Wise Monkey Blog

Wise Monkey Financial Coaching

Digital banks helping people manage money mindfully

Digital banks helping people manage money mindfully

Do the names Monzo, Starling, Chase and Revolut mean anything to you?

I often discuss with my clients how these type of digital banks help make money management more accessible and fun than a traditional bank by using your smart phone to track your spending. 

These digital banks offer easy-to-use budgeting tools, instant notifications when you spend and straightforward ways to save. And this is all available at your fingertips, via your mobile phone.   

They’re also helping to create conscious, mindful spending. 

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Seven ways to make 2020 the year you get your finances in order

Seven ways to make 2020 the year you get your finances in order

There’s no better feeling than being in control of your money. However much or little of it you have, these 7 tips will help you get organised and plan for the year ahead. Don’t worry if it takes a couple of months to put it all into practice – try setting a goal of mastering a new money habit each week. By the time 2021 rolls around, you could have your money management totally nailed. 

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What’s your attitude to money teaching your kids?

What’s your attitude to money teaching your kids?

If you want your kids to grow up with a healthy attitude to money, the first place to start is to look at your own habits and behaviour with money.

Our beliefs around money - both conscious and unconscious - are mostly informed by what we learn, experience and observe as we grow up. So how you deal with money will undoubtedly influence how your children manage their money as adults. 

I’ve recently been working with a client, Sophie, on her money story and looking at how this feeds into her existing relationship with money. We explored her early experiences with money and began to gain insight into previously unconscious beliefs that had been getting in the way of the results she wants to achieve. Through this work, she slowly began to see how she'd been reinforcing old beliefs through some of the decisions and actions she'd taken. 

As a child, Sophie's parents had gone from running a successful family business, with trappings of wealth, to being declared bankrupt. The family had to move out of the house they owned into rented accommodation. She was able to stay at the school she’d always attended but became increasingly aware of her different financial status compared to her peers.

She recalled one time the embarrassment of having to tell her teacher she wasn’t able to afford a school excursion. And another being ridiculed by other pupils for wearing her summer shoes for school in winter months. 

Sophie's money story was one of scarcity and now, in adulthood, she found herself giving her children, aged six and nine, conflicting messages about money.

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Julia’s training experience

Julia’s training experience

"I was hoping we would be taught approaches and tools to help with coaching, guidance on structuring sessions and the cycle of helping a client.  The coaching course has far exceeded my expectations. We were in a small group of six students plus Simonne, Jo a psychotherapist and Anne who has wide experience of coaching. We were given a large resource pack, that is organised clearly, each day is outlined with the tasks and materials for the day and the exercises are timed meticulously.

At the beginning of the course, we individually outlined objectives we hoped to achieve. The course has been structured so half the learning is through practical exercises to embed the knowledge and skills we are being taught, as daunting as this has been at times, it has been the most the challenging and promising part of the course. It has alleviated any fear and anxiety you face as a new coach when you are reframing a client’s negative narrative into a more a positive outlook, whilst asking open non-directive questions to uncover motivation, responding or addressing emotional responses or triggers and then leading the client to their own solutions which are informed by financial knowledge – to effect meaningful behavioural change.  

Simonne has a wonderfully warm and engaging manner, sharing her contagious enthusiasm and passion for her work. Clearly so much thought has been given on how best to share her knowledge in a way that is easy to follow - despite our different professional backgrounds, experiences and intuition.

The resources and templates that have been honed during Simonne’s 17 years of coaching are shared to maximise learning and effectiveness in coaching, are made available to us all via dropbox afterwards so we can share them with clients.

I have learnt so many transferable skills and benefitted in my own personal development, I will be taking these reflective work practices to other areas of my private and professional life, such as active listening, reframing, and examining any self-limiting beliefs I might have."

Julia

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