The 21^st Century Magazine, at South Florida's www.miami-dade-online.com.

"Stress is the most contagious plague of modern society" According to a Prevention Magazine survey. "The long term effects of stress on one's health are quite significant. The American Academy of Family Physicians has said that two thirds of office visits to family doctors are prompted by stress related symptoms."

"If you get sick when you look at your bills, you're not alone, and it turns out that queasy feeling isn't just in your head". Researchers at Ohio State University found that people with large amount of debt relative to their income have more stress related medical problems including heart attacks and high blood pressure."

One cherished freedom most American workers do not enjoy is freedom from debt, and that is becoming a big problem for their employers. "The American workforce is falling into debt so deep that it is affecting not only their savings for retirement but job performance as well." According to the Federal Reserve Board's latest figure total consumer debt exceeded $1.3 Trillion.

Do money matter affect people at a work?" "The answer is YES! YES! YES! The National Institute for Personal Finance Employee Education says employees waste 24 hours per month grappling with their money woes.

• 54% of the work force worries about debt.
• 53% are dissatisfied with their financial condition.
• 34% rate their financial stress from "high" to "extreme."
• 33% concede their money worries hamper job performance.

"Employees with money problems are like sharks swimming around taking bites out of the bottom line.." (These workers are less productive because they get sick more often and lose more time from work)

"It is estimated that perhaps one-half of workers with personal financial problems are also likely to be performing poorly on the job, and this negatively impacts their employers. The Department of Defense estimates their cost to be a billion dollars annually.

Participation rates in defined contribution pension plans, such as a 401(k) plans are not as high as they ought to be. Research shows that the two key reasons are

• (1) many workers cannot save appropriately because they have credit and money management problems, and
• (2) they are uninformed about both the existence of the need and the motivation to save for the future.

Approximately half of working Americans now have financial education available through their place of employment however, such education typically concentrates solely on retirement. A growing number of smart employers are responding to this workplace challenge by offering comprehensive financial education.

Smart employers realize that good financial wellness and key measures of productivity are positively related. Such employers know that spending money to give workers comprehensive personal finance education will provide a positive return on investment for every single dollar invested.

The executive Director of the Personal Finance Employee Education and Virginia Tech's National Institute for Personal Finance Employee Education is quoted as saying, "We believe that personal finance education should be made available to all workers in the United States.

For further information contact Bob Keesler @ Consumer Credit Counseling Service (305) 892-3004 or bob@cccs-sfl.com

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