I-RAFT Financial Coaching
I-RAFT Financial Coaching
The University of Kentucky's Individual, Relational, and Financial Therapy (I-RAFT) Clinic is a community wellness facility supporting mental health and personal finance needs in the community. The I-RAFT Clinic Financial Coaching community services are provided by University of Kentucky student interns who are in the Family Financial Counseling (FFC) undergraduate program at the University of Kentucky. Our interns are supervised by Accredited Financial Counselor(s)® within UK’s FFC Faculty. The FFC undergraduate program is an accredited, Registered Education Program by the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE)®, which is the highest standard of excellence in the field of financial counseling and education.
Supervised financial coaching services prepare students for involvement in the practice of financial counseling, financial advising, financial planning, financial coaching, and/or consumer economics in their future careers, post-graduation. Services are aimed at providing the opportunity for students to be work-force-ready through hands-on, real-life experiences working in and with the community.
I-RAFT Financial Coaches at UK provide direct financial coaching assistance, under supervision, to members of the community and their families seeking financial skills assistance and financial literacy development, as well as those seeking to reach their personal and family financial goals to build financial wellbeing. Financial coaching may also be a financial coaching consultant to I-RAFT Clinic therapeutic services for the benefit of clients. Financial coaching services are provided and are open to all public community members across the Commonwealth and beyond. Financial Coaching services are provided at no cost and available through virtual or in-person meetings in the I-RAFT Clinic. You can learn more and complete an Intake here: https://fam.ca.uky.edu/family-center.
I-RAFT Financial Coaches at UK seek to provide a holistic approach to financial coaching services through understanding and addressing the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and relational components of money in your life. Financial Coaches may provide services to address specific client financial issues and/or questions depending on the needs and desires of the client(s). Alternatively, Financial Coaches also provide a standardized, 10-session comprehensive personal and family financial plan assessing the client’s current financial situation, providing financial education as appropriate, and providing options for how to improve and better manage the client’s finances in relation to their financial and life goals to improve overall financial well-being.
Periodically, I-RAFT Financial Coaches at UK will provide open group, community, and/or student financial education and empowerment workshops to promote financial well-being. All financial coaching and financial well-being services are at no cost. Details and further information, as well as dates and times, will be provided on the I-RAFT Clinics website as offered.
Our Services
I-RAFT Financial Coaching services empower individuals, couples, and families to increase their financial well-being through implementing sound financial management plans that meet the client where they are. Our Financial Coaches can help clients build financial literacy and increase financial capability, find solutions to a variety of financial questions and concerns, improve financial management behaviors, and address significant personal and family financial areas, such as (but not limited to):
- Setting financial and life planning goals
- Developing and implementing a financial plan
- Understanding spending habits
- Creating and implementing a budget and/lor spending plan
- Developing balance sheets
- Understanding and building good credit
- Managing savings and checking accounts
- Building an emergency fund
- Understanding salary and job benefit options
- Completing cost of living calculations
- Understanding housing and/or rent options
- Making large purchases, such as understanding home or car buying processes
- Understanding income taxes
- Managing debt and/or consumer loans (housing, auto, student, and/or personal)
- Understanding insurance options (health, home, renters, auto, and/or life insurance)
- Understanding investment fundamentals
- Providing investment considerations and knowledge about different investment options
- Preparing and planning for retirement (even if it is 40+ years from now or you are already retired)
- Providing estate planning considerations
- Preparing for family financial planning or having a child
- Building children’s financial literacy and financial socialization practices
- Learning how to effectively communicate about money with family and/or partners
- Managing financial stress and anxiety
- Understanding how values, histories, and experiences shape one’s money behaviors
Due to federal, state, and local legal & licensing constraints, I-RAFT Financial Coaches do not provide specific financial advice regarding the selection of banking institutions, financial services and/or products to utilize (e.g., specific insurance products), or the selection of investments. Financial Coaches also do not write legal documents and do not engage in court mandated services, legal proceedings, or legal mediation. Financial Coaches do not receive commissions, sell services and/or products, or provide brokerage services. Financial Coaches do not file for bankruptcy but can help with debt management and credit counseling as preliminary processes. Financial Coaches will help build appropriate financial literacy so that clients may make informed decisions on their own, while weighing the pros and cons as applicable to their financial plan. Financial Coaches work under a fiduciary standard, meaning they are required to act and provide financial advice in the client’s best interests.
Complete the Confidential Self-Referral Form for Financial Coaching
