Money Tips From A Life Coach

Divorced with no children, Melinda hadn't much to show for twenty years as a bookkeeper, apart from $30,000 in savings and a mediocre retirement plan.

Yes, she and her husband Rick had lived reasonably well during their fifteen years of marriage. She had nice clothes and a decent car, but they spent more than they earned and had procrastinated about buying a house because they never managed to get a deposit together.

In a way she was grateful. They didn't have any real 'spoils' to divide when they went their separate ways. Now at forty-one, she was looking retirement in the face and the future looked bleak.


Learning about money

Melinda talked to Tom, the IT manager at work. He was her own age yet ran a successful consultancy business and was rumored to be worth a few dollars. Tom put her onto his broker, who suggested a mutual fund and recommended some books to read. Impatient to "catch up", she lost half of her savings trading penny stocks over the Internet. When she lost her job eight months later due to a company restructuring, Melinda decided to start her own bookkeeping business.

For three years she struggled to get enough clients to make ends meet. In between she lived on credit cards – she refused to touch what was left of her savings – and paid them off as soon as she got a new contract. Melinda did an excellent job for her few clients and spent a lot of time promoting her business. She read books and attended seminars, did daily affirmations and tried to think positively, but the money simply wasn't coming. She came to the conclusion that something in her attitude was holding her back.


So she took the next step – she found a life coach.

Melinda decided she needed someone outside her life who could help her push through this barrier. She phoned a life coach she'd met at a seminar and organized a barter deal – bookkeeping services in exchange for bi-monthly coaching.

Initially it was a frustrating experience. Melinda's coach, Janet, shared a number of ideas with the money gurus whose books Melinda read, so she felt she was covering old ground. But she soon recognized that the real benefit was in having someone to answer to, someone who wouldn't let her get away with excuses and who held her to her agreements. Because they lived in different cities, Melinda and Janet didn't meet in person. They talked on the phone for one hour every two weeks.

For months Melinda didn't feel she was making progress. The phone calls felt more like whining sessions than anything else. Then she landed a new client who needed to reorganize his company's finances. She felt confident enough to invest a portion of her savings in a couple of long-term vehicles. Now, six months later, those investments were paying off. And her client base began to grow.


Tips from Melinda's life coach

Here are some of the techniques Melinda used to get her money life on track. Some of them may apply to you.

  1. If you have a problem with negative or self-defeating thoughts…

    Wear a loose rubber band on one wrist. When you catch yourself entertaining one of these thoughts, snap the rubber band lightly to interrupt the pattern. This will train you to
    (a) notice when you think negatively
    (b) interrupt yourself
    (c) cut down on the number of times you do this throughout the day
  2. If you focus too much on what's not going right in your life…

    Start a Daily Highlights journal. At the end of each day, write down three positive things that happened during the day. Melinda e-mailed her highlights to her coach once a week but this is optional. You can keep this up for a month or so, or make it a regular habit. The point is to learn to focus on the positives. They do exist, even if you have to dig a little to find them.
  3. If you have a problem with self-acceptance…

    Look into your mirror each morning or night and say the following affirmation:

    "I love and accept myself completely as I am!"

    Melinda chose EFT techniques for this exercise with the aim of speeding up the process. This consists of tapping on six key acupressure points while repeating the affirmation. For more information, visit our page on EFT.

    You can also used Harv Eker's declarations, which are sprinkled throughout his book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind".

Some additional techniques to test

There are a couple of ongoing practices that enhance the effectiveness of the life coaching techniques.

  1. Set Up A Personal Bookkeeping System

    If you don't already do this, begin keeping track of your financial situation on your computer. The idea behind this is to treat your finances in a professional manner, even if you only have a small amount of money to deal with. It shows a respect for money and demonstrates that you can handle it, regardless of the quantity. In essence, you are acting like a wealthy person.

    You don't need special software for this – any spreadsheet program will do. Set up spreadsheets for your bank accounts, credit cards and investments, and update them once a month or so. Consider this training for when you have millions to keep track of. This is a great example of Acting As If.
  2. Continue Researching Your Financial Vehicles

    You might wish to invest in a business, real estate or the stock market. Obviously it's more effective to tackle these one at a time. But once you have one in place, you can begin preparing for the next vehicle.

    One of our teachers used to say:

    "Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity."

    Melinda believes that the large number of hours she invested in researching business strategies and investment markets demonstrates to the Universe that she's serious about achieving financial freedom. Her knowledge also allows her to recognize good opportunities when they present themselves.
  3. Continue to Invest

    As Melinda worked on her business she also kept an eye out for investment opportunities. She understood Robert Allen's concept of multiple streams of income and also Robert Kiyosaki's emphasis on passive rather than active income.
  4. Watch Your Gains

    If you haven't already, set up a spreadsheet that tracks your investments and, operating on the premise that you get more of what you focus on, check it regularly. You need this feedback whether your investments are positive or negative. Gains will contribute to your positive frame of mind and losses will alert you that you need to rethink your strategy.

    You don't need to actually be investing to do this. You can set up spreadsheets for your savings or any form of positive cash flow.
  5. Find a Support Group

    A networking group like a Cashflow Club can definitely make your wealth creation journey more enjoyable. Apart from the emotional support of like-minded people, you may get useful ideas and information from those who are researching areas you don't have time for or haven't yet discovered.

    Find a group of people with similar goals who will support your own journey. The group doesn't necessarily need to play the Cashflow games. For more on groups, visit the
    Cashflow Gamepage.

And of course the basics of wealth creation still apply:

  1. If you're in debt, get out of it as soon as possible.
  2. Create a budget to keep control of your finances.
  3. Accumulate some seed money as quickly as possible.
  4. Focus on your financial education.
  5. Choose a money vehicle.
  6. Use the wealth mindset techniques to prevent yourself from sabotaging your success.
While we recognize that not all life coaches are created equal, we highly recommend taking the risk and finding one who is willing to work with you, at least for a couple of months.

It might just be the kick-start you need to move yourself closer to your goals.