Earn Your Certified Financial Counselor Certification

The National Financial Educators Council has developed a solution for people who are interested to enroll in a certified Financial Counselor Certification program. Their NFEC Financial Coaches (Certified Personal Financial Wellness Consultants) earn their qualifications by demonstrating their capability to guide others toward greater financial wellness. In addition, the NFEC Financial Coach training increases graduates’ confidence and imparts credibility among the clients they serve.

Personal finance counseling requires a unique skill set that can tailor services to the individualized needs of each client. Every person has his or her own ingrained habits, emotions, and circumstances with regards to money. This financial counseling certification program empowers you with the skills you need and offers experiential training that yields real results.

 

Personal Financial Counselor Certification Graduates Demonstrate Abilities

The NFEC has laid out a set of competency requirements that NFEC Financial Coaches must meet in order to achieve graduation and earn the prestigious certified financial counselor certification. Not only is there content knowledge NFEC Financial Coaches must master, but they also need to have systems in place for supporting clients. Certificate holders have shown that they can perform expert services that help both individuals and their communities to move toward financial wellness.

The personal financial counselor certification coursework meets standards for educational rigor while also containing practical elements that offer a Certified Financial Counselor-in-training plenty of opportunity to practice the counseling abilities hands-on. The entire program represents about 180 hours of study and experiential learning and 18 CEUs (Continuing Education Units). The final examination is proctored; participants can opt to test out of some parts of the program.

All in all, this comprehensive financial counseling training program gives NFEC Financial Coaches expertise and advanced training that allow them to serve clients ethically, competently, and professionally. The NFEC programming complies with the proficiencies set forth by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Competencies Proficiency Scale.

Appropriate Use of financial counselor training Operations

What the Financial Counseling Certification Program Entails

In this personal financial counselor certification training, individuals learn about the processes, systems, and skills that counselors need in order to maximize their clients’ ability to move toward financial health. From clarifying each client’s unique situation to guidelines for performing services in compliance with standards, this comprehensive coursework covers not only money management strategies but also psychological and counseling techniques. And the financial counselor training programming uses active and project-based learning to give counselors practical experience.

Subject Areas in the NFEC Financial Coach Course

  • Counseling Process: Understanding, Reporting, Diagnosis
  • Counseling Process: Guidance & Education
  • Counseling Process: Maintenance & Support
  • Behavioural Finance & Psychological Aspects of Counseling
  • Financial Counseling Techniques
  • Content Knowledge – Personal Finance Subjects
  • Instructional Methodologies for Maximum Client Understanding
  • Counseling Guidelines and Standards for Professional Practice

Configurations of financial counseling certification program Extensions

Practical Training Helps Counselors Fine-tune Skills

The NFEC is committed to the belief that effective counselors are those who have proven their skills through practical action. For that reason, this financial counseling certification program is designed around activities where trainees apply the learning into practice. NFEC Financial Coach graduates demonstrate hands-on experience in several ways, which increases client trust along with building the counselor’s credibility and self-assurance.

The NFEC Financial Coach coursework takes participants through four stages of practical experience:

Practicum

trainees observe other counselors at work and how they perform.

Project-based learning (PBL):

participants practice counseling skills by reviewing their own personal finances and counseling themselves.

Case Method

students read case studies and decide how a skilled financial counselor would respond to each character’s situation.

Implementation

trainees work by phone with others in the program to hone their counseling capabilities.

NFEC Creates Foremost Standards Graduates Must Meet

The NFEC Financial Coach certified financial counselor certification is underpinned by the NFEC’s Financial Counseling Standards and Code of Ethics, which represents the first set of principles guiding financial counselors. This all-encompassing document starts with the conviction that a personal finance counselor retains – first and foremost – fiduciary responsibility to the client. Teaching pedagogy, a conceptual frame, and common language to streamline communications are also set forth in these personal finance counseling standards.

To develop the guidelines, the NFEC researched the regulations and reports of over 12 highly-reputable agencies, those organizations that have major influence on the financial literacy industry. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the International Coaching Federation (ICF) represent a few of these agencies.

Aptitudes for financial counseling certification program Options

Certified Financial Counselor Certification Includes Procedural Resources

The most effective financial counselors employ systems and processes that ensure clients’ success. In the NFEC’s personal financial counselor certification training, as much emphasis is placed on process and client management as on personal finance content knowledge. For example, you might receive education about consumer protection. The training provides you with access to client resources and walks you through the processes so you know how to use them.

The resources to which you gain access by enrolling in the NFEC Financial Coach training include over 100 videos, live webinars each week that you may choose to attend, activity workbooks and course guides, and a physical certification award that celebrates your successful graduation from the coursework.

More than 100 videos

Live webinars held weekly (optional)

Appropriate Use of financial counseling certification program Choices

Course guides and activity workbooks

Assimilation of financial counseling certification program Components

Certification award

Extensions for financial counseling certification program Methods

NFEC Financial Coach Enrollees also Gain Access to Client Support Materials

To help NFEC Financial Coaches achieve the utmost success, the NFEC has also incorporated client support resources into its certified financial counselor certification package. These supplemental resources include:

The entire NFEC curriculum counselors may use for client education;

Strategies for financial counseling certification program Proposal

A counseling software and client reporting package;

Common Items for financial counseling certification program Management

Client process and communications materials;

Capacity of financial counseling certification program Choices

Counseling practice forms and resources;

Business planning materials and training; and

Management of personal financial counselor certification Use Cases

Promotional and marketing tools and client leads provided.

Systems for certified financial counselor certification Assets

Packages & Pricing

FAQ Section

We have 3 pricing options. You can view all options at the bottom of the page – click here.

The training is virtual. All you need is an Internet connection and phone. You can choose from among these 3 course schedule options:

  • Option 1: Self-directed. Take the training at your own pace as lessons are released. You will have access to recorded instructor-led webinar trainings too.
  • Option 2: Instructor-led. Join our 14-week live webinar training. Requires an investment of 10 to 15 hours per week to keep pace. You will have access to the full self-directed training as well.
  • Option 3: Hybrid. A combination of self-directed and instructor-led.

The total training time is 180 hours and the fastest you can complete the training is in 14 weeks. Some people may be able to test out of certain areas of the course to reduce total training time.

Yes. Our goal is to produce highly-capable coaches. If you know some of the material already, you can test out of that portion.

There are no education requirements or prior experience requirements. However, we do require all coaches to pass a criminal background check.

Yes. We provide you with an award letter recognizing the 180-hour total training time. Check with the organization to which you want to apply CEUs to get prior approval.

Get the latest schedule – click here.

Although the course is self-paced, everyone gets meetings with a personal counselor and assignments are graded. To ensure that all enrollees have timely access to their counselors, we limit enrollment.