New Digital Tool Helps Couples Keep Resolutions: Stronger Finances and a Stronger Relationship
MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) January 04, 2018 -- Many couples begin the new year with a resolution to improve their finances, but get frustrated when they can’t get started or stay on track. Focused on the intersection of love, faith and finances, brightpeak financial® is committed to helping young couples communicate with each other about money, while honoring their shared values and goals. brightpeak’s digital tools and resources give couples small wins and achievable goals that follow a personalized path. The result is a resolution that can actually be kept: Stronger finances and a stronger relationship. Through this beta experience, brightpeak is applying feedback from participating couples to further enhance the platform’s offerings from engagement and wedding planning through merging finances, giving and home-buying, all the way through retirement planning.
“Money is a leading cause of discord in marriage,” said brightpeak financial Chief Marketing Officer Eric Hughes, “and it doesn’t have to be. We want to reframe money conversations as a way to bring couples closer together, celebrating their progress toward shared goals. We’re not a one-time partner in creating a savings plan; we’re here to be a partner for life, helping couples communicate through the financial milestones of a lifetime together while honoring the values and goals they hold dear.
To help, we’re building the Together platform with all the resources, tools and financial products couples need to successfully co-manage their finances, and we’re releasing it in beta stage so we can enlist couples to help build it out as a living, breathing guide.”
The first step for couples is to sign up at http://www.together.brightpeakfinancial.com and complete a quick assessment. The results include a personalized map to financial confidence, beginning with the conversations, insights and resources each couple needs to get started now, right where they are on their own personal financial journey. While couples will have the opportunity to purchase financial products through Together, the primary focus is on providing discussion points, clarification and direction for couples as they navigate financial decisions and plan to achieve their goals. Multimedia content -- which is all available for free -- includes expert advice, themed tips and considerations associated with key financial milestones, and conversation guides to help couples talk through the sometimes-messy discussions associated with money.
“With Together, you aren’t going to find a stodgy set of to-do lists,” said Hughes. “Today’s young couples are savvy and discerning. They want a full-surround experience that not only answers their questions but also challenges them to consider potential impacts as they relate directly to their own lives, values and goals. We’re re-creating the money experience to serve these young couples as they begin navigating their financial journey. And, because we’re a not-for-profit organization, our members (not stockholders) reap the rewards, including completely free access to resources, like Together.”
Key Partners Help Drive Insight and Awareness
The brightpeak team has invested to better understand the perspective and unique needs of the Millennial audience, not just as it relates to finance, but also to communication style, relationships, goals, values and visions of success. brightpeak is able to apply the financial knowledge and expertise of Fortune 500 not-for-profit parent organization Thrivent Financial with careful attention to the Millennial audience, by connecting with a rich family of partners, including:
- Relevant Media Group - With a monthly readership of 7 million, Relevant Media Group is the leader in engaging Christian twenty- and thirty-somethings with conversations of faith and culture. By serving as a key distribution and content creation partner, Relevant Media Group strengthens brightpeak offerings by applying their deep understanding of this audience’s unique perspectives, concerns and interests.
- Jon Acuff - To make the financial planning experience approachable, brightpeak has partnered with New York Times best-selling author Jon Acuff, who saw the power of couples getting their money under control while working on Dave Ramsey’s team. For 20 years, Jon’s worked with some of the biggest brands in the world to help them inspire and engage hundreds of thousands of people. Jon already created a “Ready, Set Goals! challenge” in partnership with brightpeak, to encourage productive goal-setting and provide a path to accomplishment.
- Dr. Sonya Britt-Lutter - To evaluate the effectiveness and impact of their approach, with an eye toward constant improvement, brightpeak is consulting Dr. Sonya Britt-Lutter, Kansas State University. A leader in the field of Financial Therapy, Dr. Britt-Lutter has performed ground-breaking research on the effects of finances and stress on relationships.
- Dr. J Galen Buckwalter, PsyML - Dr. Buckwalter has been a pioneer in incorporating psychometric information to establish and nurture relationships, as one of the original scientists behind eHarmony’s compatibility assessment. brightpeak partnered with Dr. Buckwalter and his new company, PsyML, to develop psychometric assessments for Together. The assessments are designed to help couples develop greater self-understanding, so they can work together to make positive, growth-oriented decisions.
“Our partnership with brightpeak is a priority for my team,” said Founder and CEO of Relevant Media Group Cameron Strang. “Too many couples face stress as a result of not having the financial conversations teed up in Together. It’s no stretch to believe we could help more marriages succeed through our work with brightpeak, so we’re fully committed to strengthening the platform and helping spread the word.”
In addition to the Web app, brightpeak is working with partners to extend the content into real-world commentary where couples can engage with it in different ways. This month, Relevant Media Group is distributing a special Love and Money mini-magazine together with their Relevant magazine, in regular distribution to subscribers. A new, dedicated Love and Money section will be featured on the Relevant Web site, and a Relevant Love and Money podcast series will launch this spring to stimulate engaging discussions of related topics.
“Love and money are intimately intertwined,” said Hughes, “brightpeak is committed to helping young couples grow stronger in their relationships with each other and with money, so they can live confident, content and generous lives.”
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brightpeak financial is a fast-growing, mission-driven digital financial services company offering customized, behavior-based financial guidance through unique solutions that help people live confident, generous lives. The company equips and empowers people nationwide to grow in relationship with each other as they tackle one of the leading causes of relational discord: financial insecurity. To accomplish this bold mission, brightpeak offers digital access to products including marriage relationship courses, personal money management apps, savings accounts, term life insurance, disability income insurance and retirement plans. brightpeak financial is a division of Thrivent Financial, a not-for-profit membership organization of Christians founded more than a century ago, and headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For the past two consecutive years, brightpeak has been recognized by Minnesota Business Magazine as one of 100 Best Companies to Work for. Learn more at http://www.brightpeakfinancial.com.
Shelly Dvorak, Sphere 421, http://bit.ly/2CQUfgZ, 952-250-7965, [email protected]
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