Personal Finance Coach: Chris Capellan

On Connecting with Clients Who Feel Marginalized by the Financial System

TrustPlus personal finance coach Chris Capellan discusses connecting with clients, what a coaching session looks like, and the relief clients feel after getting a handle on their debt. The conversation has been edited for length, clarity.

What interested you about working with TrustPlus?

I grew up with pretty modest means in the Bronx area of New York. I was raised by a single mom, so I knew a thing or two about growing up without having too much money. And when I came to understand that Neighborhood Trust [TrustPlus’ parent organization] dedicated itself to helping members of a community that I still belong to get on a better financial footing, I thought it was a great idea.

I thought it was a great mission and it’s something that I could definitely get behind and immerse myself into, and actually feel good and proud about the work I’m doing.

What does a personal finance coaching session look like?

If it’s a new client, we’ll try to assess what kind of financial challenges they may be facing right now. If their challenges aren’t terribly acute, if they’re not in crisis, then we may focus on what their financial goals might be. If they have something that’s already taken shape, something that’s defined, then I’ll try to help them develop a strategy to help them reach their goal that much faster.

In other cases, we’ll engage in a casual conversation where we try to figure out what their financial goals may consist of. I will help them define what it is they want from their personal finances and then help them develop a savings strategy for instance, or a debt repayment strategy if their interest is improving their credit or getting out of debt. The list goes on.

Do you have any success stories you’d like to share?

I’ve had multiple clients come to me with debt-related problems. They may feel overwhelmed with calls or letters from collection companies who often employ very aggressive tactics that can be intimidating and scary and create a lot of anxiety and stress in our clients. And that by extension can create a lot of brain fog and they may not necessarily know how to deal with these situations.

By the end of our session or a couple of sessions, if we require more time to really sort things out, they feel relieved. They feel better informed and as if they have a clear path forward.

There is this palpable sense of relief that can be derived from simply having a better understanding of what these challenges may consist of and what sort of realistic solutions can be adopted in order to get to the other side.

Has anything surprised you as a personal finance coach, and, if so, what?

There have definitely been some surprises. I think it’s been interesting to find the parallels that can be drawn between my own experience and the experience of my clients. I think there’s often a lot of common ground that can help us build rapport and make our clients feel as if they’re really being heard and understood.

What I’ve found a bit surprising is how marginalized some of my clients can feel from the greater financial system. It doesn’t always feel as if it’s necessarily making room for people with low income or people from a certain background. So when I come across these cases and these clients who graciously shared their stories with me, it’s interesting to be able to see that commonality.

In many cases, I’ve been there myself and having that experience — coupled with the training that Neighborhood Trust has given me — allows me to really connect with my clients in a way that empowers them to take better control of their own financial lives rather than have this really prescriptive or pedantic approach that may go in one ear and out the other.

I think that human touch, that human connection is absolutely essential to get somebody on board with any sort of solutions that may be developed during a session.

Personal Finance Coach features stories, insights, and tips from TrustPlus.