Graham Wells

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial coach?

I had recently retired and wanted guidance on investments, asset allocation and financial planning through retirement. I was worried about the money side of retirement and wanted to check if everything would be OK, and whether the plan I had devised myself could work.

How has Graham Wells helped you?

Graham guided me towards thinking more about budgeting, cashflow management and sound financial habits and behaviours, rather than worrying about investment choices and asset allocation. What I’ve learnt through our conversations is that it is fundamentally about cashflow - planning intentionally the inflow and outflow of money – making sure expenditure is below income, zero based budgeting, having a spending plan and sticking to it, whilst adapting and adjusting as life happens – but always seeking to live within our means. That we can still have the lifestyle that we want, but that the inflows and outflows have to match up.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

After 1 year working with Graham as my financial coach, I can truly say that it has been a transformational experience. Yes the assets that we have are invested wisely and working hard for us in the background, to provide for our future, but that the key for today is planning intentionally a balanced budget to support the lifestyle that we want now and in the future. Graham has enabled me to think differently about money - to put it in its place and to focus on the life we want to lead.

What could they have done better?

Nothing!

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial coach?

We were looking to improve our ability as a partnership to talk about money and plan for our future, without it being a point of contention or pressure for either of us.

How has Graham Wells helped you?

Graham unlocked our ability to communicate about money, and to align our values and key goals in life with how we need to manage our money to achieve this. He helped us become a better team, instead of a stressed couple who hated talking about finances.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Absolutely, and we are putting into practice the lessons we learned regularly thanks to the tools and advice that Graham gave us.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial coach?

I was at a crossroads in my life and wanted to improve my confidence with my personal finances so that I could take control of my financial future and be more confident with financial skills and planning. I was afraid of finance and avoided it where possible!

How has Graham Wells helped you?

Graham has taken me through a six session programme tailored to my needs, starting out with understanding my own relationship with money, and identifying the areas of my financial life that needed most help. From this we worked through a series of topics from budgeting and planning, to building confidence and making a plan for pensions and retirement.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Looking back on how I was with money before I started working with Graham, I hardly recognise myself. I've grown in confidence and learned that I don't need to be afraid of it. I now keep on top of my finances and have a clear view of where I want to be and how to get there.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial coach?

I contacted Gro-wiser for help to understand my civil service additional pension options and plan towards early retirement. I'd wanted to start making additional payments for a few years but hadn't felt comfortable I understood my work pension investment options well enough to do anything about it and was stuck.

How has Graham Wells helped you?

Working with Graham helped me gain clarity on my finances and future goals, and build my understanding of investments.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

I now feel i have the knowledge i need to be enabled to make decisions on investments and feel comfortable to do it.

What were the circumstances that caused you to initially look for a financial coach?

I don't particularly want to retire so it's something I've not thought too much about - but I know that I need to, particularly as the years are ticking by! Combined with thinking about some shorter term goals that impact on finances, I wanted to find a coach who could help put a financial lens on wider decisions, options and plans.

How has Graham Wells helped you?

Graham is fantastic. Full of financial knowledge and experience which underpins his coaching. But also a true coach, facilitating and asking questions to help me work through ideas and options. He's helped me formulate plans, get my finances into a tracker so I can see the long term impact of different financial choices and options and, more than that, I've felt like I have a financial expert who is on my side, helping me to work out what's best for me. I know Graham's ongoing services will help me to keep on track and it's great to have someone to turn to when I need a financial sounding board.

Have you seen the outcome you were hoping for?

Only time will tell how my finances work out in the long run but absolutely I've seen the short term outcomes I was hoping for in terms of financial clarity, a platform for modelling different financial scenarios, a compass for making choices that impact finances and a true coach, sounding board and mentor who can both guide from their expertise and coach me to find my own answers.