ST. GEORGE – Many people know it is important to plan for retirement, but the idea can be incredibly overwhelming. With so many questions, so many different answers, Ed Kinsey and Marc Roethel decided they would set out to find a simple solution. And when they became overwhelmed with information that was often confusing and didn’t fit their family circumstances, they decided to develop their own solution.

“Life1010” is the 52-week “prepared for life” program they created to help “average people like us” organize finances, prepare for unexpected emergencies, and make educated decisions about retirement and investment options.

Both in their early 30s and with young families, Kinsey and Roethel said they wanted to start their careers and adult years with smart investing and planning.

“One day we were talking and decided that there has to be an easy way to understand all of the options and recommendations for smart spending,” Kinsey said. “We were a little overwhelmed by everything that we were being told, so we decided to simplify, consolidate, and build a plan that works from the ground up.”

And that is exactly what the Life1010 program has been designed to do. With more than 300 enrollees, Life1010 has become one of the fastest-growing online life and financial coaching programs in Utah. Each week, participants receive an email lesson and assignment that builds from one lesson to the next over the course of the year. For example, some lessons include “Your Survival Kit for Life” with home assignments that include preparing for emergencies, “SpendWize” with instruction on how to build a personal and family financial plan, “LifeZen” which addresses balancing health and wellness, and “ReTire” which talks about how to anchor retirement with safety nets and sound investments.

“Each week our clients get an email that takes 10 to 15 minutes to read. There may be a worksheet, a goal-setting assignment, or homework that requires assembling an important documents binder,” Roethel said. “We keep the homework assignment task-oriented and easily doable.”

Designed to be easy, informative, time efficient and also relationship building, “our curriculum encourages couples and families work together,” Kinsey said. “For my wife and I, communication has been the biggest benefit of working our program. Being able to communicate about finances is all about healthy communication patterns.”

Roethel said, “I grew up in an environment where finances were a cause of great stress. For my family, I wanted to create a program that would provide comfort and security and one where we would have a plan in place that allows us to pay our bills each month without worry.”

Personal coaching provided by Kinsey and Roethel reinforces Life1010’s interactive email lessons. “We love interacting with our customers,” Roethel said. By email, phone or personal appointment, Life1010 staff work to make sure their clients can easily finish the program and accomplish its associated goals and assignments.

Comprehensive in its design, Life1010 is a program designed to be simple, yet to help couples and families develop a complete and organized plan for health, social and financial wellness. Some tasks include planning emergency escape routes in a home, gathering and organizing financial documents in one safe and secure place, setting goals for food and water storage, and setting goals for family vacations, college and retirement.”

“Basically these are things we all know we should do, but what we’ve created is an educational, structured method for making sure it all gets done,” Kinsey said. “And its fun. My wife and I really enjoy the time we spend working together on our program, and she loves the sense of security it brings us.”

While Life1010 is designed to be able to be accomplished in one year, many clients work the program at a personal pace, typically one week at a time. “We like to help them stay on track because we see how exciting it can be once a family starts to see everything come together for them,” Roethel said. “And we have also found that this is a program you don’t just do once. Many of our clients are repeating the program to update and keep their plans current, and because they come to enjoy spending the time together.”

Resources

Life1010 enrollment cost is $10 per month and includes weekly lessons, coaching and access to staff.

Life 1010 website / Telephone 855-876-5252.

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