Everything you need to know about money coaching.
Money Coaches Alan and Geoff sat down with us to share why they’re passionate about money coaching, how it’s helping people in their local area, and how you can sign up to money coaching near you or become a Money Coach yourself!
Alan and his wife, and Geoff and his wife, are all money coaches. Each couple runs the course as a pair, bringing their unique strengths to create a wonderful partnership while equipping people to manage their finances with confidence.
Hi Alan and Geoff. Good to have you with us! For a bit of background, could you tell us how long each of you have been Money Coaches and what made you want to get involved?
Alan: My wife and I first heard about CAP through a church talk that featured a very moving story from a couple who’d been in debt, and we both became befrienders after that. That was in 2018. But we were always thinking how good it’d be if CAP could be involved before an individual got into debt in the first place – as we’ve been through financial struggles ourselves – and then, through speaking to the Debt Coach we volunteered with, we discovered money coaching.
We talked to our church leaders, who were very encouraging, and both trained as Money Coaches in 2020. We’ve been running money coaching together in our retirement ever since.
A CAP befriender is someone from a local church community who works with their local Debt Centre and their coaches to offer more holistic support as they journey out of debt. While a Debt Coach focuses on guiding someone through the process of becoming debt free, a befriender can offer a listening ear, emotional support and encouragement – even prayer – as well as assisting with practical tasks and helping people access other wraparound support or integrate into their local church community.
Geoff: My wife Helen and I became Money Coaches together, four years ago, because we wanted to put something back into our local community and help people who were struggling financially. A bit of research showed us there weren’t many CAP services in our area; and we knew we could provide them through our church. Since then, we’ve greatly expanded what our church offers and now run life skills and kids’ money courses for local primary schools.
What is money coaching, and how does it work?
Geoff: Money coaching is an informal, interactive course that features a series of teaching content videos that are then reinforced with facilitated discussion and exercises. The workshops feature a range of topics, such as building, balancing and using your budget, credit or managing debt. There are core topics that we cover in every course, but the advantage of money coaching is that you can choose which other modules that best suit the needs of your particular audience. So for one group we may explore the navigating debt module, but for another we may focus on savings or smart spending.
We teach certain disciplines and techniques, but money coaching also enables people to share tips and experiences, and know they’re not alone in wanting to improve their financial situation.
We find that everyone enjoys and engages with the exercises and discussions, and very often people contribute their own excellent ideas! We run money coaching in our church cafe, which works well as it’s a comfortable, relaxed environment with built-in catering facilities!
Alan: Money coaching is a very personal thing. We never ask people to disclose about their finances, and instead we have an approach where people can take and adapt what they’re learning and apply it to their own situation. We run our money coaching groups over four* sessions, and it’s all private and confidential and totally up to participants what they share. We’re happy to help you achieve your individual goals!
Who is money coaching designed for? Is it just for people who are struggling financially or on a low income?
Geoff: One of the great things about money coaching is that it’s relevant to everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances. Even if we’ve been blessed financially, we could all manage our money better and make it go further – we just need to be shown how. People come to money coaching with a wide range of goals from saving for a house deposit to looking to build a budget with the little money they have coming in. The techniques taught in money coaching help them all achieve their goals!
Alan: If you are struggling financially, money coaching can help you identify any extra income you may be entitled to, give you a better understanding of where your money is going, and tools to help you control that in a way that works for you.
Having said that, it’s easy to think of money coaching as a course purely designed for those close to debt or really struggling financially. While money coaching does help those people, like Geoff said, others come along thinking they’re doing fine, and they learn lots as well, from how to manage their money much more effectively, to being able to give more to charities or achieve long-term goals and dreams they never thought were possible.
At the end of each course we’ve almost universally had people saying the experience has been worthwhile – and that’s both from people who were right on the breadline and those who never realised they’d be able to save enough to fulfil a lifelong dream of theirs.
What’s your favourite session to run, or element of money coaching that you enjoy the most?
Geoff: As a retired IT professional, my favourite element is showing people how to use the free online budgeting tool, as it’s a vehicle for them to build their own budget and make it work for their situation, even after the course has finished. Past participants always tell us they’re still using it and how helpful it is.
Alan: I also enjoy helping people use the spreadsheet-type tools – it appeals to my nature and who I am, and I get to equip people to use them in a helpful way.
