How can you coach clients to develop financial wellness and security?

It all starts and ends with mindset. Mindset will lead to motivation that will lead to methods. Doing the proper methods will lead to more motivation that will lead to an elevated mindset. You have to get crystal clear on who you are today and who you want to become. Having a clear vision, values, and goal(s) will separate you from the herd. It all starts and ends with mindset.

One of the first things I do is to look at my clients beliefs about money. There’s a reason why they need coaching in this area and it’s important to establish why they are in their current situation. It comes down to their beliefs about money. These beliefs were picked up from an early age and frame how they view money. Once these beliefs are identified, understood and new ones established, it’s then easier and even enjoyable for them to set up the practical process of fixing the problem and having a healthy relationship with money. This is definitely something I would do first. Change the beliefs. And of course, this is why some lottery winners return to financial insecurity after only a short time of having won huge amounts of money.

The first thing I would do is have an open, conversation to establish their level of financial literacy. During my time in Finance and Insurance, working with young graduates, many had no idea how the basics of money management worked. Developing financial wellness and security starts with financial literacy education - teaching the basics before starting the personal finance situational analysis. You can't learn to fish if you don't even know what a fish is.

Similar to a doctor and patient relationship, the doctor should never write a prescription or provide medical direction without first understanding the clients issues, pain, and habits. Without gaining that crucial information, a doctor not only could make the client's situation worse but they could be liable for malpractice. In like manner, as financial professionals we have to ask the appropriate questions and create an environment for them to give us honest answers so we can have a clear picture of their financial situation so we can "write" the proper financial solution to their problem.

I have found that for clients that don't have security you start the conversation from here, the money. For those who are secure, they are looking for a growth journey to independence. In those circumstances, you plan the client before you plan the money. I start by identifying values. Values are more dependable than beliefs when you attach your plan to them.

When setting financial goals, prioritization is key. So many people struggle with the never ending financial planning to-do list. I recommend people pick 1 or 2 things that are really keeping them up at night. Once someone has identified those top two goals, it helps get them excited about the journey ahead. Why? Because those two things were THE most important to them.

In my experience, people will say I want to make X amount of money. They never make X, but about 80% of X. So whatever you pick for X is the key and that is also where the fear comes in. It takes something when you want to go from 3.000 to 20.000 month, you might not make it, but it should not stop it. You also need a why, just the 20.000 is not enough. Get the "why" first, put in the work and the money will follow.

Sob a perspectiva de consultora, posso dizer que é importante saber guiar o cliente para suas próprias metas. Muita gente chega com listas prontas, do tipo “eu preciso de um carro, um apartamento e viajar 2x por ano”, mas o que ele não sabe ou não diz, é que precisa de reserva de emergência, seguro de vida (pra ele e familiares dependentes), planejamento de aposentadoria, formalização de união, testamento.., E tudo isso é papel do consultor descobrir, orientar e provar ao cliente o quanto é importante e, às vezes, mais urgente do que as demandas que ele trouxe na lista.

Some financial goals are more attainable than others. Defining priorities is the first step and determining how important emotionally and mentally that goal is. Some goals may be more attainable but not as important as a goal that is for the long term. I help clients consider aspirational as well as practical goals and work to define what to work on next. As we go through the finances, we set up a plan for each goal.

For those on the journey from security to independence the Goals we set are inspiring life goals. We identify the clients gifts, as using gifts in the service of others is our purpose. We discourage the "achievable" criteria. Tony Robbins said, "People aren't inherently lazy they just fail to set inspiring goals." We defer obstacles to the next stage, Actions. We attach a price tag to the life goals, and consider this after Actions in a stage we call Means, using lifetime cash flow modelling to establish an asset strategy. Most rehab programs have this second step, surrender to the higher Will. The output is a favourite future.

Client needs a second perspective and a guided action plan to help with his/her financial goals but the financial advisor himself/herself need to be financially disciplined if he/she is guiding the person.

Creating an action plan. This means helping them break down their goals into manageable and realistic steps, and assigning deadlines and resources to each step. Accountability really makes the biggest difference, not only with a coach, creating accountability for the client in their lives, makes a big difference. Creating a structure with small daily/weekly task, keeps the goals alive.

Part of coaching is to help the client develop a system that works for them. Some like paper others like electronic forms. Helping them set up a system that they can do consistently on their own will help them achieve a sense of accomplishment and build up their confidence as they see their path towards their goal get brighter.

The client lists their own obstacles, the coach facilitates the process. The client produces the actions to overcome obstacles. The coach, again, facilitates it. We then pull everything together into an Action Plan, or project plan to help the client believe that the inspiring goals are achievable.

Clients need some active work surrounding their Belief that things can be different than they currently are. If they don't Believe that they can be different, when things start to get hard (and they will get hard...they always do when changing habits) they will get scared and revert to old patterns. It is the Client that needs to be able to see the vision of the Action plan completed. What does that look and feel like? What is different/better than now? And more questions like this that can cement the reason for the change. This is, in my opinion, the reason why most stop short of the change they desire. They don't get emotionally invested in the desired outcome and get scared back to old habits.

Showing someone all the progress they've made, encourages them to keep moving forward. It helps solidify that what we're doing is working. It's hard to see everything when you're in the trenches, but doing a simple reflection activity proves the hard work paid off.

