about Money Mentoring

Money mentoring is like having life coach, but for your finances!  Money mentoring is also called financial coaching, financial counseling, and involves financial education. 

Your mentor draws on personal financial knowledge to educate, motivate, guide, and support you in your journey to becoming the money manager you want to be. You and your mentor develop a financial plan with actionable steps to improve your financial situation. The end goal is always to make you confident and proud of your skills in managing your own money. 

A money mentor listens and discusses your habits, beliefs, feelings, and knowledge about personal finance. She helps you review your current financial situation and assists you in identifying your money goals. With your mentor's help, you create a realistic, actionable plan that is tailored just for you. It's a bit of learning, a lot of discussion, and tons of support!

Earmarks Money Mentoring offers many levels of mentorship, including one-time financial plan discussions, monthly check-ups, and weekly sessions scheduled for several months. Some people prefer to do the mentoring asynchronously, through email communications and journaling, so that they can get their thoughts in order. No matter your communication preference, you can reach your mentor by phone, text, or email, or arrange for an in-person meeting or video call.

Does at least one of these situations fit you?

• You're on your own and feel out of your depth. 

• You want to build enough credit history (a good credit score) to get good rates on future loans.

• You are thinking of buying a house and need to build up savings and credit.

• You want to take some college classes but don't feel you can afford it.

• You feel stuck in a job because you don't have a financial cushion to float you through to a delayed paycheck.

• You have solid income but always feel broke.

• You feel stuck in a bad relationship because you cannot afford to leave.

• You do not maximize your retirement savings or HSA contributions because you're worried about locking your money up.

• Getting bills provokes feelings of anxiety. You throw them away instead of looking at them.

• Arguing with your partner about spending is harming your relationship.

• You already know the basics of money management but want support in changing your habits. 

• You are already good at budgeting but not sure how to best approach debt.

• You want support in your journey to becoming the money manager that YOU WANT TO BE. 

Oh, yes! The internet and your local library hold a wealth of resources available for learning facts and approaches to money management. These are great for people who have the time and motivation to do their research and implement these techniques in their lives. If that is you, great! 

But access to these resources has not made good money management very widespread. 

Let's dive into why that is:

• These resources are general. They are not tailored to your needs. They make assumptions about your goals, your habits, your money hang-ups, and what you really value in life. You end up spending time and effort learning techniques and ideas that simply do not apply to you.

  • Your MENTOR helps you identify your goals, your good habits, your problematic habits, your money hang-ups, and what you value in life. Your mentor discusses and explores techniques with you to find methods that fit your situation and disposition.

• These resources are plentiful. Many voices call out from a multitude of books, YouTube channels, blogs, and entire franchises. The perspectives offered in these sources differ to the point of contradiction. For example, one popular system says to get your debt to $0, while another says to focus on investments to not miss out on early growth. You have to do a lot of research and exploration to find the one that's right for YOU and hope you get there before you run out of steam.

  • Your MENTOR has already done extensive reading and research and can work with you to quickly dismiss methods that will not work for you. She also keeps you on track and motivated by reminding you of your values and goals. By focusing only on ideas that make sense and feel right, you can keep your enthusiasm going strong! 

• These resources are impersonal. Managing money can be fun and engaging, but many people find themselves full of anxiety, frustration, or helplessness when facing financial decisions, especially big ones. Doing it on your own can leave you feeling stranded and tempted to give up. Worse, feelings of guilt can pop up for not following through with a system, especially if it is advertised as "simple" or "easy". 

  • Your MENTOR knows that decisions are complex and difficult. They are not made on facts alone. Even big, momentous financial decisions are made of smaller life moments where you decide between something immediately good for Right Now You and something good for Future You. A mentor can help you sort out the complex of facts and feelings when making a decision, leaving you with a satisfying feeling of making the best choice for you! 

Your financial goals are worth the investment. More importantly, YOU ARE WORTH THE INVESTMENT.

And we are not just talking about the monetary investment here. Making significant improvements to your money management skills is a big project. It can involve developing new frameworks of thinking, learning details about financial systems like credit and retirement, getting your partner on board, and building habits that can serve you for the rest of your life. This time, money, and work are investments in YOURSELF. 

A mentor helps make each one of these investments efficient. Instead of spending extra time figuring things out for yourself, you get to focus on what works for you. Rather than spending money on things that do not matter to you, you get to take opportunities to make your money go out and earn money for you. And all of this work is done with the help of an expert who cares, focusing your energy to actually follow through with your intentions. 

These investments pay back in a better financial future, but more immediately, they pay you in knowledge, confidence, peace of mind, and skills that you can pass on to others. 

The benefits and costs of mentorship vary based on your goals and disposition. Book a FREE meet-up with a money mentor to get the exact cost of a program tailored to you. Or fill out the Money Mindset form to get FREE personal feedback from Mara!

Mara is a money nerd who loves talking about budgeting, saving, investing, retirement funds, HSAs, and lots of other topics related to personal finances like developing a healthy mindset, creating good habits, and rocking Microsoft Excel. She has lots of experience teaching, all of it to properly adult humans. Her students have described her as knowledgeable, welcoming, supportive, and patient. She is also known being at once analytical and playful, making complex ideas hit home with humor and silly analogies. She likes dad puns, board games, cats, D&D, crochet, Star Trek, and lots of other stuff that finds an outlet at GenCon every year. Oh, and Taco Bell.