies to Start Offering Next Day Pay

Written by adminJuly 22, 2019
Business

As the economy continues to soar, there is a war brewing. It’s a war over talent and workers. Many companies across the country right now, including the industry that they work in, are facing a vast worker shortage. Here at Financial Helpers, we’ve covered this topic several times. We shared how in order to compete and bring in the best talent, as well as preventing turnover, many companies have been adding more perks.

Salaries have been rising. The unemployment rate has been plummeting. Still, there’s a massive shortage of workers. This is also prevalent in the fast food industry. Because there are higher-paying jobs out there, there are less people working in fast food. There was a time not too long ago when fast food jobs were the only reliable work you could probably find. There were plenty of college graduates with degrees forced to work for minimum wage.

Now, we live in a completely different time. If you want a job, odds are, you can easily find one. That isn’t stopping many industries thinking of new perks to draw people in. Those perks can include paying off student debt, generous benefit packages, more paid time off, and even paid health care. Companies will even contribute to your 401(k) and retirement fund.

One new weapon in the fight to attract new workers is offering next day pay. In particular, GPS Hospitality is looking to offer next day pay for thousands of fast food workers across the country. GPS Hospitality is the main company that owns numerous fast food restaurants we probably eat at all the time: Burger King, Popeyes, and Pizza Hut are among the most popular.

Give Employees a Hand Up

While the economy is soaring, there are still a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck. Even if you are doing fairly well, there may be a time or two when you run into an issue and need money. That’s why GPS Hospitality is offering a new program for their employees called “Work Today, Pay Tomorrow.”

“Everybody runs into issues with money at one time or another, and I’ve seen people go to the Payday Advance places and pay a hefty percentage fee for a short loan. There’s no fees involved in this whatsoever,” Laurie Covieo said. Covieo is the Senior General Manager of Burger King in Fenton, Michigan.

This Word Today, Pay Tomorrow program will allow employees to take out as much as 50% of what they earned the day before. For example, if an employee worked for 10 hours yesterday, they can get an advance of 5 of those hours today if they need it. There are no fees and is designed to both attract new employees and help current employees not worry so much about daily finances.

“If you work eight hours, a four-hour pay isn’t going to solve your problems the next day, but if you’re short gas money, that can be a big help or short some groceries for your family and trying to make it to payday, that can be a big help,” Covieo said. “As there’s lesser and lesser employees and everybody is hiring, it’s just another avenue for us to try to attract people,” Julie Linton said. Linton is the District Leader for GPS Hospitality, Burger King franchise.

This new plan has been undergoing testing since 2018, but is expected to roll out across the country later in August.

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Work and Money Problems Create Stress: 6 Ways to Get Away from the Grind

Written by adminJuly 22, 2019
Life Style

We all experience stress in multiple ways throughout our life. Whether it’s daily stress that accumulates over time or life-altering issues we often face, stress can impact our bodies in a variety of ways. Stress has been directly linked to an increase in depression, high blood pressure, strokes, and anxiety.

Science has proven that people who have regular, prolonged instances of stress over their life are usually the ones with the major cardiovascular problems later in life. In that way, you can almost consider stress to be a meat tenderizer that takes its toll on your body. It can even cause weight and memory issues.

While stress is a normal part of life, how we deal with it is under our control. We all work really hard, trying to make it and fighting all sorts of obstacles. Money problems can heighten the stress you feel. You might be facing some major bills or struggle to keep your debt in check. 

1) Wake Up Earlier

How you start your day can impact the way the rest of your day goes. A lot of people wake up as late as they can and RUSH RUSH RUSH out the door. They barely have enough time to grab something to eat or they hit the fast food joint on the way to work. The best thing you can do for yourself in the morning is to SLOW DOWN.

If you drink coffee in the morning, it takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine to metabolize in your body to full effect.  Take that time in the morning to slow down the morning rush. When going at your pace, you may find that your days are smoother and less hectic, especially if you battle traffic each morning.

Center yourself. Go in relaxed and ready to take on the day versus in a bad mood.