I also love being able to bring my personal experiences to money coaching. My wife and I found ourselves struggling financially after we got married, started a family and moved from a relatively cheap place in Scotland to an expensive area in the South of England due to work. Once our second child came along, we had to talk about a way forward because we were spending more than we were getting each month.
Thankfully, with the expertise I’ve gained through my work, we were able to create a budget that worked for us and got us out of financial trouble – and I get to share the same kinds of tools with others through money coaching.
At one point, I was writing down exactly what we were spending in a red finance manual – there were no spreadsheets back then – and I sometimes bring that red book along to the groups, to show people we’ve been on the journey too.
Are there any stand out moments that stick with you from your time running money coaching?
Alan: We had one young couple who came along that were in a similar situation to what my wife and I experienced years ago. As we got to know them, they said the best thing was the chat in the car on the way home, as it meant we opened up and got talking about things that had maybe been touched on in the workshop. We were then able to relate to and encourage them having walked that road ourselves. Those moments are the best.
What role does your faith play in your decision to run money coaching?
Geoff: For me and my wife, our faith is the reason we decided to train as Money Coaches, because we felt it is a practical way to demonstrate love for our neighbours. We believe that God’s love flows through the way we deliver the course, such as welcoming people in, and praying for them if they’d like us to (both in person and in our prayer times individually and as a team), because we believe in the power of prayer. We also give people the opportunity to fill out a prayer request card, which gets included in the prayer email and read out in our Sunday services, so they know there’s a whole church community standing with them in prayer.
Why is it important that money coaching is run through the local Church?
Geoff: The content of money coaching is full of principles that could potentially be taught by a non-faith-based organisation, but Christians running it within a local church gives people access and exposure to far more than just the course content. It brings people into a welcoming church community where they can connect and mix with Christians, can explore faith and experience God’s love for themselves – which they might never have done before. Money coaching is a way we can help others by equipping them to be able to live life to the full. We get to fulfil the Great Commission to proclaim the gospel within our local community by building relationships, inviting people along to church, and demonstrating God’s love through who we are and what we’re about.
Do you run money coaching as a single church, or team up with other local churches?
Alan: We run money coaching from our church, but work with the other money coaching teams in the area so we all run courses at different times. We also work with organisations across the city like the local food bank and Citizens Advice, who signpost people to us. The food bank in particular are very supportive and offer free lunch for those attending, while we offer them a ‘closed course’ for food bank users, meaning we can tailor the sessions to their specific needs.
The biggest difficulty is getting the message out there and letting people know what’s on offer – but we’re here, and we’re helping people every day, and that’s what keeps us going!
What would you say to someone considering if they’d like to attend money coaching locally?
Geoff: If you are thinking about coming along to money coaching then I’d say just sign up and give it a go. It’s free, so you’ve got nothing to lose! It could change your life – and you can always bring along others who you think also might benefit, and do it together.
Alan: You’re going to benefit, no matter your situation. Don’t wait – look for a course near you and get registered. You might be anxious, but you don’t need to be. You can keep as much of your personal situation to yourself as you like, but you’ll still be met with a group of people who are happy to work together.
There’s also no obligation to commit to all four sessions just by signing up or coming along to the first session, but we find once people actually attend we have a near-zero drop out rate, as people find they’re getting something out of the workshops. We often get comments like ‘I wish I’d been on this course years and years ago’.
If I wanted to get involved, how do I become a Money Coach? How do I know it’s for me?
Alan: If you’re considering becoming a Money Coach, I’d say it’d be good to attend your local course and find out what it’s like. It’s easy to get in touch with CAP about your church running money coaching and they’ll take you through the process from there.
It’s also important to know the difference between being an advisor, and a coach – we’re the latter. It’s not our job to give 1:1 advice, but to empower people to make the right decisions for their individual situation.
I personally enjoy running money coaching with my wife, as our skills and personalities complement one another. One of us can be showing videos and the other being around to support those in the room. I deal with the finances and budgeting side of things, and my wife is more about the personal warmth and feelings.
Geoff: I would thoroughly recommend it, as it’s very rewarding! You don’t need to be a financial expert or experienced trainer or teacher – the videos, materials, and group exercises are all set up to facilitate discussions and share tools and tips, so it’s not all on you to suddenly know the answer to everything. Plus, with a couple of courses under your belt, you’ll be a pro in no time!
* There are more modules available if you want to run a longer course or explore more topics in different sessions.
