Bonus | Raising the Standard: The Future of Financial Coaching

People will tell you they want financial literacy. They'll say they need to understand their numbers better, get organized, learn the right steps. And those things matter, of course they do. 

But here's what I've learned after almost two decades of doing this work: knowledge isn't the problem anymore. 

We're drowning in financial education. Books, podcasts, TikToks, workplace programs. If information were the answer, credit card balances wouldn't be at an all-time high right now. Savings rates wouldn't be at historic lows. And money wouldn't be the number one cause of stress in our country.

So what's missing? Over the past few years, I've had a front-row seat to financial coaching happening across our industry. I've worked with large wellness companies, consulted with universities, listened to well over 100 coaching sessions. And what I saw troubled me deeply. 

People weren't walking away transformed. They were walking away with a shrug. "It was fine." 

Fine isn't good enough. Not for our clients, and not for this profession.

The gap isn't knowledge. It's not even application. The gap is ownership. True ownership. The kind of steady commitment that becomes part of who someone is. And as an industry, we're not doing a good enough job helping people get there.

In this episode, I'm sharing what I've seen, why it matters, and what we can do about it. 

Because financial coaching is at a turning point right now. We get to decide what this profession will be known for. And I believe we're capable of so much better.

Links & Resources:

• Ultimate Growth Guide
• Join the Facebook group

Key Takeaways:

• Fine is not good enough. When clients walk away from coaching with a shrug instead of transformation, we've failed to create real impact. That shapes how our entire profession is perceived.
• The gap isn't knowledge, it's ownership. People aren't failing because they lack information. They're stuck because we haven't helped them build true belief in what they're doing with their money.
• Neutral is the death of impact. Surface-level coaching doesn't just waste time. It leaves clients feeling like they've failed again, reinforcing shame instead of creating change.
• Scattershot coaching is everywhere. When clients leave sessions with disconnected instructions instead of a clear roadmap tied to their bigger journey, we're making it harder for them to succeed.
• Raising standards isn't glamorous, but it works. Precision matters. Every moment in a session shapes whether clients leave feeling confident and committed or unchanged. From how we present options to whether we catch hesitation.
• Financial coaching can be healing. Not in a clinical sense, but in a real-world way. When done well, it helps people stop carrying quiet shame and start believing they're capable of change.
• We're defining the future of this profession right now. The standard we set today determines whether financial coaching is remembered for tip sheets and cheerleading, or for transformation that actually sticks.