This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Businessman Says Plan Finances, Lower Stress

Bridgewater Financial Planner James Kinney loves helping Individuals plan their lives and reduce their stress.

There are dozens of reasons why financial planning is important, but lowering one’s stress level is the number one reason for James Kinney, a certified financial planner who established Financial Pathways, a Bridgewater-based company, in 2004.

Kinney, who had worked in the corporate world and then later ran a tag-and-label business serving the fashion industry, said he loves what he’s doing now—working with individuals to help them plan their lives.

“While our label business was highly successful, and at one point we were printing a half a billion labels, it wasn’t offering satisfaction on a deep level,” he said. "The goal of financial planning is a major reduction in stress. And when I can do that for my clients, that’s what makes me feel good."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“Just the other night, I was working with a client and it was obvious that he had so many worries and anxiety," he added. "Once we began to run some projections, and he could see that it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had envisioned, it was like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders."

Kinney also wants to share his knowledge about finances with parents to help them learn how to encourage financial literacy in their children. He’s offering a workshop on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, on the corner of Homestead Road and Route 206.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“There has been a big movement toward financial literacy for young people in New Jersey," he said. "That’s one of the reasons I am holding this workshop."

According to Kinney, ideally, financial literacy needs to be taught at home because kids need to experience it. He compared it to learning to swing a golf club.

“You can learn all the theories in the world, but unless you do it, unless you experience what it’s like to swing the golf club, you can’t do it,” he said.

The workshop, Kinney said, will focus on helping parents consider strategies for helping their children learn how to handle money in increments. He said the concepts are the same, but they will have to be adapted depending on the age of the child.

Kinney said the parent may give a small allowance to younger children and tell them they can spend some of it on candy or a toy, but they have to send the message that the entire allowance cannot be spent all at once.

For older children, their allowance may be spent on clothing or an event, but again, Kinney said, they need to understand how to delay gratification and save up for something they really want.

“It’s important to learn little lessons over time," he said. "Probably the hardest lesson to learn is that there is no magic money.”

“I call it magic money when people believe that money will just appear out of nowhere,” he added. “It’s one of the most difficult lessons to understand—if you spend it all this week, you won’t have it next week. That’s it.”  

Kinney said he believes that when trying to help children and young adults develop financial literacy, it’s most effective if the parents construct ways for their children to understand that they do have to choose between what they can and cannot afford.

Kinney, who has been a natural entrepreneur, said he learned it from his father.

“My father always had a steady corporate job, but he also always had a side business going and we would help him and I think that’s where I learned that if you put your mind to it, you can make money at a small business,” he said.

“When we were kids, we had less structured time than many of the kids today," he added. "So we would do things like set up a lemonade stand or mow lawns to earn money. I think when kids get to practice being entrepreneurial, that also helps them to learn how to handle their finances."

To register for the 2-hour workshop, send an e-mail to Kinney at jkinney@financialpathways.net or call 908-203-4664. Leave your name, phone number and e-mail address.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?