2) Take Up a Hobby

What better way to take your mind off a bad day or stressful situation than to indulge in a favorite hobby?  When the mind gets flooded with thought after thought and worries you’re constantly facing, there’s no better way to direct the mind than by focusing on something else instead.  Our brain isn’t that good at multitasking and likes to bounce around. But if you can focus on that one activity, like gardening, scrapbooking, or knitting, it has a way of channeling those thoughts and energy to the task at hand.

“There’s something about the tactile element of scrapbooking—cutting, pasting, positioning—that is probably more relaxing than posting online,” says Nina Savelle-Rocklin, PsyD, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist.  With gardening, you hold the soil in your hands and spend more time outside in the sun. Whatever you do, pick one thing and put all your focus and energy into it.

3) Good Food

The kind of food you eat can either make you or break you when it comes to stress.  When we’re under stress, most people have the tendency to start munching on some not-so-good foods.  The rise in cortisol is linked to wild cravings for sugar and heavy carbs, according to researchers at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center.  It becomes a nasty endless cycle of weight gain and even higher cortisol levels, leading to more binge eating.

Those types of foods are also high in things like chemicals, preservatives, sodium.  The high-sodium content alone will make you feel bloated, increase your blood pressure, and leave you feeling blah mentally.  The trick with these kinds of processed foods and carbs is you become addicted to them, so you keep running to them when feeling down.  

4)  Simplify Your Life

It seems like everything we do in life is about seeking out something bigger and better than what we already have.  We work extra hours to pay for the things we don’t need. While it’s nice to have things, all this extra stuff can complicate our lives severely.  Is it worth the stress and health issues it leads to? Only you can decide that.  

Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but take a moment away from the grind and look around.  Are the goals in your life meaningful? We are seeing more and more books and magazines with this same message.  And it’s not necessarily about living frugally, but just slowing down to smell the roses, so to speak. Declutter your house.  Downsize certain goals and ambitions that just seem to bring you down.  

5) Exercise

In a lot of ways, this point can go along with taking up a hobby.  Not only does exercise give you something to focus on, it also helps to burn all the stress hormones that build up in your muscles.  Another benefit to exercise is you simply become a fitter person. Someone who is fit is able to handle stressful situations better than someone who is not.  

6) Meditation

A few of the stress busters mentioned above involve distracting yourself.  Sometimes, though, a distraction isn’t enough. You need to fully remove yourself from the stressor.  There are a lot of great ways to do this. Meditation is one of them. Meditation is essentially another word for “relax.” Take some deep breaths. Listen to soothing music.

We all need to find ways to just get away from the grind.  If we allow stress to constantly eat at us, every single day, it will only make us sick and miserable.  By changing the way we look at our priorities, taking some time away to relax, eating the right foods, and doing the things we love can really fight back and help us win the war against stress.

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3 Things Small Businesses Can Do to Overcome the Summer Slowdown

Written by adminJuly 2, 2019
Business

Summer can be a rough time of year for some smaller businesses. It really depends on location and whether you have a large tourist population. If you don’t, then summer can be a struggle. School is out and for several months, a normal schedule doesn’t exist. Families leave for vacation, trips to the beach, or go to camp.

Because the normal schedule is disrupted, it can slow down a small business who is already trying to grow. You don’t have to take this slowdown laying down, either. There are things you can do to improve your business while preparing for the rest of the year. Here are 3 things small businesses can do to overcome the summer slowdown:

1) Slow Times Aren’t Necessarily Bad

If you have times of the year when you’re really busy, having a slower season isn’t necessarily bad. It gives you, your employees, and the business as a whole time to catch your breath. Catch up on inventory. Do some upgrades to the building. You have the time to learn new ways to revamp your marketing. Convince your staff to use their vacation time during these months.

By using this time to prepare, you’re rested and ready to go for when the busy season kicks into gear. The last thing you want to do is go into it unprepared. So, lean into this time and take advantage of the opportunity.

