How to Make Money as a Financial Coach

If you've ever thought about becoming a financial coach—helping people win with their money—you've probably also thought, Hey, I’d like to win with my own money in the process! In other words, you want to know how to make money as a financial coach.

We can tell you for certain that coaching is a great side hustle—and a fantastic career choice. In fact, we’ve trained thousands of coaches who have built strong, thriving practices. It’s a worthy profession and very fulfilling work.

But if you've never actually coached anyone, you may feel a little unsure about whether or not to take the leap. Can you really make money as a financial coach? You have questions, and we get it. So, let’s unpack how it works.

How to Make Money as a Financial Coach

Okay, before we get into how financial coaches make money, let’s back up to the starting blocks and answer this question: What is a financial coach?

A financial coach is a trained money guide who helps their clients set (and crush) their goals by working with them to change their money habits for good. They're also experienced enough to be a compassionate guide. Because they've been in their clients’ shoes and know the way out.

Whether you’re looking to begin a new career as a coach or you want a coaching side job for extra money—if you're going to make money as a coach, here's where you need to start:

1. Get trained.
2. Start connecting with clients.
3. Grow your practice.

That may seem super simplified, but here’s the deal: Setting yourself up for success as a financial coach starts with getting the right training—the kind that gives you the tools to help your clients change their lives, the kind that teaches you how to build your business well. Once you’ve got that covered, you’ll be making money as a coach in no time.

How Much Do Financial Coaches Make?

Now, let’s get to the numbers, shall we?

The average financial coach salary in America is $47,895 annually.¹

But listen—we’ve been training financial coaches for more than 30 years, and we know coaches who make between $200,000 and $400,000 a year. (Yes, really!) That’s because they’ve hustled and really built up their practice. Plus, they follow our recommendations:

• Charge $200–400 an hour for coaching sessions
• Limit sessions to no more than 20 hours a week

Ultimately, what you earn will depend on how much time, effort and money you’re willing to invest.

And eventually, if you help enough people, you won’t even have to worry about money! Because when you’re good at what you do, people notice—and they’ll want to work with you.

To get a better idea of what it looks like to be a great financial coach, take a look at the seven tips below.

7 Tips for How to Succeed as a Financial Coach

If you're considering becoming a financial coach, it might be because you already have people coming to you for money advice. And that makes sense. People get into coaching because they have a knack for it. If you can relate to that—and you want to become the kind of coach who makes the most of every coaching opportunity—here are seven pro tips:

1. Be confident.

Even before you begin your training, your unique experience makes you special. That means only you may have what it takes to help the people around you.

If you’re feeling low on confidence, just remember: Coaching isn’t about perfection. Okay, but how do you find confidence when you feel like you don’t have any?

Start with the best training and support you can find. Because when you know (and believe) you have what it takes to help people, it changes everything.

2. Be a good listener.

When you really think about it, most conversations these days aren’t conversations at all—they’re contests. Everybody wants to be heard, but few are willing to listen. (Gross.)

If you decide to become a coach, remember this: Great coaches don’t listen so they can sneak in a reply. They listen to understand. They’re curious, not judgmental. They don’t make decisions for their clients—they guide them to make their own decisions. That's why, when a client feels heard, it’s a game changer.

3. Ask good questions.

If you’ve ever really listened to someone, you know there’s a big difference between information and insight. Insight is rare, even priceless.

Coaches don’t just spew facts. Instead, they guide their clients toward the lightbulb moments they've dreamed about—where they’re able to make clear and effective decisions. It can start with questions like these:

• What's behind that for you?
• And then what?
• So, what are you going to do about it?

Good questions peel back the layers so both the coach and the client can clearly see what they’re dealing with. (Insight!) If you become a coach, your job will be to help your clients get to that place. From there, they’ll be able to make a plan and stick with it a whole lot easier.

4. Be persistent, not pushy.

A coach is an advocate. That means they’re invested in their clients’ lives and want the best for them.

But they also know it’s not possible to push someone through a whole marathon. If the client won’t run, they don’t have a chance of winning, let alone getting started.

If you decide to become a coach, remember you’re not in the game, they are. Their job is to do the work. Your job is to cheer them on, give them the tools they need, and be there for them as they run.

5. Get out of your own way.

Are you a human? Do you have a pulse? We thought so. Since that’s true, there’ll be things you’ll need to overcome on your way to becoming a coach. It’s normal to struggle with thoughts like:

• I’m not good enough (impostor syndrome).
• I won’t be able to find paying customers (scarcity mindset).
• I’m not ready to coach people yet (analysis paralysis).

You get the idea. If you become a coach, there will be times when you’ll have to silence your inner quitter and recognize everybody struggles from time to time—including financial coaches.

The most effective coaches actually have coaches of their own. So, who's coaching you? If you decide to become a coach, you’re going to need support.

6. Know your why.

So, you want to become a financial coach? Good. But have you sat down and really thought about why?

Your why matters. Because it’ll keep you going when life is stressful, the work feels like too much, or you get a little too wrapped up in your own success or dreams. A solid why also helps when your loud-at-the-worst-possible-moment insecurities show their ugly side.

A great coach is focused on who’s across the table from them (or on the other side of that Zoom call). A coach’s purpose—their why—is to help their clients find their focus so they can accomplish their goals and live their dreams.

7. Get support.

You may have noticed that we keep mentioning how important support and community are. Yeah. That’s because coaching isn’t a solo sport.

The financial coaching community is way different from just about anything you've ever experienced. Because other coaches aren't competition, they’re allies. And you need these people in your life.

If you want to become a coach, you have goals. You want to do literally all the things, which is awesome. But if you’re going to be successful, you’ll need people around you who are chasing the same good stuff you are. People who get you and what you do. People who can mentor you and help you reach your goals.

Here’s the best part: You can team up with us here at Ramsey and start learning how to do this stuff right now.

You Can Become a Financial Coach!

Listen, if you want to learn how to become a financial coach—and make money doing it—your first step is to enroll in the best financial coach training you can get. That’s Financial Coach Master Training. It’s a dynamic, interactive online training program that gives you a front-row seat to coaching’s best practices. Plus, you’ll connect with, build community with, and learn from the best in the business—Ramsey Solutions.

Financial Coach Master Training is the most comprehensive, up-to-date financial coach training available, and it comes with powerful, practical tools to help you launch your coaching practice. Here’s what you can expect:

• Don’t just learn about coaching, but put it into practice as you go—with a curriculum built to get you coaching right away.
• Learn real-world coaching techniques in live, interactive development calls with our senior Ramsey coaches.
• Set up your coaching practice for success with access to 30 years of learnings, resources and world-class coaching content from Ramsey Solutions.

The coaches who guide you through this training have the knowledge, experience and passion it takes to fully equip you for your new career path.

And you can start right now! Get the training and support you need with Financial Coach Master Training, and begin helping the thousands of people all around you—even right beside you—who need the kind of help only you can give.