The Financial Coach Academy® Podcast

138. How to Be a Financial Coach in 2026

Your clients’ budgets absorbed increases they never saw coming this year. A healthcare premium that jumped several hundred dollars per month. Utility bills up $50 at peak usage. Return-to-office mandates that added childcare costs, gas expenses, and convenience spending they didn't budget for. Buy now, pay later options at grocery checkouts, not just for wants but for food.When your clients sit down with you, they're financially stressed. And they're also cautiously pessimistic, worried about what's next, and hoping they can just stay stable. This is the reality of financial coaching in 2026, and it's why the gap between need and demand matters more than most coaches want to admit.This episode looks at being a financial coach in 2026 from three perspectives. First, the concrete ways rising costs are squeezing your clients' household budgets right now. Second, the role you play in cutting through their worry with clarity and steadying energy instead of more information. And third, how all of this shapes your business strategy, your messaging, and the way you position your work when clients aren't buying on "maybe this could help."If you've wondered why your ideal clients aren't reaching out even when they clearly need help, or if you've felt the tension between knowing coaches are needed and watching people hesitate to hire you, this episode will help you see what's actually happening and how to meet this moment with courage and strategic clarity.Links & Resources:Ultimate Growth GuideJoin the Facebook groupKey Takeaways:People need financial coaches more than ever, but need doesn't equal demand. Just because someone is struggling doesn't mean they're actively seeking your solution. And that means that how you talk about your work matters more than ever.Healthcare premiums increased significantly for many families in 2026. When you combine that with utility rate hikes and return-to-office costs, clients are absorbing hundreds of dollars in monthly budget increases they didn't plan for.Shift from selling to steadying. Right now, people aren't buying on "maybe this could help." They're saying yes when the outcome is crystal clear and the commitment feels manageable.One in four Americans now uses buy now, pay later for groceries. This isn't about luxuries anymore. It's a signal of how tight household cashflow has become, and it's creating unnecessary chaos in people's budgets.Return-to-office mandates don't just increase commute costs. They ripple into childcare, eating out, work clothes, and spending more for convenience because flexibility at home disappears.75% of our own small business vendors raised their rates in 2025. Business owners are navigating the same financial squeeze as clients, which means your financial coaching mind is your greatest asset in running your business strategically.Being a financial coach in 2026 takes courage. You need to speak sincerely and clearly about how you help people, make faster business decisions, and lead by example in uncertain times.

137. [Announcement] Evolution of The Plan Ahead Method™ to SpendFirst®

After almost two decades of watching clients struggle with traditional budgeting advice, one pattern became impossible to ignore: the advice itself was creating the problem.Track every dollar. Cut spending wherever possible. Follow this exact plan. The advice was restrictive, rigid, and built on the assumption that everyone should manage money the same way. No wonder people felt like failures when they couldn't stick with it.For years, coaches and advisors have been teaching a different framework to clients who finally experienced their "this makes sense" moment. The Plan Ahead Method™ worked because it focused on understanding spending instead of judging it. Planning for it instead of reacting to it. Creating clarity without adding more rules to follow.The system helped thousands of people stabilize the chaos in their financial lives. But the name never captured what made it different. It sounded like every other budgeting method out there.That changes now. The Plan Ahead Method™ is officially SpendFirst®. And this represents more than new branding.SpendFirst® means something specific: stabilize the chaos in your financial life first so you can focus on everything else. Most financial advice responds to chaos with restriction. SpendFirst® flips that. It helps people get their spending under control first, remove the overwhelm first, align their spending with their goals first. Then they watch how that transforms their entire relationship with money.If you've been teaching the Plan Ahead Method™ with clients, this episode gives you clarity on what's evolving and how it positions your practice. If you're looking for a proven framework that clients actually stick with, this is your introduction to a system that's about to reach a much wider audience and create a category coaches can build their identity around.This isn't about helping one client at a time anymore. This is about a movement that changes how people see, save, and spend their money.Links & Resources:How to Create Buy-in: Designing Financial Experiences that StickJoin the Facebook groupKey Takeaways:People don't struggle with money because they're bad at saving; they struggle because spending feels chaotic and overwhelming.The SpendFirst® Method focuses on stabilizing the part of your financial life with the most movement: your spending. When you plan for spending instead of reacting to it, you create the mental space to focus on everything else.SpendFirst® means putting a system in place for your spending first, not spending recklessly. It's about understanding spending patterns, not judging them, so clients can align their money with who they are and what they want.The best tools are the ones that get used consistently. A method only works if people actually stick with it, which is why flexibility and humanity matter more than perfection.When you're building something meaningful, there's an element of stubbornness that serves you well. What looks like stubbornness might actually be your commitment to creating something that aligns with your vision.SpendFirst® isn't just a budgeting method. It's a mindset shift that helps people see money differently. The goal is to change how people see, save, and spend their money by giving them a clearer, kinder, and more human approach.High standards take time, and that's okay. The pace at which something happens doesn't matter as much as staying true to your vision and refusing to settle for half-assed solutions.

