I am pleased to have Maggie Knowles as a guest for this episode. She is a daily money manager—a profession that may not be widely known but that serves an essential purpose. Maggie describes her work as, “I serve as the official hired person that normally might be the middle-aged daughter who makes sure that her parents’ bills get paid, nobody’s defrauding them, and they’re taken care of financially.”
Different daily money managers offer a variety of services and take different approaches to this work. Some of them have access to clients’ accounts, pay bills online, and essentially take care of everything financial. This can be especially helpful if clients have dementia or have no family.
Maggie’s services are more limited, what she calls a “kitchen table” approach. She visits clients in person, typically once a month, to make sure bills are paid and other money matters are taken care of. She usually has clients put all of their bills into a basket or box, then when she visits they open the mail together and write checks together. She is not authorized to sign checks and does not have access to their accounts, but she oversees the process. She may track spending and reconcile bank statements if clients ask her to. Essentially she organizes their finances on a basic, practical level.
A daily money manager also is in a position to observe clients’ spending patterns and notice red flags. Besides spotting signs of possible fraud, the manager might notice patterns like excessive gifts to family members or other overspending that put the client’s financial wellbeing at risk. Maggie points out that one benefit to this work can be helping clients to stay in their own homes longer. Even if they may not need help with other activities of daily living, not being able to manage bill paying is often the trigger for moving someone into assisted living.
A daily money manager’s role falls in a range between that of a bookkeeper and that of someone holding a power of attorney to manage everything financial. Integrity and trust are crucial in the relationship. For this reason, Maggie recommends that anyone looking for this kind of help should look for a professional who belongs to the American Association of Daily Money Managers. Members are required to go through background checks and adhere to a code of ethics. She also encourages potential clients to do thorough interviews to make sure they feel comfortable with the person who will sit at their kitchen table and help them with the intimate details of their financial lives.
Check out The Financial Therapy Podcast by Rick Kahler concerning this topic.