Relieving Client Anxiety by Seeing Beyond the Numbers
Learn how an Accredited Financial Counselor® used empathy and active listening to turn financial stress into success.
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Challenge At a Glance:
- How to ease clients’ anxiety, help them overcome the fear of financial failure, and restore their confidence in the process
Results At a Glance:
- Couple spent $5,000 less than projected, earned $17,000 more than expected, and reduced new debt by $22,000
The Challenge:
As an AFC®, Simi Mandelbaum strives to educate clients about the value of financial counseling. AFC professionals blend emotional intelligence, active listening, and financial wellness into client work. Working with couples, Simi draws upon this training to help couples navigate anxiety and uncertainty, which can leave them feeling stuck. One couple experienced dread when preparing to review their financial statements, believing they were “failing.”
The Solution:
Simi acknowledged their frustrations without judgment taking the time to understand what they hoped to achieve in their remaining sessions. The three of them reviewed the couple’s personalized financial plan side-by-side, carefully comparing the budgeted to actual outcome. She highlighted their successes while validating the emotions behind their perceptions. By blending empathy with an evidence-based review, Simi helped them recognize their progress fostering a supportive relationship built on trust.
“While we never tell our clients how to live, sometimes the worry of what the numbers will look like is so strong it overrides all logic. The hardest part isn't always the numbers. Sometimes, it's helping people see their own success when they're too close to the struggle to recognize it. Certification training helped me recognize this pattern, which has made me a stronger advocate for my clients.”
The Results:
- After their review, the couple discovered they spent $5,000 less than projected for the year, earned $17,000 more than expected, and reduced new debt by $22,000.
- The couple signed up for additional sessions to further their financial knowledge and confidence.
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