Using The Change To Make A Change…

First I want to apologize for my absence! I have been opening up a Liberty Tax Franchise over the last few months and as you all know it is tax season! (Get $50 cash from Liberty just for getting your taxes done) “shameless plug”. Okay that will be the only one, no worries haha.

I wanted to post something that relates to this time of year and also helps us think of ways to continue to create change. I strongly believe that the only way to improve a situation is through change. Which takes me to my next point…

I have seen many “first peak” customers as the industry labels this group of people. They are lower-income (under 30k), often single parents, multiple kids, and high school educated. This group looks to get their refund fast and don’t care what it costs as long as they get a lot of money back, and the money comes in fast. My customers have seen returns in upwards of $8000 when their incomes only reached the teens. This is an extremely large amount of money for a family whose household income is only twice this amount. At the end of a return I ask myself what are these people doing with these large sums of money? Are they using the “change” to create “Change” or perpetuating the cycle. Do 1st peak customers know about investments, life insurance policies, 401k’s, and IRAs? Or are they educated with Check Casher’s and Title Loans, high interest rates, and prepaid phones?

I am really thinking hard about how to educate people about their options to create change in their lives. Many people who are given such a large sum of money do not have any clue as to how to manage it. So before they know it, they are back living check to check until next tax season or a win at the casino…whichever comes first. What can we do to create a change FligherEd??? Let me know.