CFEE Guidebook

28 BUILDING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY THROUGH FINANCIAL COACHING a specified savings amount that the student thinks is achievable. Our approach is that any amount of savings is acceptable, as long as it can be sustained every month. Some students have no income or limited income and can target only a small amount, such as $5 a month. Thanks to the Financial Clinic, we have incorporated several slogans. The most im- portant one is that “saving is an activity, not an amount.” This reinforces the practice of saving regularly and sticking to a budget. Connect Financial Goals to Career Planning An objective of financial coaching is to help students understand that there is a connection between their financial goals and their career plans. We teach students that they cannot have a career plan without a financial plan, because every career decision is also a financial decision. This involves helping the student to think beyond today and into the future, which is difficult for most young adults. One of the focus areas of the Money Smart program is increasing income. When establish- ing financial goals during the initial meeting, students often put finding a job or a higher-pay- ing job as their number one financial goal. If this is the case, the coach will refer the student to a career services counselor on campus for further assistance. The coaching sessions will also focus on helping the student identify job strategies or create a resumé. Another aspect of career planning is helping the student understand the cost of transferring to a four-year college in order to complete a bachelor’s degree. Students know very little about tuition costs at public or private four-year colleges, and they often do not consider finan- cial aid or scholarships in their cost estimates. By directing students to appropriate financial aid services, coaches can reinforce the concept that obtaining a degree is something within their reach. Motivate Students through Reminders and Rewards Students who participate in financial coaching must be willing to work at their goals over a period of time, so it is essential to find ways to help them to stay engaged. Community college students have many shifting priorities, and even the most committed students will run into un- expected roadblocks that may make it difficult for them to keep up with coaching sessions. Communication Is Critical It takes systematic and persistent efforts to keep students involved, so communication is an important factor. Once an appointment was CHIARA Chiara joined the Money Smart Forum when she came to Westchester Community College from Italy to study English. Her goal was to improve her English sufficiently to take the highly competitive entrance exam for the nursing program. While Chiara was earning money from her job, she was having trouble saving enough to cover all of her tuition expenses. Thanks to working with her coach over a two-year period, Chiara learned to budget and save enough money to pay her tuition as a full-time student. Not only was she accepted into the nursing program at the college, she graduated with an RN degree in 2018. Chiara says, “Working with my coach helped me to change my habits and to change my life! The Money Smart Forum helped me to realize my dream of a nursing career.”