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Have you ever felt that inner nudge that something needs to change in your financial life, but you're unsure which path to take? Recognizing when it's time to seek financial guidance can feel both challenging and intimidating. Taking that next step often requires vulnerability as you confront the reality of your financial situation.
As believers, we're called to be good stewards of our resources, but that doesn't mean the journey is always clear. Let's explore which financial guide might be the perfect fit for where you are right now, depending on your needs, goals, and the challenges you face with money.
The Heart and Hands of Financial Health
We love how Dr. Brad Klontz, Psy.D, CFP®, Rick Kahler, MS, CFP®, and Dr. Ted Klontz, Ph.D., describe the components of integrated financial planning in their book Facilitating Financial Health. They explain that true financial wellness has an exterior component (the practical side) and an interior component (your beliefs and emotions).
This reminds us of how Scripture often addresses our inner heart posture and outward actions. Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:17), financial knowledge without addressing our deep-seated money beliefs rarely leads to lasting transformation.
Think about your situation for a moment. Are you struggling with:
Knowing what to do but not following through?
Making good money but feeling constantly behind?
Do you understand financial concepts but are you still making emotional spending decisions?
If so, you might need more than traditional financial education and advice. You need someone who can address both the practical and the personal aspects of your finances.
Financial Coach vs Financial Planner: Understanding the Difference
When a Financial Coach Is Your Best Partner
A financial coach does far more than help you budget—we journey alongside you to discover financial fulfillment beyond just having money. As Christian financial coaches, we help professional women:
Discover Authentic Financial Wholeness
We examine the impact of your beliefs, feelings, stories, and unconscious thoughts around money. These inner narratives often drive our financial behaviors far more powerfully than spreadsheets ever could.
Align Money with Meaning
Together, we uncover your values and ensure your financial decisions reflect what truly matters to you. This foundation of self-awareness becomes the compass for purposeful living and intentional wealth building.
Develop Practical Wisdom
As Accredited Financial Counselors® (AFC®), we offer professional expertise in the complex process of financial decision-making, including creating budgets, getting out of debt, modifying ineffective money management behaviors, investment education, and retirement planning. This credential requires meeting rigorous ethical, educational, and experience standards, including at least 1,000 hours of relevant financial counseling experience and mastery of nine core competencies.
Create Your Vision-Driven Plan
Your financial journey should reflect your unique calling. We'll explore your vision, identify meaningful goals, and develop an actionable plan that honors both your present needs and future hopes.
Take Faithful Action
Financial behavior coaching is future-focused, emphasizing progress and continuous improvement. Like the faithful servants in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we help you maximize what you've been entrusted with through consistent, meaningful action.
Studies show only about 20% of people can implement financial advice without addressing the emotional aspects of money. The benefits of financial coaching provide that crucial missing piece if you've felt stuck despite having financial knowledge.
The Role of a Financial Planner in Your Journey
While financial coaching focuses on heart transformation and foundational habits, you will need expertise in growing and protecting your wealth. This is a time when the technical expertise of a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) becomes vital to your stewardship journey. A financial planner becomes especially valuable when:
You've established consistent financial habits
You're ready to create comprehensive investment strategies
You need specialized guidance on tax efficiency and asset protection
You're preparing for major life transitions like retirement or legacy planning
Financial planners can be thought of as the architects who create your wealth-building blueprint after establishing a solid foundation, having a clear vision for financial fulfillment, and understanding how your wealth will impact your future. Their main focus is on technical strategies that facilitate wealth accumulation, ensure wealth preservation, and manage wealth distribution.
When Financial Therapy Offers Healing
Sometimes, our money struggles run deeper than knowledge or habit formation and stem from deep wounds. Financial planning vs financial therapy becomes an important distinction when:
Financial stress causes depression or anxiety and significantly impacts your daily life
Working through family money patterns and dysfunction
You find yourself repeating destructive, addictive, or compulsive behaviors such as compulsive spending, hoarding, or gambling)
Healing from money trauma or financial abuse
Just as emotional wounds need specific healing, financial wounds sometimes require specialized care that addresses the root causes of our behavior. Financial therapists help heal the wounds in your relationship with money that may be blocking your progress.
When Your Journey Might Include Multiple Guides
Just as your faith journey includes different types of spiritual support—pastors, mentors, and friends—your financial journey might benefit from different types of guidance at different stages.
Many of our clients start with financial coaching to establish healthy behaviors, mindsets, and goals, and then transition to working with a financial planner once they're ready to focus on wealth building. If deeper issues emerge, we might bring in a financial therapist for specialized support.
The key is recognizing where you are in your journey and being honest about what type of help you truly need. Complementary forms of support may benefit your financial journey.
When to Hire a Financial Coach: Discerning Your Next Step
Ask yourself these questions as you consider which financial guide might serve you best:
Do I need accountability and guidance to implement what I already know? (Financial Coach)
Do I need advanced strategies to grow and manage my existing wealth? (Financial Planner)
Do I need help healing from financial trauma or deep-seated money beliefs? (Financial Therapist)
For high earners who feel financially behind despite good income, when considering a financial coach vs a financial planner, remember that financial coaching offers specialized support to bridge the gap between potential and reality.
Remember Proverbs 15:22: "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." The right guide can make all the difference in your financial journey.
Taking The Next Step Toward Financial Fulfillment
Wherever you are in your financial journey, know that seeking help isn't a sign of failure—it's an act of stewardship and wisdom. As Christian Financial Coaches who specialize in working with accomplished professional women, we've seen how transformative it can be when you finally address both the exterior and interior aspects of your financial life.
Your relationship with money isn't separate from your faith—it's integral to living out your values and purpose. When you heal your relationship with money, you open new possibilities for generosity, impact, and legacy.
Get Your Questions Answered!
Wealth is not merely about numbers; it encompasses the decisions, behaviors, and emotions influencing those numbers. If you’ve ever felt that financial literacy and advice on its own isn't sufficient, you may require a different type of support. The right guidance can significantly transform your financial future, whether it’s financial coaching, financial planning, or financial therapy.
Schedule a Clarity Call to share your concerns and goals, see if we are the best financial coach for you, and gain clarity on how to take action toward financial fulfillment.
Your future self—and the Kingdom work your financial freedom will enable—will thank you!
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