Taking Action: A Woman’s Perspective on Deciding To Tackle Her Finances

This week’s live session is one for the books! Jackie is back on with Jody, our client experience manager to discuss women taking action to tackle their finances. They start the session jamming to the song by musical Diva Lizzo, It’s About Damn Time! which depicts what the topic really is about. Confidante community, how many of you are not feeling confident about your financial circumstances yet feel stuck and don’t have a plan to move forward?

Jody gave us a bird eye’s view of what inspires our clients to decide that now is the time to tackle their finances. She also shared financial challenges clients might be experiencing since the pandemic and how our onboarding process helps to assure them, they have come to the right place.

What are some challenges you uncover with clients who seek our service?

We find that many people do not know when or where to start, there is a little bit of intimidation around finances that causes them to procrastinate. We find this with higher achieving women who are so busy making an impact that they may tend to de-prioritize getting their finances in order- especially since it may be an area of vulnerability for them. A great example is with filing their income taxes. We have found some of our clients may come to us with a sucessful business that is behind a few years on their taxes so this is typically the first area we may need to work on by finding them an accountant they can work with.

We also find that some women are a little embarrassed about their finances or even talking about it. They sometimes feel like they might not be doing enough and could get judged for being behind when they share details about how their financial position. The important thing for our clients to know is our role is not to judge. There is always a solution for any circumstance, the important part to this is for you to find out what they are. Do not wait until procrastinating starts to cost you. Truth is, the earlier you start, the more options you tend to have.

Do clients often feel like working with a financial planner can be hard?

This fear can paralyze people. Our goal is ensuring that we speak in a clear and plain language that is not riddled with financial jargon, to ensure that our clients are educated about their finances and how decisions they make may impact their future. Our clients also appreciate the patience we bring to the table, so they are comfortable to open up which gives us better results.

What happens when a client says yes to a strategy session?

That is such an important step to take! We call it a financial strategy session, but it really is a get to know you session, we want to get a sense of who they are, identify any dangers with their financial situation, any opportunities, strengths we can leverage on e.t.c the first session is usually casual but very insightful for us to understand the client’s goals by just listening to their story. We also talk about how we can help them achieve their stated goals and what our process looks like.

We also discuss how we are paid and how our fees work. The clients that work with us have a sense of relief when they pay for a financial plan. This helps them feel comfortable that they will not be led through a sales process where the recommendations are solely product recommendations. The fee for service model, also allow us to follow up on the plan we set up, hold our clients accountable to them, and allows our clients to update the plan as required. Clients can choose to set up a plan with us or select another advisor to help them with the product recommendations. There is no pressure based on charging a fee. For the clients who want to set up investment or insurance plans with us, they can rest assured that as independent advisors, we provide third party analysis on the investment and insurance recommendations we provide. This is often not the case with bank advisors who are restricted on what products can be recommended.

Have the conversations changed since covid?

We have found that many people now believe in the power of planning as covid came with a lot of uncertainties that shook the world. Some people realized they did not have a sufficient emergency fund are losing their job. Or did not have adequate insurance in place. We also found that a lot of couples separated during the pandemic and were seeking financial advice since they are now embarking on their new journey alone.

What advice will you give clients who are still considering acting on their financial situation?

Just make that move! Start the conversation, reach out to us and share your situation with us and we can walk with you through to financial confidence. Make sure you work with someone you are comfortable with, be patient with yourself, and be confident that your small steps will get you where you need to be in the end. Remember, No shame, no blame! You are only trying to make a better tomorrow for yourself.

Are you ready to take action? Are you comfortable with your current financial planner? Do you lack confidence when it comes to your finances? We have that proactive, collaborative expertise that you need to start a healthy financial journey. Reach out to Jody at jody.euloth@askjackie.ca