22. What if Paying Off Debt Isn’t The Client’s Goal?

What if I told you I don’t believe getting out of debt is a real financial goal, but I also believe it’s not the actual goal most clients have?

Stick with me…I believe that getting out of debt is a strategy that may be necessary in order to achieve the actual goal that your client has. Debt can be problematic for some folks, and yes, we may need to prioritize paying off or down the debt in order for them to be in a better position so that they can start thinking about their goals… 

…but we need to stop thinking that getting out of debt is the goal - it’s not. 

What is? The better position that they need to be in to achieve their dream. That means that getting out of debt becomes the method used to achieve that goal for them. 

 As financial coaches, it’s our duty to understand the client’s wants, needs, and desires, so that we can support them as they work to achieve those things. 

That means that we may need to help them shift their perspective on their debt. It’s likely that your client has some very valid feelings about their debt - and they probably feel the need to “run away” or ignore the “bad situation” that they feel they’ve put themselves in. 

But, if you can help them shift their perspective about their need to reconcile their debt to be the method they’ll use to achieve their dream goals (the ones that feel out of reach because of the debt), instead of wanting to run away, they’ll be able to see that they are running toward the ‘dream goals’ that they have. And that is a powerful transformation. 

…but how do you do that? I’m breaking this down for you today.