Food, Clothing, Transportation, Shelter
In our series here, the 'Life Literacy' aspects of these posts will tend to focus on Esteem and Self-actualization.
When it comes to our base needs, inflation tends to strike at the Physiological needs - food, water, shelter, clothing, and foundation erodes the sense of Safety on which those needs are met.
Money, as we talk about it in our 'What is Enough?' series tends to be a big part of Physiological, Safety, Love and belonging and Esteem. It is one reason that Financial Literacy is a big part of Life Literacy. If you are hungry, or worried about your shelter, it's difficult to really focus on supporting others.
Many things that are core to our base needs simply cost more... water was more expensive than gasoline, and now gasoline is at record highs.
Shelter costs more globally, and last year alone both rent and housing prices had record increases.
We think it's bad here... imagine 100% or 200% inflation - waking up one day and your $250,000 life savings is worth $125,000 and a month later worth $25,000.
Financial peace and calm is priceless. When we have it we don't think about it, but when we don't, when we find ourselves struggling financially we are dealing with very core, base desires, to feel we can provide for ourselves and our family, for our own safety, to belong and feel accepted and certainly we know self-respect and status are hugely impacted by our ability to earn an income and feel financially secure.
Don't forget, when you help someone solve a financial problem, you are helping them at the base of their needs hierarchy... without a firm base, almost all other areas come under stress.
That last paragraph is a profound concept for loan officers. When they bring empathy and the clarity of thought/process to help people navigate themselves out of stress, they're truly differentiated and following a Blue Ocean Strategy.
Choosing the right loan product and presenting a good TCA are table stakes. Leveraging the emotional ingredients necessary for success allows L.O.s to stand out as they help their clients climb back up the hierarchy pyramid. People don't soon forget those who gave them a plan and a hand up.
Two more thoughts: 1) people don't make the best decisions when they're scared. And 2) having a plan to get out of a mess often brings confidence and energy, even before progress is made.