Tips From The Coach

You can get affordable help from an expert if you’re struggling with your finances

- Susan Hely

If you can’t afford to see a financial planner but don’t qualify for a financial counsellor, where do you go for advice with managing your money? You typically fall through the cracks. And with readers feeling cost-of living pressures, Money has been inundated with requests for advice about getting on top of their finances through budgeting and saving.

A recent widow, Prue Armstrong, asked how she could refresh her skills with budgeting, saving, juggling the bills, using credit cards wisely and finding the best deals. “I really need help as I don’t know where to start regarding a budget, the mortgage is getting higher and I cannot afford to make mistakes,” she said.

At the same time there have never been so many self-help online budgeting and saving apps, blogs and books to provide advice. But even people who sign up for the apps or buy the books often need extra help.

That’s where a new group of money coaches – called spending planners – fits in. They help with budgeting, spending and planning ahead for all expenses. Unlike some businesses that take control of your bank accounts and pay your bills, spending planners don’t run your accounts, so you keep control of your finances and you learn how to do it yourself.

Spending planners see themselves as educators who personally guide people step by step to manage their cash flow. They sit down with you and work out your spending patterns, then help you overcome any debt problems so you can reach your goals.

David Wright, founder of the Spending Planners Institute (spendingplannersinstitute.com), has been helping people by running workshops and selling his Simply Budgets software for over 20 years. He has sold 30,000 copies and says he has a lot of satisfied customers who attended his cash flow workshops and believe his approach to money helped them start saving and turn their lives around.