Primerica Helps Families Become Financially Independent

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

When it comes to preparing for our financial future, many of us have to admit that we don't quite have it all figured out. Few of us know how much money we'll have to live on at retirement age, whether our houses will be paid off, or whether we'll have enough money saved up to put our children through college. If you are among those who need help organizing and preparing your financial game plan, you may want to contact Primerica, at 5673 W. Las Positas Boulevard.

"Our company's mission is to help families become debt-free and financially independent," says David Mead, regional vice president for Primerica's Pleasanton office. "We do that through what we call a 'financial needs analysis.' It's a tool that we use to help families balance their life insurance, investments, and mortgages."

Primerica Financial Services was founded in 1977 on the philosophy that families should purchase affordable term life insurance to have more money to invest in their future. Primerica serves more than six million clients in North America. In addition to life insurance, its products and services include debt consolidation loans, first mortgages, variable annuities, long-term care, retirement savings vehicles, and programs to fund education expenses. Primerica is a subsidiary of Citigroup, one of the largest financial services companies in the world. This affiliation gives Primerica access to other financial companies within the Citigroup family, including Citibank, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Citicorp Trust Bank, and Smith Barney. Primerica has over 100,000 representatives nationwide, many of whom work part time. Currently, 75 agents work out of the company's 2,000 square foot Hacienda office. However, Mead hopes to double that number in the next year.

Among the services that Primerica offers is a free weekly meeting Tuesdays from 7:30 pm to 8:45 pm. The meetings usually focus on a client example from the week that highlights what Primerica can do for families. The demonstration also covers the type of return an investor could expect if they were to work with Primerica. "Usually the client examples provide some education on how money works," Mead says.

Rather than doing most of their work over the phone or the Internet, as many companies do, Primerica prefers a more personal approach. "We go to see our clients and potential clients at their homes, and work with them over the kitchen table," Mead says. "It's really kind of old-fashioned. Most of our clients are families where both the husband and wife work, and they have too much 'month at the end of the money.' They live paycheck to paycheck, have too much debt, and haven't saved anything or are really behind on their retirement savings. They probably aren't prepared to pay for their children's college. Many people don't realize how small their initial investment can be. The average starting investment for our clients is often as low as $71 dollars a month."

Mead says that he is just as excited about his business today as he was when he started out 10 years ago. "So many people have lost hope when it comes to their personal finances. We can give them back that hope. Outside of their immediate family, nobody will care more about their finances than we will."

Photo: David and Kelly Mead work together at Primerica's Hacienda offices.

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