Who benefits from coaching?
My clients come from many walks of life, however I especially work with successful, mid-career professionals who want to feel as confident about their finances as they are in other areas of their lives.
These are smart, capable people who have realised that for whatever reason they aren’t managing their money as well as they would expect. This can be due to personal or family history or changes in circumstances such as an inheritance, divorce, rapid promotions, or other career changes. It can also just come from a lack of financial education in childhood, which has left them “muddling through” instead of consciously planning.
A person doesn’t have to be primarily driven by money to feel the value of financial empowerment. In fact, knowing that their finances are sorted allows my clients to put money in it’s right place in their lives and focus on what really matters.
What issues can coaching overcome?
Each client’s issues are a unique combination of the emotional and the practical. This is just a small sample:
I have a good income, but my credit card debts just keep rising. Help me stop overspending.
I have an inheritance and I feel weird about touching it because it doesn’t really feel like my money.
I have a complicated relationship with a family member who makes lavish gifts one month and then asks to borrow money another.
I am beginning to receive increasingly generous annual bonuses. I want to think make a plan so I use these for my long term goals, instead of wasting them.
My income varies significantly month to month and that makes budgeting difficult. How can I stop having good months and bad months?
What happens in coaching?
Coaching sessions are led by my client’s priorities. Each session begins with a progress review and then the we work on whatever is uppermost in my client’s mind at that time.
During the sessions I use a range of tools including reframing challenges and sticking points, powerful questions to uncover deeper motivations, mind-mapping, creative exercises, games, self-assessment quizzes, and visualisations.
The point is always to help clients build their confidence, skills and motivation to run their financial lives in the best ways for them.
After each session there will be a set of actions to complete. This may include must-do priority actions and nice-to-have bonus actions. Actions may be practical, such as looking up the date when a promotional interest rate ends, or mindset related, such as journaling about “my best financial decisions”.
It is very important that you make time to complete these actions or you will not feel the real benefit our work. It’s a good idea to set aside at least 30 minutes a week for this.
What about the logistics?
Most coaching is done online via Zoom, although face to face sessions are possible by arrangement, especially if you are based on London. Sessions are booked and paid in advance using my online booking system.
Before the first session I ask clients to complete a questionnaire, which helps me get an overview of their areas of concern, as well as a financial statement covering their usual monthly income and outgoings, assets and debts.
I begin all coaching with a two-hour initial session, so I can really get to know you, your motivations and goals. After this we will arrange one-hour follow up sessions weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on what will work best for you. Monthly sessions allow more time to practice and integrate what has been discussed. More frequent sessions provide greater accountability helping to sustain motivation and momentum.
Experience has taught me it’s best for clients to begin with a minimum booking of five hours in order to have enough time and support to make a meaningful change. That is to say, one session of two hours and three follow-up sessions of one hour each.
While I do allow clients to book sessions singly, typically those who do so make less progress and have a less enjoyable experience.
I use an secure online system to store coaching notes, links and resources and share a private link with each client to their personal section so that they can keep, refer to, add to and edit these between sessions.
What’s the charge?
Pre-paid blocks of five hours coaching or more are charged at £100 per hour. That’s to say an initial investment of £500.
Typically, clients whose goals include reducing overspending, saving more and/or getting out of debt, take actions within the first two sessions that save them over £500.
If you choose to book sessions singly, these will be charged at £120 per hour.
A limited number of low cost or pro bono sessions may be available.