
Benefits of working with a financial coach
Meeting with a financial coach will help you worry less about your finances, which can improve your physical and mental health. You will see consistent results as you work toward your long-term goals. Learning ways to decrease expenses, increase income, and and better money management skills also help you unlock new opportunities in the years to come.
Everyone benefits from meeting with a financial coach. Working with a professional can make a big difference no matter how much money you make or how you feel about your finances. You walk away from the experience with the knowledge and skills to make the most of every dollar you earn. You work too hard for your money to fall prey to costly mistakes and missed opportunities that can hold you back in the future. Learn more about the benefits of working with a certified financial coach.
LESSON CONTENTS
The benefits of financial coaching
Life happens fast, and financial coaching is here to help you manage different financial situations, so you don’t have to go through this journey alone. Here’s what you can expect to gain:
Work towards your goals
Goals like owning a home or getting out of debt can take years to reach, but you will only get there if you make a plan and stick to it. For many people, it starts with a financial coach. They help you create a customized financial plan based on your current income and goals. Thinking about your financial goals can overwhelm you when you realize how far you still have to go, but your coach will help you break it down into a series of actionable steps that will point you in the right direction.
Steady and consistent results
Making progress when it comes to your finances can be challenging without someone to guide you along the way. You can easily face setbacks that will derail your proposed budget, which can leave you discouraged. But a financial coach will review your progress every time you meet to help you stay on the right track. Unexpected expenses can still happen, but your coach can help you create a plan to prevent unforeseen events from derailing the progress you’ve made and ultimately help you reach your goals.
Less time thinking about your finances
Worrying about money can damage your physical and mental health. Worry increases your risk of stress, anxiety, and depression, which affects your lifestyle and ability to earn a living. The vicious cycle of worry can keep you from reaching your goals. Speaking with a financial coach can relieve some anxiety. Simply talking to a professional about your concerns is helpful. Your coach helps you face your fears one at a time by showing you the steps you need to take to resolve the problem. Dealing with money can be inherently stressful, so consider talking to someone who can help instead of trying to manage the situation alone.
Keep more of what’s yours
You work hard for your money, so it’s important to ensure you aren’t wasting it on things you don’t need or use. Losing track of your spending is easy when you sign up for digital services and recurring subscriptions. Some financial services and products can also charge hidden fees that eat away at your earnings.
A financial coach reviews your expenses to better understand how you spend your money. They help you differentiate between essential and non-essential expenses, so you can determine how much you spend on each category. If you are spending too much money on an item or charged for something that doesn’t bring value to your life, they help you find an alternative, so you spend less every month without downgrading your lifestyle. If you decide to eliminate some non-essential items, the coach can help you decide what’s worth saving and what’s worth cutting based on your goals.
Learning how to put money aside in case of an emergency also helps you avoid falling further into debt. For example, if you have an unexpected expense, you can use your savings instead of a credit card, which charges you interest. You can also avoid preventable expenses like overdraft penalties for insufficient money in your account.
Confidence and reassurance
Life is a series of options, most of which will affect your finances. You shouldn’t have to go through life worrying about whether you have enough money to do the things you want. From everyday spending to long-term planning, speaking with a financial coach gives you the confidence to make informed financial decisions. You can avoid making mistakes that cost you later and develop skills that benefit you for the rest of your life.
More flexibility
Having more money in savings helps you prepare for unexpected life events, like having a child, moving to a new city or changing jobs. Speaking to a financial coach helps you create more options for yourself in the future, so you don’t have to pass on these opportunities when they appear. You can’t plan for everything in life, but having the skills and knowledge to better your finances help you make the best decision for yourself and your loved ones when the time comes.
Improve your credit score
Your credit score represents your trustworthiness as a borrower. You may have trouble getting approved for a loan in the future if you have little to no credit. Financial coaching helps you build money and credit habits to improve your score over time. There’s no magic bullet for raising your score. It takes several factors including consistent on-time payments and proper credit utilization.
Debt management
Getting out of debt is a lot more difficult than getting in it. You might feel overwhelmed or even discouraged at times, but it’s worth the discipline and determination it takes to pay it off. Your financial coach can help you prioritize your debts and offer strategies, like the avalanche and snowball method, to help you pay them down. They can also suggest tools to track your spending and establish an emergency savings account to help prevent you from getting into more debt.
Create new opportunities
There’s no limit to how far you can go. It’s just a matter of having enough resources to get there. You can do anything you set your mind to, but having money comes in handy along the way. Meeting regularly with a financial coach helps you unlock a whole new world of possibilities because you will be able to identify unnecessary spending to cut out of your budget, meaning you will have more money to spend on potential opportunities, such as going to college to advance your career, taking trips abroad or buying a car so you can travel for work. Your goals change as the years go on, and your coach helps you adjust your priorities every step of the way.
Find a certified financial coach near you to improve your financial education, so you can chart a brighter future for yourself and your loved ones. Get started today and schedule your first financial coaching session.
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