Investors benefit from financial planners and coaches: Can the poor do the same?

<p>This post is part of a series that highlights approaches described in a School of Government web guide on asset-building tactics for individuals and communities on the economic margin.</p> <p>What if a concept that works for investors and their financial planners could be used to build the personal financial assets of low-income persons? An approach called financial coaching is being employed in North Carolina to coach low-income persons on financial behaviors that will enable them to build savings and other financial assets.</p> <p>A 2007 report, Financial Coaching: A New Approach for Asset Building?, reviews the ways that coaching has been used to improve human behaviors in a range of areas:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">There are health coaches who work with clients to curb bad habits like smoking or improve their diet and exercise. There are life coaches who help people to make plans and changes in their career and home life. There are executive coaches who help managers in the workplace to improve their approaches with colleagues and on projects. There are career coaches who help clients explore options for changing or advancing their job prospects. There are job coaches who help developmentally disabled people maintain steady employment. There are performance or skills coaches who work with clients on a specific task or event. And there are financial coaches or wealth coaches who help clients make changes in their financial lives. All of these coaching approaches add value to clients by providing an external force to help them to learn and improve some aspect of their work or [...]</p>