Wealth Coaches

Coaches assist Savers who need help finding money to save, identifying a realistic savings goal, and/or developing a plan to achieve this goal. Regional working groups are responsible for offering coaching to the Savers at the local level. In pilot programs, coaches have been consumer credit counselors who have been retrained as well as retrained housing counselors. Coaches could also be competent lay people who are specially trained.

Volunteer today!

Good coaches express great confidence in the ability of the Saver to build wealth and provide encouragement as well as technical assistance, remembering that Savers are there voluntarily. It is important for coaches to remember that their role is not that of a financial planner or investment adviser. Although most Savers probably will not need sophisticated financial advice, those who do must be referred to a qualified adviser.

The Coach:

(1) Calls all those who submitted enrollment forms to:

• Congratulate them on joining the program
• Obtain verbal assurance that they want to implement a savings plan
• Help them complete the form or develop a more realistic goal and/or plan, if necessary
• Refer them to a service agency, if needed (e.g., credit counseling, homeownership counseling, etc.)

(2) Places a second call to each Saver about three months after their initial enrollment to:

• Learn how the Saver is doing and to provide encouragement and assistance if needed
• Conduct a simple evaluation of “On Track” (A), “Trying” (C), or “Not Implementing” (F)

This evaluation information will be transmitted to the America Saves national office for inclusion in the Saver database. It will also be used for annual evaluations. All information on your program will be accessible only with a confidential code that you will receive from the America Saves national office.