What is a Daily Money Management all about?
Why you need a Daily Money Manager
As personal financial matters become more complicated – finding time to focus on the daily tasks of money management becomes more difficult. Daily money managers (DMMs) offer services to ensure nothing falls through the cracks including necessities like monthly bill payments, tax preparation, balancing checkbooks, decoding medical bills and negotiating with creditors. DMMs work with a variety of clients such as:
- Seniors and older adults
- Adult children of older adults
- Busy professionals
- People with disabilities
- High net worth individuals and families
- Small business owners
- Frequent travelers
- Military personnel and veterans
- Executors, Trustees and Guardians
- People in life transition
Not everyone is ready or able to manage the tasks associated with daily money management. When you hire a daily money manager to assist with your needs, you have peace of mind knowing that a dedicated, trained professional will ensure your daily financial matters are handled in a timely and professional manner so you can focus on the things you enjoy. It’s like having a personal Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on staff.
What types of tasks will a 5 Star DMM handle?
The expertise of 5 Star DMMs covers a broad range of tasks, and the actual work they do depends on client need. However, the scope of a DMM’s work generally includes the following:
- Bill-paying, including calls to payees regarding incorrect bills
- Balancing checkbooks and maintaining organization of bank records
- Preparing and delivering bank deposits
- Preparing and monitoring budgets
- Watching for fraudulent transactions and financial abuse
- Organizing tax documents and other paperwork
- Negotiating with creditors
- Providing referrals to and working with legal, tax, and investment professionals.
FAQs
If I hire a DMM, why do I need an accountant, lawyer, or social worker?
A DMM does not take the place of professionals in the accounting, investment, or social service fields. Their work complements the specialization of other professionals by facilitating the completion of your day-to-day tasks. For example, a DMM, by organizing and maintaining accurate financial records for a client, can easily compile the necessary documents for tax preparation by an accountant. When the accountant has prepared the required tax returns, the DMM makes sure they are correctly signed, that the appropriate checks are attached, and that returns are mailed on time. Unless your DMM happens to have separate professional credentials in other fields, he or she should not be offering you legal, investment, or tax advice. However, a good DMM should be able to recognize pertinent issues and refer you to professionals and organizations qualified to provide the other services you may need.
Will I be giving up my independence if I hire a DMM?
On the contrary, hiring a daily money manager will enable you to maintain your independence as the DMM is there to assist you with your finances while keeping you involved in any decision-making.
- As a senior, they can give you the comfort of another set of eyes reviewing documents and ensuring bills are paid, potentially delaying any need for family members to step in.
- As a busy professional, they can free you up to focus on other important things like your family and career while keeping you informed of where your finances stand, avoiding late fees and poor credit because things will no longer fall through the cracks.
- For high net worth clients, you can be assured that someone else is watching over your financial life to make sure whatever tasks are required to be done to keep your household operating, they are done.
The involvement of an outsider in personal financial affairs may be intimidating for some, but most clients of DMMs find that once they have established a relationship with their DMM, they don’t know how they survived without one.