Coaching helped them to investigate their habits and attitudes towards money, as well as offering practical ways of dealing with money better. The success of previous projects suggests that it will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives.

Fran, a tenant for over 30 years, had never missed a rent payment, until recently. Her social housing officer, Evie, knew this was unusual and wanted to check that everything was OK. When Fran explained, Evie suggested this project could help.  Fran was skeptical and very nervous, but agreed to try it.

Fran works part-time and gets some benefits, for dependent children. Her husband died a couple of years ago, leaving her emotionally and financially bereft. While her husband was alive, they had enough money to do what they pleased. However, now she was finding it difficult to make ends meet.

She had never been in debt, believing that if you didn’t have the money, you did without. However, recently she had taken out a couple of loans and had an overdraft that was creeping upwards monthly.

This made her feel ill. She wasn’t sleeping well. Money was the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing she thought of at night. She was constantly worried about money and felt sick when she thought about her debts.

Then the kids needed shoes. School trips were coming up. The car needed a service. And so on. She needed the car to get to work. It was important that the kids didn’t miss out. She had to find the money to pay for these things.

We looked at Fran’s income and expenditure, and identified areas for improvement. As well as cutting costs, we looked at how Fran could increase her income. None of these were difficult, and Fran had more money coming into the house, which was helping her to gain control.

Each time I visited Fran, I could see the difference in her. She was positive, enthusiastic, and excited about what had happened since we had last met. She felt calmer and more in control of her money, but what changed most was her decision making. Fran thought about money in a different way and had started questioning purchases. “Do I really need that?” “Can I get it cheaper?” “Can I borrow it?” “Could it wait till next week?”

This massive change in her thinking and the impact it had on the money in her pocket was huge.

Another problem was that she loved a wee holiday, but felt she was not going to be able to afford one this year. She totally deserved something to look forward to, so we looked at how to make it happen.

We worked out when she wanted the holiday, how much she would need and how much she would need to save each week. I asked her if she could save that money. Initially dejected, she said it wasn’t possible. Then the “new” Fran took over and she said “Yes! I CAN do it!” She then started listing the things she could do to make it possible. A 5-minute chat later, she had a savings pot sorted out, and a list of things she was going to do that would put money in her pot!

This is the biggest switch in Fran – it’s the belief that she can make things happen. And she will. I am confident of that.

This feedback made me laugh, as well as bringing a wee tear to my eye. I haven’t changed her life. All I did was give her the tools and the support to change her OWN life.  She has done the work, she has made the changes, and she is the one who will benefit from this for years to come.  I am so proud of the her and the work that she has put in!

If you feel that you or your group would benefit, please get in touch directly with me.  I can advise you if there would be any funded opportunities for financial coaching for you.