Camilla native re-establishes financial business in Albany area

ALBANY – As a football player at Mitchell County High School and the University of Georgia, Justin Scott-Wesley was a playmaker as well as a blazing runner on the track. These days, the Camilla native, whose football career was sidelined by injuries, is working to help individuals and families make the right calls with their finances.

Prior to his athletic career, Scott-Wesley did some coaching in Pelham and in Cherokee County and is working with a group of youngsters for a Pop Warner team.

Scott-Wesley, whose UGA career spanned from 2011-2014, is currently a financial representative with Principal Securities Inc. and offers services including life and health insurance, retirement planning and investment services.

“It’s all about financial discipline, paying yourself first … just making sure we have the discipline to put 10% of our paycheck away and playing fiscal defense,” he said. “Finances impact every part of your life.

“Just making sure you have a solid financial plan, it makes life easier. To be able to have the financial security and emergency funds, planning for college. If you get hurt on the job, having sound financial planning for major life events, ensuring not only that you’re financially comfortable but make sure the next generation is taken care of as well.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial representative worked as an independent agent out of an Albany office at the Arthur K. Williams Micro Business Center.

“COVID happened and they shut the building down, so I moved to Atlanta,” he said. “I think COVID definitely showed people around the world how important having a financial plan and savings are. We had a lot of people out of work for various reasons. It just showed us that if we’re not great stewards of our finances and our wealth, an uncontrollable event can change our financial trajectory.”

The pandemic also wreaked havoc on families when heads of household and other adults in families were taken by the disease, Scott-Wesley said.

Now with eight years’ experience in the business, Scott-Wesley has returned to his south Georgia roots and is located north of Baconton, just across the Dougherty County line.

“I decided to go to a bigger branch, a little bit better support for my clients,” he said. “I meet my clients where they are. I do virtual meetings. I will stop by your business. I prefer seeing people in their business.”

Discussing the most common mistakes individuals often make, Scott-Wesley listed waiting too long to start saving or to take out a life insurance policy to provide security for dependents in the event of tragedy.

“Your greatest asset when building wealth, is time, investing consistent amounts of money over a decent amount of time,” he said. “One of the most common ones is people don’t pay themselves first.”

Spending money on wants and needs is not necessarily a bad thing, but Scott-Wesley said he recommends taking 10% or 20% off the top before heading to the mall. That will make a huge difference in money that can be used to build a personal emergency account, fund a 401k or other retirement asset, or pay off high-interest credit card debt,

“Start a solid plan early, you’ll be able to ensure you’re able to pass on generational wealth,” he said. “A lot of people think life insurance is expensive, but it’s not as expensive as people think.”

Disability insurance is another financial tool that can help protect individuals and families when a primary breadwinner is unable to work for an extended time, Scott-Wesley said,

“The way I view my (role) is strategy and implementation,” he said. “We meet you at point A, where you are, and help you get to point B. We implement a strategy to help you get there.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]