Advertisement

Huffington's Thrive teams up with Discover to help curb financial stress

Discover (DFS) and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global are joining forces to help consumers deal with money worries.

Thrive Global, which focuses on solutions to help individuals guard against burnout, will partner with Discover to help boost its existing efforts to help consumers be more financially savvy— including a free FICO score tool for all, even for those who are not Discover customers.

In a white paper released Wednesday, both companies highlighted research focused on the effects financial stress has on different generations, as well as the impact on relationships and meeting certain life milestones. Those include buying a house, car or saving for retirement.

At least 65% of those surveyed said they are overwhelmed by their financial difficulties, while 35% said they wish they could have a fresh start.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We hear the economy is booming, the stock market is doing well, but we know that with skyrocketing student debt and credit card debt, there are a lot of pressures at the moment on the economy,” Huffington told Yahoo Finance.

“We are seeing it begin to manifest itself. We see how these financial stress dramatically affects peoples’ anxiety.”

Julie Loeger, executive vice president and president of U.S. Cards at Discover, told Yahoo Finance the companies found common ground in wanting to help consumers reduce anxiety, and promote financial wellness across age groups. She and Huffington met at the Consumer Electronics Show last year, and began a dialogue on the topic.

Loeger cited the $1.5 trillion in student debt and figures showing 52% of individuals have cried over money in the last year. Millennials, which have received the most education, are still living paycheck to paycheck, data suggests.

The Discover-Thrive initiative will provide what Huffington termed “micro steps” to help drive better behavior.

“When unchecked, the accumulation of everyday decisions...can affect the psychology and well being” of a person, Huffington said.

Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.