2) Look at New and Innovative Marketing Techniques

There are plenty of ways to boost business during the summer months. If you run a restaurant, consider buying a food truck, having outside events, or sponsoring a catered party. Look for new ways to expand your horizons a bit. Reach out in new and fun ways. You can even change your business model slightly.

One great way to expand business during the summer is to promote summer events. Do promotions that draw large crowds. Buy a smoke pit and have a BBQ. Put together a weekend or sidewalk sale. Whatever it is you chose to do, draw your audience to you and build brand awareness.

3) Fill Seasonal Needs

There are a lot of businesses that cater to the needs of the people during different seasons. For example, you’ll have a landscaping company that mows lawns and does landscaping in the spring and summer also remove snow in the winter. They have figured out how to relevant all year long to serve the people of their community.

If you suffer a severe shortage of customers during the summer, find a way to stay open. Do something else. Change up your business model. This is a great time to get creative and make extra money rather than just closing shop until it gets busy again. It might even help to talk with your employees about ideas they may have.

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1 in 4 Americans Won’t Take a Vacation this Year

Written by adminMay 23, 2018
Saving

After the brutally cold and snow winter, the days are finally getting longer and the warm weather is making its gradual return. As Memorial Day creeps up on us, so does the first day of summer.

Prom season is upon us and graduation is around the corner. This time of year is a busy, but exciting time all around. Families mostly look forward to summer for the numerous recreation opportunities that abound.

The problem is, a lot of families still won’t be able to afford a vacation. According to a new survey, 1-in-4 Americans can’t afford to go on a vacation, even if they have paid vacation days. The situation is so frustrating, that only 36% of people said they don’t even plan on using all their days this year. 13% said they won’t use any days at all.

It’s not all about being unable to afford a trip, either. In a lot of cases, the economy is booming and businesses are experiencing a labor shortage. If there’s not enough help, then workers may decide to take advantage of the need and work through their vacation time to earn more money. Some strongly feel falling behind at work will cost them in the end.

But not taking a vacation is as good as leaving money on the table. While a lot of Americans seem reluctant to take vacations, they’re very important for a variety of reasons. If you get paid to take days off, then you should do it!

Vacations, even long weekends, are great for your health, will prevent burnout, and can increase your productivity. The problem is, these benefits only work if you actually take a break from your work.

61% of people claimed to do work while they were on vacation and reported all sorts of ill effects, such as higher levels of exhaustion and burnout, compared to people who took a real break they considered “highly recuperative”, even to the point of feeling more satisfied with their lives.

Whiling taking a vacation is highly suggested, if you’re the 1-in-4 who simply can’t afford a vacation, here are a few ways you can save throughout the year to ensure you get some necessary time off:

1) Don’t Choose Heavily Populated Areas

Sometimes, the best places to get away to are off the beaten path. Going on a long weekend camping trip up the road might be best. It gets you out of the office and communing with nature while allowing for family time.

You might consider theme parks or areas where a lot of other people go, but those types of places tend to be expensive to visit. Choosing the right location can save your bundle and have the same desired effect.

2) Plan Your Vacation Well Ahead of Time

Don’t be that person who waits until it’s almost summer to start planning that vacation. If you can plan well ahead of time, it gives you a better chance to save more money knowing what to expect. Also, you can book tickets cheaper the further out you go.

3) Use Cash

It might be tempting to put everyone on credit, but that will make the vacation much more expensive than you might realize. Not only will you have to pay the interest, a lot of credit cards have extra fees for using your card away from home. This is especially true if you leave the country. Cash is best so you can budget exactly what you need and not break the bank.

4) It’s Great for Your Health

Again, a lot of people fear taking vacations for a variety of reasons, but usually at a cost of lost production and increased burnout. Scientists discuss the benefits of getting that much needed break and they include better heart health, higher production when you return, better quality of life, and an overall reduction of stress.

Taking a vacation is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Most people who end up skipping it, even if they don’t think they can afford it, often regret it. Even if you can’t afford to leave on a trip, do yourself a favor and find time to relax. You won’t be sorry.

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