Set Up Your Accounts

• Set up direct deposit: Have your paycheck deposited directly into your account(s) so your money is available quickly and securely. Visit Workday > Menu > Pay > Direct Deposit(s)/Pay Card to get set up at Memorial Hermann.
• Set aside savings automatically: Consider splitting your direct deposit between a checking and savings account. You can do this through Workday when you set up your direct deposit account(s) or instead direct a fixed amount to your savings right in the DailyPay app. Learn more about DailyPay’s secondary account option here. DailyPay can also help you access your earned wages before payday.
• Understand your paycheck: Review your pay stub so you know what is being deducted for taxes, benefits and retirement. Fidelity’s Anatomy of a Paycheck can help you understand where your earnings go.

Build Your Financial Foundation

• Build and protect your credit: Review your credit report, check your score regularly and understand how payment history, balances and new accounts can affect it. Fidelity offers resources to help you build and protect healthy credit.
• Start an emergency fund: Set aside money for unexpected expenses, such as a car repair, medical bill or loss of income. Start with an achievable goal, then build toward enough to cover several months of essential expenses. Review Fidelity’s Guide to Emergency Savings for the top tips to getting started.
• Protect your financial information: Use strong, unique passwords, turn on account alerts and avoid responding to unexpected requests for money or verification codes. If you’re enrolled in a MetLife Legal Plan, an attorney can help you contact banks and creditors and address certain legal issues resulting from identity theft.

Start with a Plan

• Fidelity: Use the planning and budgeting tools available through NetBenefits to review your finances, set goals and track your progress.
  • Plan Your Pay Guideline: Use Fidelity’s 60/30/10+15 guideline to organize your money: aim to spend 60% or less of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on nice-to-haves and 10% on near-term goals and emergency savings, while saving 15% of your pre-tax income for retirement, including the Memorial Hermann match. No login is required, so you can share the page with family members.
  • Budgeting Tool: Make a budget in a few simple steps. The tool also helps you categorize your expenses (e.g., housing, entertainment, dining) and take control of your spending so you can reach your savings goals.
  • Spending Dashboard: Gain clarity around how much you’re spending across categories to help make informed adjustments.
• DailyPay: Use tools in the DailyPay app to set aside savings, access your wages before payday and speak with a financial coach.

Plan for Predictable Health Expenses

Understanding and preparing for health and dependent care costs can help you avoid surprises and make your budget more accurate.

• Understand how your health coverage works: Visit Get More Out of Your Benefits to learn how deductibles, copays, coinsurance and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) work so you can choose coverage that fits both your health needs and your budget. You’ll also find ways to access cost-effective—and sometimes no-cost—care, including Memorial Hermann’s Employee Medical Clinics.
• Use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Allocate a set amount each pay period toward qualified health or dependent care expenses, which can reduce your taxable income and help make certain costs more predictable.
• Consider added protection for major events: Voluntary Health Plans (often called “supplemental health plans”) are generally designed for unexpected health events, but some benefits may also help with planned expenses. For example, if you’re expecting a child, keep in mind that optional Hospital Indemnity Insurance pays a cash benefit for a hospital admission—and may even pay a $250 newborn benefit. You choose how to use the payment you receive.

• Use Fidelity tools and resources: Explore Fidelity’s Learning Center for tools and education on understanding credit, avoiding debt and paying debt. Learn how your credit score can affect everyday decisions, such as renting an apartment or financing a car, and the interest rates you pay. Featured resources include:
  • Fidelity Debt Tool
  • How to Balance Debt, Saving and Investing
  • 8 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
  • Good Debt vs. Bad Debt
• Get help paying down eligible student loans: Student loan payments can make it harder to save, manage everyday expenses or plan for other goals.
  • Learn Well: You may be eligible for monthly student loan payments from Memorial Hermann to help reduce what you owe. Visit Learn Well to review eligibility, payment amounts and program requirements.
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): You may also be eligible for federal PSLF, which can forgive remaining student loan balances after qualifying payments at a qualifying employer. Because this is a federal program, eligibility rules are subject to change. Visit studentaid.gov/pslf to check eligibility and submit the required Employment Certification Form.
• Talk through your student loan repayment strategy: If you have additional questions or just want to talk out your plan with someone, schedule a free student loan debt coaching session with EdAssist.

Care for Yourself and Your Family

Caregiving needs can change quickly. You may need a sitter when school closes, help coordinating care for an aging parent or professional support during a stressful period.

