West Kingston, RI – October 21, 2009. Financial expert and author, Jean Chatzky launched on Monday, October 19 a new online tool—Debt Diet Online at http://www.jeanchatzky.com/debtdiet. The tool, developed in collaboration with Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. (Pro-Change), uses behavior change science to deliver guidance based on how ready an individual is to take on debt challenges. Debt Diet Online is a tailored program with strategies to help people get out of debt and start building wealth with just $10 per day.
“We’ve all seen the tremendous difficulties Americans are facing with debt and often it’s so overwhelming that you wonder how to get started,” says financial expert and author, Jean Chatzky. “Debt Diet Online provides the right information and the motivation to make the right choices every day and take back control of your finances.”
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A culture of easy credit combined with the current recession and high unemployment has landed many Americans in a mountain of debt. The first step is often the hardest, which is why Chatzky collaborated with preeminent behavior change experts at Pro-Change to get users ready to implement Chatzky’s proven strategies and to ensure they do so successfully. Based on the user’s stage of readiness, the tool is customized with step-by-step coaching, driven by time-tested, effective behavior change principles. This is the first product of its kind that combines proven financial strategies with behavior change principles.
“We’ve spent over 30 years studying how people can make lasting change in their lives— from stopping smoking to losing weight to reducing stress,” says Founder James Prochaska, Ph.D. of Pro-Change. “Reducing debt is a major challenge for Americans today and Debt Diet Online is a great opportunity to apply our knowledge with Jean Chatzky’s insights to help people make real, positive change in their lives.”
Debt Diet Online uses an algorithm to determine which of six stages of readiness applies to the user:
· Not Yet Ready: Not intending to start eliminating debt
· Getting Ready: Looking to start paying down debt in the next six months
· Ready: Planning to start reducing debt in the coming month
· Taking Action: Already started to eliminate debt and looking to stay on track
· Staying with It: Well on track with reducing debt and want to know how to handle the unexpected
· You Have No Debt: Next Step is to Start Building Savings: Debt is gone and want to learn how to build savings
Debt Diet Online then delivers information based on the user’s stage of readiness. For $30, users can access the online tool where they are guided through––with the end goal of changing behavior, eliminating debt, and building sustainable wealth.
About Jean Chatzky
Jean Chatzky is the author of six books, including the New York Times and BusinessWeek best-seller “Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 A Day” (recently updated as “Pay it Down! Debt-Free on $10 a Day”) and the Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-seller “Make Money, Not Excuses.” Her newest book is “The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times” (Crown Business). Jean is also Financial Editor for NBC’s Today, a columnist for the New York Daily News and More magazine.
Chatzky has been recognized as an exceptional journalist. In 2009, the Consumer Federation of America awarded Chatzky the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award for her nearly two decades of pioneering personal finance education. She also has received the Clarion Award from Women in Communications, a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television, Inc., and was named one of the best magazine columnists in the country by the Chicago Tribune.
About Pro-Change
Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. is the leading research and development company for computer and coaching based programs to change health risk behaviors. Based on the Transtheoretical Model developed by founder Dr. James O. Prochaska, Pro-Change programs are for entire populations and are uniquely tailored to each individual. These types of programs have produced unprecedented impacts on multiple behaviors to enhance health and reduce health care costs. In April 2009, Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Management Programs won the URAC Gold Award for Best Practices in Health Management. For more information about Pro-Change, please visit www.prochange.com.
Contact:
Diane D’Attilio
Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.
(401) 874-4100
ddattilio@prochange.com
