Going virtual with your financial consultations during the Coronavirus emergency

As financial coaches, counselors, and educators, you provide vital services to Americans facing uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds. You can continue this vital effort by adapting to working with those you serve remotely.

Planning your consultation and virtual activities

Planning is essential when hosting a virtual session. Determine the purpose of your session and then identify the resources that you want to use. We offer free downloadable resources that you can use to increase client knowledge and skills in targeted personal finance areas.

Here are some of our resources that you might find useful:

• Financial Well-Being Scale — This 10-question quiz can help you measure your client’s overall financial well-being and help you identify areas to focus on during your consultation session.
• Effective Financial Education: Five principles and how to use them — Learn about the five principles that financial educators and other practitioners can put into practice to help drive financial action and well-being.
• Research and reports — Find our latest research on financial behavior and how consumers interact with financial products and services. Our reports can help you analyze and inform your clients about effective financial education practices.
• Financial education for adults — This comprehensive financial practitioner resource includes downloadable worksheets, guides, booklets, and other content on a variety of financial topics, from money management to auto loans.
• Consumer Tools and Ask CFPB — We provide clear, impartial answers to hundreds of personal finance questions as well as step-by-step guides for financial decisions like managing someone else’s money or fraud and scams.

Delivering the virtual financial consultation

Below are suggestions on interactive resources, exercises, and content that you can use with your clients during their virtual financial capability coaching or training sessions.

1. COVID-19 resources page — Our Coronavirus page is routinely updated to provide the latest information to help consumers protect their finances during the pandemic.
2. Clients can’t pay their bills — Information on how to help your clients that are having trouble paying their bills during COVID-19.
3. Guide to coronavirus mortgage relief options — Our resources for those struggling to pay their mortgage can help them understand the options and rights they have during the pandemic.
4. Family influences on spending—The Money Circle Toolkit — This tool will help those you serve identify and understand how their feelings and their personal relationships influence their use of money. This tool will also help your clients identify their money style, choices, and network.

Getting feedback from those you serve

Whenever you’re trying something new, it’s always a good idea to get feedback from those you serve. Gathering feedback from your clients can help them stay engaged and improve your virtual communications moving forward.

Here are a few questions you can consider asking:

• Since this is our first time not having a session in person, how do you feel about meeting by phone/video?
• Is there anything you’d like to do differently next time?
• How do you feel about the suggestions I’ve provided?
• As we continue our sessions, are you feeling more confident about the topic of our discussion today or are you feeling less confident?