Financial coaching is a relatively new concept which has emerged from addressing certain client needs such as support and education on money management basics, savings, debt management, budgeting, etc., which a Financial Advisor would not typically give advice on. However, financial coaching is often mistakenly confused with financial advising.

Is financial coaching synonym to financial advising?

The short answer is “no”. Financial Advisors focus on retirement planning, taxes and investments and recommend products to address their clients’ needs. Financial Coaches do not advise on any products (mortgages, insurance or investments) as they serve clients which are not yet at a stage where they need this type of recommendations. Their clients are people who wish to improve their financial situation, pay off their debt and build enough savings to eventually arrive at a point when they are happy and confident to move to financial advising.

What does a Financial Coach do?

The role of a Financial Coach is to help people reach their financial goals by providing education on money management matters, offering support and unbiased guidance and acting as an accountability partner. My ultimate aim as a Financial Coach is to offer you all the tools and support necessary to allow you to become comfortable with managing your personal finances and confident in your ability to reach your financial objectives and live a life aligned with your goals and values.

This involves taking a holistic approach on your financial situation and addressing various areas that can have an impact on it, including relationships, career, work/life balance, motivation, money blocks and limiting beliefs and habits. Financial coaching is just as much about behavioural and habit changing as it is about financial education and money management skills.

What can financial coaching do for you?

As with any type of coaching, you as the client are the one driving the relationship and the work you do with a Financial Coach will revolve around your financial issues, goals and aspirations. Working with a Financial Coach can help you:

• Set financial goals in line with your own values and beliefs
• Uncover emotional blocks, limiting beliefs and unhealthy habits which prevent you from reaching those goals
• Remove the above limitations by changing your thinking and behaviour to allow yourself to become wealthy and live the life you choose
• Build a plan and milestones towards achieving your goals
• Take ownership of the above plan and be accountable for it
• Get back on track and regain your motivation when things get tough and you’re finding it hard to follow through your plan
• Learn basic money management skills to ensure you can sustain the new habits in the future
• Become confident in your ability to make savvy financial decisions after your coaching relationship has come to an end

Is financial coaching right for you?

Financial coaching can be useful for you if one (or more) of the below scenarios describe your situation:

• You earn a salary that would enable you to set some money aside but somehow you are not left with much to save at the end of the month or need to rely on loans to sustain your lifestyle
• You are unhappy with what you spend your money on as you feel your spending habits are not aligned with your values, aspirations or goals
• You are struggling to pay off your debt (credit card debts, overdrafts, student loans, personal loans, etc.)
• You have negative emotions about money: guilt, frustration, anger, shame, etc.
• You have an important goal (for example saving for a deposit on a house) and don’t know how to approach it
• You know you could be better financially but you don’t know what is stopping you and how to rectify it

I hope the above description brings some clarity on what financial coaching is and how it can help you. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below or email me at alisa@thesavvycorner.com.  I would love to hear from you.

If your situation is different than the ones highlighted above or you wish to discuss it any further please book a discovery session and we can have a look at your particular circumstances together before deciding if financial coaching is right for you.

Until next time stay savvy!

Alisa

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