First Paid Sessions: Creating an Experience Clients Remember

You've got a client who's ready to work with you—they've paid for their first session and now you're feeling those pre-session nerves. Sound familiar?In this episode, we talk about what's really going on in your client's mind when they show up for that first paid session (hint: they're probably more nervous than you are). I share the exact structure I use to make sure every client leaves their first session feeling heard, hopeful, and clear on their next steps.From creating a warm welcome that puts your clients at ease, to helping them see their full financial picture (often for the first time), we cover how to make your first paid sessions truly valuable for your clients. I share my biggest mistakes and what I learned from them, so you can skip the trial and error phase I went through.Plus, I walk through our follow-up system that keeps clients engaged and taking action even after the session ends. Whether you're new to paid sessions or looking to make your current process even better, this episode will help you create an experience that has your clients saying “they get me” and ready to take the next step in their journey.Links & Resources:Ultimate Growth GuideJoin the Facebook groupEpisode 91Key Takeaways:Want your clients to open up about money? Start by acknowledging their courage - it takes guts to share your finances with a stranger and pay them for help.Trying to solve every financial problem in one session isn't generous, it's overwhelming. Pick their most exciting goal and solve it completely.Your clients can sense when you're in your head worrying about delivering value. Their emotional rollercoaster is 10 times bigger than yours.Numbers tell a story, but you need to narrate it out loud. Walk clients through your thinking process so they can see how you got to the solution.The magic isn't in telling clients to spend less, it's in finding their big goal that makes them excited enough to actually change their habits.When a client shares multiple money goals, celebrate internally. They're showing you they have a genuine need for ongoing coaching, so don’t try to tackle all those goals at once.Your follow-up system is a safety net that catches clients before they fall off track. Make it systematic but personal, like checking in when reality and procrastination typically hit.

136. How to Tackle This Real-Life Coaching Scenario

A client is tearing up about their debt in your first session together. You're feeling good about the progress you're making. Then weeks later, when you use the MeaningFirst Method™ to explore what getting out of debt would mean to them, they say something you didn’t expect: "Even if I were debt free, I'd still be worried about my income. I wouldn't feel much different."How do you respond in that moment?This is the kind of real coaching scenario that makes or breaks buy-in. What you say next determines whether the client feels deeply understood or quietly misunderstood. And the truth is, most coaches in this moment slip into convincing mode without even realizing it. We want to help so badly that we start selling them on why their debt still matters, why being debt free would change things, why they should care about what we think they should care about.But that's not coaching. That's correcting.In this week’s episode, I walk you through a similar moment that happened with one of our coaches and her client. I'll show you exactly why the client's response isn't resistance, it's clarity. They're giving you a window into what's actually driving their stress. And I'll give you a four-step framework called Core Sync that helps you respond in these moments without losing the client's trust or momentum.You'll learn how to validate without agreeing, explore without interrogating, connect without convincing, and plan without enabling. This is the difference between a client who nods politely but doesn't follow through and a client who starts to believe again because they feel understood.If you've ever had a client say something that surprised you or didn't match what you expected, this episode will change how you respond.Links & Resources:Ultimate Growth GuideJoin the Facebook groupEpisode 135: The Meaning First MethodFree download: Meaning First Method guideSmall Business ToolkitsClient Creator Challenge: 90-day program starting January 8thKey Takeaways:When a client says something unexpected, pause and ask yourself: Am I about to validate or convince? This small internal check changes everything about how the conversation unfolds."Even if I were debt free, I'd still be worried" isn't resistance. It's clarity. They're telling you what actually drives their stress, and that deserves your attention.The “yeah, but…” reflex kills buy-in. When you jump to "yeah, but if you were debt free you'd have more freedom," you're making a logical point when they just expressed an emotional truth.Validation creates emotional safety. When someone finally feels understood, their nervous system relaxes. They stop defending and start engaging.Use “yes, and” energy instead of “yeah, but…” energy. "You're right, consistent income is at the heart of this too. And what's interesting is how it ties to the debt..." bridges the gap without dismissing what they said.The Core Sync framework builds buy-in at every layer: validate the emotion, explore the experience, connect the dots, then plan for both. Skip ahead to solutions and you'll lose them.Clients start to believe again not because you convinced them, but because you understood them. That's how buy-in is built.

135. The MeaningFirst Method™: Financial Goals You Want To Follow Through On

What if the way you're asking clients about their goals is actually making it harder for them to follow through?Most coaches ask what their client wants to accomplish, get an answer like "I want to get out of debt" or "I want to save more," and then move straight into strategy. Goal identified, check. Time to build the plan.But here's what's missing: connection. Not your connection to their goal, THEIR connection to it.People don't take action because they have a goal. They take action when that goal feels meaningful. When they can picture what shifts on the other side of it. When they understand why it matters right now, in this season of their life.In this episode, I'm walking you through the MeaningFirst Method™, a conversation framework that helps clients move from pressure-driven goals to goals rooted in personal truth and desire. This is the foundation that makes everything else easier: the follow-through, the consistency, the willingness to come back after a setback, the sense of ownership.You'll hear exactly how to guide this conversation, what questions to ask, when to pause and let silence do the work, and how to help clients uncover what they actually care about, not just what they think they should want.This isn't about adding more to your session checklist. It's about creating the clarity that makes every other conversation more effective. Because when meaning comes first, strategy has something real to build on.Links & Resources:Ultimate Growth GuideJoin the Facebook groupMeaning First Method Conversation Guide (one-page downloadable)Client Creator Challenge (90-day program starting January 8th)Key Takeaways:Your job isn't just to ask about goals; it's to help clients connect to them. People follow through when goals feel meaningful, not simply when they've been stated out loud.Sometimes the stated goal isn't the real thing that matters. It's the doorway to what actually drives them: more freedom, calm, choice, breathing room.The client's goal is both the North Star and the map. It shows you where you're going and informs every choice you recommend along the way.MeaningFirst helps clients shift from "I should fix this" to "I want to build a life that feels aligned." That's a fundamentally different, and far more sustainable, experience.Let silence work for you. After asking what makes a goal important right now, pause. Give them space to think and feel their way to the real answer.Connection comes before strategy, always. Only after meaning is clear do we start planning timelines, pacing, and tactics.This framework sustains motivation when things get hard. When clients understand what they actually care about, they can reconnect to that meaning every time they want to quit.