• Backup care, tutoring and more: When your regular plans fall through, Memorial Hermann provides subsidized back-up care for children and adults through Bright Horizons, plus test prep and parenting resources. You also can access SitterCity to search for babysitters, nannies, pet sitters and other household help with free background checks. Need tutoring instead? Exchange one or more back-up care days for four hours of tutoring.
• Caregiving support: Wellthy can help you navigate the costs and logistics of caregiving. Whether you’re caring for a child or an adult, your Care Coordinator can help you understand your options, explore payment resources and make informed decisions.
• Access free, confidential counseling: Cost should never stand in the way of mental health care. Save on the cost of support with six free confidential therapy sessions and six free coaching sessions for you and each eligible dependent through Spring Health. Counseling can help you understand yourself better, work through challenges, learn healthy coping skills and improve your self-confidence, while coaching can help you create a path to success in personal and professional development.
• Plan for costs of growing your family: Growing your family can bring new health care needs and added expenses. If you or a family member is enrolled in a Memorial Hermann medical plan, the Memorial Hermann Maternity Experience Program provides the expectant parent with personalized guidance, resources and hands-on support they need throughout pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. Additionally, keep in mind that optional Hospital Indemnity Insurance pays a cash benefit for a hospital admission—and may even pay a $250 newborn benefit.
• Protect your income while bonding with a new child: Paid Parental Leave gives eligible employees paid time away from work to bond with a new child following a birth, adoption or placement. Visit allHR for eligibility requirements and leave details, and to explore the New Parent Journey.

Make Larger Expenses More Manageable

• Spread out the cost of larger purchases: Once you’ve worked at Memorial Hermann for nine months, Purchasing Power allows you to buy a wide selection of products, like computers and appliances, through payroll deductions, without needing a credit check or down payment.
• Protect your vehicle, home and belongings: Auto, home & renters’ insurance options are available through Beneplace to help limit the financial impact of covered damage or loss.
• Plan for pet expenses: Pet insurance through Nationwide can help manage planned and unexpected veterinary costs with coverage for eligible accidents, injuries, illnesses, surgeries, X-rays, preventive care and prescriptions.
• Continue your education without taking on unnecessary debt: Learn Well offers low-cost and even no-cost options through partner schools, along with direct payment programs that may reduce what you need to pay upfront or borrow for eligible education programs.
• Plan for college costs before they add up: Bright Horizons College Coach gives you free access to impartial guidance from former senior admissions and financial aid officers, plus free resources, live events and more, without adding another expense to your family’s budget. You also have access to free test prep and tutoring resources through Bright Horizons.

Build in Some Protection

• For the people who depend on you: Life and AD&D insurance can help provide financial protection for the people who depend on you and the financial commitments you’ve taken on. Remember, you can update your beneficiary(ies) anytime in Workday.
• For health events: Memorial Hermann’s Voluntary Health Plans (often called “supplemental health plans”) provide a lump-sum cash benefit directly to you after a covered critical illness, accident or hospitalization (including planned surgeries and childbirth). Enroll in one, two or all three plans. Each plan offers a $75 wellness benefit per covered family member when each person receives an eligible preventive screening. While these plans are not intended to replace medical coverage, they offer peace of mind during challenging times. You pay the full cost for coverage through payroll deductions, so consider if this coverage is right for you.
• For affordable legal support: If you’re enrolled in the MetLife Group Legal Plan, you have access to expert legal advice for personal legal matters, including name changes, will preparation and updates, real estate transactions and more.

• Contribute enough to get the full Memorial Hermann match: Memorial Hermann will match up to 6% of your pay (or up to 3% if you are eligible for the Memorial Hermann Pension Plan) each pay period that you participate. That means you’ll need to contribute 6% (or 3% as stated) to get the full match. For employees eligible for the 6% match, contributing 9% would bring the combined total to 15%.
• Understand your investment options: Your retirement contributions are invested, which gives them the potential to grow over time. Because investment options can feel unfamiliar, visit Fidelity Learn for simple guidance on risk, time horizon and choosing an approach that fits your goals.
• Look for room to increase: Small changes can add up. Redirect a finished car or student loan payment, cancel unused subscriptions or make simple lower-cost swaps—like making coffee at home—and put those savings toward your retirement.
• Protect your retirement savings: Taking money from your account can reduce both your current balance and its potential growth over time, and may make it harder to stay on track for retirement. Before moving forward, review other options and speak with Fidelity about the long-term impact. View Get Set Up to learn about building emergency savings and Memorial Hermann resources that may help during a serious hardship.
• Name a beneficiary: Log into Fidelity’s NetBenefits to review and update your beneficiary information to make sure your accounts are distributed according to your wishes. You can designate both a primary and a contingent beneficiary.