Is this the right room for the money course?

This could have been your first thought as you entered the money coaching workshops in Discovery Church in Galway recently.

Laughter and friendly competition rang out as we attempted to guess the prices of common items. We were learning about money right from the start. Often, there were gasps of surprise as the best price was not where we expected.

Our newly trained Money Coach Demi led this first icebreaker activity with enthusiasm and skill. Demi usually works with groups of teenagers in her job with An Tobar Nua student retreats. She is adapting well to working with adults.

She put the participants at their ease, enabling them to start to share their personal reflections. We looked at people’s financial personalities next. We used a quiz to find out if they are spontaneous or considered spenders. Both types of financial personality have advantages and drawbacks. We were not there to judge, but to offer grace and to support people in understanding themselves better. In money coaching, this strong value of not judging others’ choices is crucial. It allows people to feel relaxed and share honestly in small groups. Again there was laughter heard in among the serious reflections.

When we moved on to look at financial goals everyone felt comfortable to share their personal goals. These included paying off a mortgage early. They also included saving for travel to see family. Another goal was simply finding out where all the money was disappearing.

Engaging not stressful

As the workshops went on, it became clear to us that discussing money management can be engaging rather than stressful. Many people feel ashamed about their finances, and we want to free people from this feeling in money coaching. Participants connected by sharing stories about difficulties with over-spending due to marketing and media pressures. I also reminded them,

No one taught us how to manage our money, we don’t need to feel ashamed if we made some mistakes. The important thing is that you are here to learn now.

Discovery Church’s third recently trained money coach, Janet, led activities in her own relaxed style. She used her life experience to ask pertinent questions. These questions encouraged discussions and critical thinking around spending and saving.

Lively discussions and laughter surrounded various topics. What is essential and optional in a budget is different for everyone. A lot of people do seem to think coffee essential though! We also talked about when using credit is wise versus saving, and how to spot scams. These discussions seem quite basic, but they really impact people’s lives. Participants experienced the impact in different ways:

Extended Maternity Leave

After creating their budget, one self-employed participant discovered they can afford to take more maternity leave. That is a real plus.

Freedom from Shame

Shame around finances is a big issue for people, Lucia said;

… thank you, thank you, thank you for offering this course. It is honestly so informative, fun and above all, life altering. To be getting free of the shame of being a complete over-spender is radical.

Saving to see family

Another participant joined already knowing how to shop well and unsure if they can do more. They want to save money to visit family overseas more often.

They left feeling they had learned new ways to manage their money and reach their goals.

Newly Weds

David and Lyndal who are recently married said;

We found it incredibly helpful thank you. I think in particular how fine tuned it was. A big change for us is all the small unexpected expenses we kept facing and how to budget for them better.

Redundancy

Having recently experienced redundancy, one person felt that they can now continue to grow in their knowledge of household finances. Good financial management builds resilience for the difficult times we all face at some point or another.

Doing it for the family

Finally, there were those who were good natured, and laughed about the fact that other family members had strongly encouraged them to come to improve their skills with money. Our end of course survey showed positive results. Everyone felt that money coaching had the added advantage of helping them communicate better about finances with their partner.  Hopefully the families think the coaching was worthwhile too.

Fun and Finance do go together

So what was the final verdict? Everyone agreed that spending four evenings looking at our personal finances can be fun. Learning how to manage them is also deeply impactful. Everyone on the course would wholeheartedly recommended money coaching to others, and the new coaches really enjoyed the experience.

Discovery Church is my own home church. I was delighted to work as a volunteer coach alongside new coaches Janet and Demi on this course. The first of many I hope.

If you live near Galway keep an eye out for our next course early in 2025.