In my experience Execution comes after Means, which is the financial plan. Means is about putting in place the financial architecture to support the favourite future. Execution is using all your coaching skills to get the "tyres to hit the road". G.A.M.E. That's why we call it the GAME Plan!

Supporting can look take on many forms. Some clients need reassurance, some need tough love. A good coach is adept at making the adjustment needed to be able to meet the client where they are and help them move, little by little to where they want to end up.

One of the keys to achieving a short-term or long-term goal is to establish a method to track progress from beginning to end. For example, I have a variety of tools my clients have access to, such as a monthly budget and net worth tracker. Training and then releasing a client to use these types of resources can allow them to keep both hands on the wheel as they work to make important changes such as getting out of debt, saving for a house, or simply ensuring that their monthly income is more than enough to tackle all living expenses.

We borrowed this concept called Activation from the health service, and applied it to the wealth service. Activation is where your clients takes interest, accountability and agency around their finances. Our initial assumption is that most people most of the time can take care of their own finances with the right support. It's only in times of stress or change they need your service one-to-one. We increase financial activation levels with end-user tools, education libraries, and community support.

This component is critical for the financial journey of the client. We have to not only provide a solution to their financial situation but also contribute to their financial knowledge base so they will be equipped to not be solely dependent on us as advisors. My agency provides monthly blogs on various financial topics to not only empower our clients with knowledge but also keep them engaged in the financial "conversation". Providing information that is concise but packed with valuable information shows that you value their time and attention which in turn will help them to value your time as the financial expert.

Financial Literacy is often considered as a subject beyond your realm and within the reach of very few. It has been projected as a complex subject - folks either are very conservative and will invest in the safest of options ( with low returns) or go all out and risk it - think of the cryto waves ( it was all multiple or nothing). Professionals spend hundreds of hours learning how to make more - new skills/ new jobs, etc - however, we spend hardly any time discerning what is meant by this - the value, worth, returns, risks, rewards, and laws. As a first step : Unravel your current state, then define goals and build from there.

Having the right personal finance knowledge will help them not to fall back into the hole they're trying to come out from. Continues knowledge plus diligent application will be a shining light to their path.

I´ve had coachees that had some real financial problems related to credit card debts and we were able to overcome them together. First, understand your clients thoughts, beliefs and feelings about money and finances, here you´ll find some work to be done around their mindset. Once you have a better understanding of that you can help your client through organization, facing debts because it can be scary and they might be avoiding it, also help them with planning how to pay and increasing their income brainstorming ideas and actions. Helping them build a solid plan, mindset and a relationship with money will definitely show some results. That´s only the beginning!

Financial Wellness is akin to growing a banyan tree, it takes time to grow into a strong, lasting, healthy being. If you think of finances as a 'get quick' 'get rich scheme with no fundamentals, you may get lucky, however, this is a sure-shot way to fail and create lasting damages. So plant, nurture, nourish, protect.

One super-important aspect of personal finance that I try to instill in others is the act of contentment. What are your core values in life, and how do your spending habits reflect these values? As an example, perhaps a person desires to give a portion of their income to their church or a charitable organization, but is spending hundreds of dollars eating out. Through a discussion about contentment and different methods to have the basic need of eating met, I might be able to help the client arrive at a decision to cut back on restaurants, shop at reasonably priced grocery stores, or even meal-plan, so that there is more money in the budget for giving.

I have worked with several clients on developing financial wellness and security. In my opinion there are two aspects of financial wellness - 1) Behavioral part - for this a coach needs to help their clients transform their relationship with money in to a positive & constructive relationship. This involves helping the client break their limiting beliefs & biases around money or managing money. 2) Calculation part - for this the coach needs to help clients in figuring out their enough by creating a future vision for themselves. After that they need to work together and formulate plan to achieve the same. This process helps clients address both sides of financial wellness and security. And clients can experience real financial freedom!

I would argue that this is the most important step, and should be considered from the beginning. If it isn't, the client may not get to their goals. "We never outperform our own self image"... and that includes our Financial self. If someone believes they are bad with money, they are. If they believe they are bad with Credit Cards, they are. It is when they can separate the attachments between themselves and their past actions and realize they don't have to BE that person anymore. They can BE whoever they want to be. It is our BEing ness that is in our control. Once that is discovered, new habits are not only possible, but flourish!

Your financial plan has to be unique to you. Don't try to be like everyone else. Do what works for you and if you can, keep your plan as simple as possible.

Often the most important aspect at the root is the context the coachee has to both self-worth and money itself. Getting to the underlying narratives in order to make sure a healthy relationship to self and abundance is sustainably created is important. Otherwise all the efforts as listed in above segments are in danger as humans return to default settings in consciousness when that itself has not evolved.

For any transformation, it is essential to see how the client sees themselves and then choose who they wish to be. Is that in line with their values? Is that in line with their authenticity? And are they willing to move forward? To become a butterfly, a caterpillar must transform and give up being a caterpillar.

Understand that Security is an internal metric that cannot come from an external source (ie money). If you knew that you could produce $1,000 or $10,000 at the drop of a hat tomorrow if need be, that produces a sense of security. Security has little to do with how much money you have, and everything to do with your skill & ability to create income at will.