FAQs

We all have our own money story and a set of behaviours often inherited from parents, family, and friends. Yet money is a topic that’s rarely talked about. Not only that, the financial services industry overuses technical jargon, making simple concepts more confusing than they need to be.

Financial coaching gives you an opportunity to talk through all money-related matters in a confidential space. It involves a combination of approaches:

• Coaching – helping you to set realistic goals and keep you accountable
• Mentoring – sharing suitable tips and strategies to help you develop your skills and reach your goals
• Offering guidance – giving generic advice and explanations to help build your knowledge.

I think of financial coaching as a service where I walk alongside you, providing encouragement, information, and support.

Here’s a few examples:

• Understanding your emotions around money, money habits, and how those behaviours are affecting other areas of your life
• Changing behaviours and habits around money
• Identifying financial goals and supporting you in creating a plan to achieve them
• Reducing and paying off debt, such as loans and credit cards
• Learning about money management and how to make good money decisions
• Understanding different financial products, such as pensions and ISAs
• Gaining an understanding of how to build an investment portfolio
• Keeping you accountable and offering ideas on useful tools or resources.

They are very different. Let me explain.

You may go to a financial adviser for specific advice on what to do with money that you have. For example, you may want to be advised on where to invest, or how much to put in your pension. But it’s unlikely that a financial adviser will explore your relationship with money, or help you to build good money management habits.

By contrast, a financial coach won’t make recommendations, and you’ll stay in control of your next steps. Instead, a financial coach can help you identify financial goals and work through a plan to reach them.

Financial coaches may also help you to understand areas that you want to learn more about, such as ISAs and pensions. Often, a significant part of effective financial coaching is working with you to help you understand your emotions and behaviours around money, then learning to change these if needed. Ultimately, a financial coach is your financial accountability partner.

Our sessions will be online. First of all, we’ll have an introductory 20-minute chat just to say hello, talk through the process, and address any questions you may have. After this session, if you’d like to start the coaching process, I’ll ask you to book in a time and date for our first session.

In the first session, we’ll talk through your current financial situation and what you’d like to achieve. Then we’ll start working towards reaching your goals. The first full session will last for 90 minutes, with further sessions at 60 minutes.

I ask that you commit to a minimum of six coaching sessions (1 x 90 minutes + 5 x 60 minutes).

The first full session will last for 90 minutes, with further sessions at 60 minutes. If you wish to have further sessions beyond the initial six, these can be booked session by session.

I ask that you commit to a minimum of six coaching sessions (1 x 90 minutes + 5 x 60 minutes).  Beyond this, you can book on a session-by-session basis.

After our introductory call, I’ll send you a questionnaire and monthly income/spending sheet to complete and return to me before our 90-minute session. I recognise that filling in forms is never fun! But it’s a critical part of the process, and I ask that you complete it as much as you can.

Aside from this, I just ask that you show up with a commitment to the process, and a willingness to work towards your goals.

I ask that you commit to a minimum of six coaching sessions (1 x 90 minutes + 5 x 60 minutes). See the Clear View package page for full details. You can also book on a session-by-session basis (£120 per session).

I’m committed to the Wise Monkey code of ethics. This includes delivering an independent, high quality service demonstrating empathy, integrity, respect, and transparency. See the full Wise Money code of ethics for more information.

I hold the Wise Monkey Financial Coach Practitioner Certificate. I also draw on my ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring qualification, as well as decades of experience coaching and mentoring in the workplace.

On top of this, I hold the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS), issued by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). I’ve also passed the CII’s Investment Planning (AF4) advanced level module and Mortgage Advice (CF6) qualification.

While I may draw on the above expertise and experience in our work together, I adhere strictly to the regulatory boundaries of generic and unregulated financial advice produced by both the FCA and CII.

Yes, if you’d like to continue with coaching sessions beyond the initial minimum commitment of six sessions, you can book these on an ad-hoc basis.

If you’re struggling to cover minimum payments for existing debt, I may suggest you seek support from another source. But please contact me to arrange an initial call and we can go from there.

My recommendation is that we have fortnightly sessions, but I can be flexible with this if you’d prefer longer intervals between sessions.

I believe that everybody has the power to change habits and attitudes towards money, but sometimes you need some support to do this. Even if your approach in the past hasn’t worked, there will still be learnings to be taken from this experience. And we can use those to create a plan that will work for the future.

I’m here to support you in finding a long-term and sustainable way to manage your finances going forward. Coaching provides accountability, which can be a key driver of change for many people.

It’s important that the individual requiring coaching is a willing participant. So I’d need to be contacted by the individual I’d be coaching, rather than a friend or family member.

Currently, I’m only coaching individuals. But if you’d like financial coaching as a couple, please do get in touch as I can refer you on to colleagues who specialise in offering this service.

Yes. Please get in touch with your requirements.

I’m a Personal Finance Society (PFS) Education Champion, and I’d recommend reviewing what the PFS offers as a first step.

If you have more specific requirements, and work in a school within a one-hour drive of Bristol, please get in touch and I’ll do my best to help.

No. I can provide financial guidance and support, and am a qualified financial adviser, but the services I provide as a financial coach aren’t regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). I won’t provide you with specific advice on the purchase of any financial product such as a pension, investment, insurance, or mortgage. I also won’t suggest that you vary, alter, or discard an existing product.

Please feel free to drop me an email and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.