Personal Finance Coach: Edwin Reyes on tailoring coaching to the individual needs of clients during COVID
Tags: Covid 19, Financial Inclusion, Financial Planning, Human Resources, Personal Finance Coach

Personal Finance Coach: Edwin Reyes on tailoring coaching to the individual needs of clients during COVID TrustPlus Follow Dec 9, 2020 · 4 min read

Personal Finance Coach features stories, insights, and tips from TrustPlus. TrustPlus personal finance coach Edwin Reyes spoke with TrustPlus about taking an individualized approach to each client and how “it’s personal to me because I come from these communities.” The conversation has been edited for length, clarity.

TrustPlus personal finance coach Edwin Reyes

What is a personal finance coach?

I let the client know that your interaction with a coach is what you want it to be. It’s going to go the way that you need it to go. If there’s an immediate need, then I’m looking for a resource. If you’re short on rent, then we’re going to find a way to find that solution before we take a step back and look at the overall picture.

TrustPlus personal finance coach Edwin Reyes: “your interaction with a coach is what you want it to be.”

Your coach is going to help you understand not only the path to get there, but to figure out how to make this map work for you, individually, because every person’s situation is different, whether with income, expenses, bills, all the dynamics are different. So what works for you? Knowing that information helps us serve the client a lot better.

Who are your clients?

Most of the clients that we work with are across the nation now. We started in New York, serving Washington Heights, across Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan. We were fortunate enough to expand nationally, touching different states. I have clients from Colorado, Utah, Texas, California, Arizona, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Florida. A vast majority of people across the country, I’m realizing they are all in the same predicament. That’s one thing that’s been universal.

What predicament is that, the impacts from COVID?

Yeah, the detrimental impact it has had to their credit is a big thing. That’s been popping up, along with the lack of reserves and the fact that this situation just occurred out of nowhere, making people not able to pay that next month’s bills. I’m encouraging clients to think about the savings piece now, while they may have some kind of flexibility, some kind of money coming in, to keep a hold of it. When COVID hit a lot of people didn’t have reserves and were already in debt or were already paying bills month to month. Then this really kind of just collapsed the house of cards if you will.

What kind of feedback are you getting from clients?

I have clients for whom the light bulb really goes off with them and it’s like, “Wow, I’d never thought about that.” Something as simple as a budget and thinking about where you eat out for example. Did you think about using the apps on your phone to get the two for three meals so that now you and yours can bring home an extra meal? Really think into these things. I’ve seen that light bulb go off when they say, “Wait, I can do that with not only this, but with that.” And then it just really triggers a domino effect to have them start looking and really evaluating what they’re doing with their finances.

Got any tips for us?

Compare prices! The simplest thing, we overlook it. All my friends shop at this store so it’s a great store, right? Meanwhile across the street it’s half price. So really do the homework, really put the effort in would be the tip there, and it’s all around, really understand finance as you engage in it, not just using money, because we all look at it that way. But, take time to understand what you’re doing with your money.

TrustPlus personal finance coach Edwin Reyes: compare prices and have a goal.

Another tip, scratch the first one. This is even better, a better tip! Put a light at the end of the tunnel! Have a goal, have something in mind so that the path becomes clear to you, so each step of the way, every action step that you make becomes really clear. I’m trying to purchase a home. I need the savings. That’s one step. I need to get my credit up to par, to the top of the line. That’s the next step. Have a goal because it motivates you to actually get there, and the steps become a lot more worthwhile and beneficial to you as you move through and you get closer to that goal, to that light at the end of the tunnel.

What makes TrustPlus unique? Why should someone reading sign up for a free coaching session?

The fact that you work with one specific coach, you build a plan that’s catered to your needs. It’s individualized. We pride ourselves in not only understanding how to deal with finances, but most importantly on our tailored, individualized approach. You know, it’s not something that we pull out of a book and say, let me ask and answer these particular questions in this particular order. There’s a reason for us really prying and trying to understand the client to get the answer that they need specifically for their particular goal. And you don’t find that with anyone else, at least that I’ve seen.

TrustPlus personal finance coach Edwin Reyes: “you build a plan that’s catered to your needs. It’s individualized.”

It’s personal to me because I come from these communities, I see these people every day. So it’s something that really keeps me going to really promote that education.