A financial life coach inspires and enables you to be your own best financial advocate.
In an advisor/advisee relationship, there is an inherent assumption that one person is the expert and the other person is the recipient of that expertise. A road map is established by the advisor and the advisee is expected to follow that road map. This approach can work for some, but for others it doesn’t address their underlying anxieties around money.
Financial life coaching takes a different approach. Through purposeful conversation, financial life coaching helps helps clarify thoughts and resolve inner issues, reach resolutions and find deliberate commitments to take financial action in their lives. The approach focuses on enabling people to call on their own inner coach at any time, so that they can feel confident in their future decisions.
There are many benefits to working with a financial advisor. You can discuss a wide range of topics such as: saving for retirement, different types of insurance, taxes, estate planning, and investing. They will review your financial goals with you and discuss a long term plan. Financial advisors can also be insurance agents, accountants, or attorneys.
However, there are some very important things to keep in mind before deciding if a financial advisor is right for you. Not all financial advisors are required to act in their clients’ best interest. Those who do are called fiduciaries. If you are a person who does not have a lot to invest, another potential problem with seeing a financial advisor can be the high fees.
A financial life coach is not a/an:
Counselor or Therapist - We would not be starting from the assumption that something needs serious emotional remedying, but from the perspective that you are already strong enough to deal with the challenges of questions that might arise through coaching.
Mentor - A mentor passes on wisdom as someone who is already farther along a path that you wish to take. I would not assume that any one path which is right for myself or anyone else, is necessarily right for you.
Advisor - An advisor can suggest options for you, but is not necessarily facilitating your own thought process.
I have an undergraduate degree in economics and international studies with a minor in European Studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison. During my undergraduate studies I spent a year at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid Spain.
I am currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Information Systems from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota.