Registration is now open!
It’s that time of year! Registration for our 2024 Spring Cohort is now open. Training begins April 30th, 2024 and seats are limited! Act fast to guarantee your spot for this year’s cohort!
Discover More About Financial Coaching
The Accredited Personal Finance Coach® certification program equips professionals with the coaching skills and strategies that inspire their clients to meet their financial goals through transformational behavior change.
Our team of Mentor Coaches support your professional development by centering the coaching methodology and meeting you where you are in your journey to becoming one of the best in the field.
Learn the Basics of Financial Coaching
The Financial Fitness Coach™ certification program equips professionals with the coaching skills and strategies that inspire their clients to meet their financial goals through transformational behavior change.
Our team of Mentor Coaches support your professional development by centering the coaching methodology and meeting you where you are in your journey to becoming one of the best in the field.
Our Approach
Designed and delivered by International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentialed coaches and financial experts, the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® Certification balances interactivity and engagement with depth of knowledge by integrating core financial coaching concepts into every aspect of training.
You’ll learn and practice impactful coaching techniques to better understand and address the challenges that often prevent clients from experiencing a healthy, well-balanced relationship with their money.
Students in the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® certification program can expect to:
- Achieve a deeper understanding of themselves and their clients
- Implement and hone coaching skills in a feedback-rich environment
- Network with other like-minded professionals
- Learn and share key life skills with clients
- Experience more professional fulfillment, and
- Witness your clients’ lives transform for the better.
Hundreds of our certified professionals agree: the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® certification program represents the gold-standard in financial coaching.
“Going through the coaching training has enabled me to help my clients by teaching me a different perspective when it comes to helping clients move forward in their financial lives. I have learned about empowering my clients – not lecturing them about what to do with their money.”
– APFC® Participant
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
Hundreds of our certified professionals agree: the Financial Fitness Coach™ certification program represents the gold-standard in financial coaching.
“Going through the coaching training has enabled me to help my clients by teaching me a different perspective when it comes to helping clients move forward in their financial lives. I have learned about empowering my clients – not lecturing them about what to do with their money.”
– FFC™ Participant
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
The Accredited Personal Finance Coach® Structure
Financial Coaching Foundations (FCF)
Seven 3-hour sessions
(or 3.5-day intensive)
- Learn and build your coaching skills over seven weeks of training.
- Practice your new skills during online sessions with a Mentor Coach and apply what you’ve learned.
- Submit a recorded coaching session and your self-assessment.
- ICF-approved CCEs.
- Price: $1,200
Once you complete Financial Coaching Foundations, you will receive course credit toward your APFC® certification.
*Estimated time to complete: ~31.5 training hours
Accredited Personal Finance Coach® (APFC®)
Fifteen 3-hour sessions
- Deepen your understanding of the core skills in dynamic online curriculum.
- Build your confidence with on-demand videos, self-paced assignments, interactive discussions and quizzes to enhance your learning.
- Assess your skills and get guidance by submitting recorded coaching sessions and self-analysis.
- Complete and report your experience hours*.
- Approved ICF CCE units.
- Price: $5,000
Building upon Financial Coaching Foundations, this portion of the training encourages you to take a deeper experience of each skill and technique, providing the guidance you need to further develop your coaching skills.
*Estimated time to complete: ~67.5 training hours
Accredited Personal Finance Coach® Requirements:
Financial Coaching Foundations™ (FCF)
- Education: 21 hours over 7 weeks
- Experience: Interactive Experiential live practice with peers
- Evaluation: Prep for observation if moving on to full certification
- Ethics: Demonstrate Code of Ethics that aligns with ICF
- Co-Requisites: N/A
Accredited Personal Finance Coach®
- Education: 45 hours of training for people who have our foundations training OR another ICF certified coach training
- Experience: Case study application
- Evaluation: Prep for observation if moving on to full certification
- Ethics: Demonstrate Code of Ethics that aligns with ICF
* MME, AFC, CFP, CPA, PFS
2024 Cohort enrollment is now open!
Training Dates: April 30th, May 1st, and May 7th, and May 8th, 2024
Accredited Personal Finance Coach® Certification Paths
Pathways to Certification
- Fresh Start
- Financial Professionals
- Coaching Professionals
- Head Start
Co-Requisites
- None
- Financial Knowledge Co-Requisite*
- Coaching Certification**
- Financial Coaching Certification**
*Minimum requirement – Money Management Essentials course
**In order to use a financial program to satisfy the co-requisite, you will need to provide a certificate and/or certification from the program. If you have material and certification from the program, you can request a review. See examples of programs in our FAQ.
Maintaining APFC®
Re-certification is required every 3 years. Re-certification consists of a re-certification fee and one of the following:
- 40 coaching-specific CEUs (3 of which must be ethics)
- Refresher training (on-demand)
Enrolling soon, click below to join the waitlist!
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
Learn Coaching Skills & Techniques That Deepen Your Client Connections.
Get elite-level training and earn your certification from one of the most well-respected financial coaching programs in the country.
Our robust curriculum ensures the impact you can make as a financial professional is not bound by or dependent upon the wealth of the client(s) you serve.
As a certified Financial Fitness Coach™, you’ll gain the training, coaching skills and practical experience that help you:
- Acquire mastery of key financial principles.
- Establish client rapport.
- Get to the heart of your clients’ money goals.
- Become a trusted advisor for people on the journey toward their goals.
- Support clients through financial challenges and opportunities.
- Identify the motivating factors that inspire lasting behavior change.
- Create a collaborative, client-focused coaching practice that empowers clients to take charge of their financial futures.
- Make a meaningful impact and touch more lives.
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
Engage your work in a new way.
At some point in their careers, one of the most challenging barriers our trainees often encounter is The Brick Wall.
For financial services professionals like you, that often looks like managing clients whose financial situations aren’t changing for the better.
We recognize that inspiring lasting financial transformation can only be achieved when we contextualize the larger, systemic challenges that make a direct impact on personal money issues.
You’ll complete the program prepared to do your part to help close the gender and racial wealth gaps supporting your clients as they create their vision for the future drawing on their personal power.
Quite simply, this program is perfect for the professional who deeply desires to make a real impact in the lives of their clients without being predatory or feeling forced to neglect their own income earning potential or personal wellbeing.
Our certification program helps experienced and emerging financial professionals better serve inclusive communities, because we’re on a mission to make competent and ethical financial services more accessible to everyone on the income and wealth spectrums.
Experience the interactive, virtual learning advantage.
The Financial Fitness Coach™ program is an experiential and client-focused training experience created to help you support clients as they make lasting financial behavior change.
Coach and be coached in an interactive cohort conducive to your learning style, so you can develop mastery, become confident in your competence, and inspire positive change in your clients’ lives.
Challenge yourself to fill in the gaps with rigorous online Learning Labs, complete with self-paced videos and assessments to help you better understand and retain the content.
You’ll practice your new skills during online sessions with a Mentor Coach and submit recordings of your coaching sessions for feedback.
Designed and delivered by International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentialed coaches and financial experts, the Financial Fitness Coach™ Certification is the premier financial coaching program in the country.
Is the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® certification program right for you?
This certification is perfect for you if you:
- Desire to build upon your financial foundation or expertise and gain the training to inspire lasting behavior change.
- Aspire to become one of the best in the field while preparing yourself to do values-aligned, client-centered work that matters to you.
- Are a life or wellness coach who wants to include financial topics beyond mindset shifts or limiting beliefs.
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
Is the Financial Fitness Coach™ certification program right for you?
This certification is perfect for you if you:
- Desire to build upon your financial foundation or expertise and gain the training to inspire lasting behavior change.
- Aspire to become one of the best in the field while preparing yourself to do values-aligned, client-centered work that matters to you.
- Are a life or wellness coach who wants to include financial topics beyond mindset shifts or limiting beliefs.
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
What the #FinFitCrew is saying:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I qualify for the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® program?
This APFC® program requires trainees to possess and demonstrate foundational financial knowledge as a prerequisite to certification.
Applicants must provide evidence of an approved co-requisite from the approved list:
- Management Essentials course (MME) (Our recommendation for minimum, entry-level)
- AFC®
- CFP
- ChFC
- CFA
- CFT
- CPA™
This requirement may be completed simultaneously with the APFC® certification program, but must be completed before the culmination of the Coaching Mastery portion of the program to be granted certification.
Still unsure about whether you qualify for enrollment? Have a question about a certification you hold that’s not listed? Email us to see if you meet the criteria at certification@sagefinancialsolutions.org.
Why does the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® program require me to have foundational financial knowledge prior to certification?
Sage Financial Solutions is committed to excellence in financial coaching which means participants must demonstrate financial competency.
Certification is a crucial way to protect clients seeking support from financial professionals from non-experts. Certified professionals meet and sustain high education, experience and ethical standards.
To make this process easier for our trainees, we’ve made our foundational financial knowledge requirement a co-requisite.This requirement may be completed simultaneously with the APFC® certification program, but must be completed before the culmination of the Coaching Mastery portion of the program to be granted certification.
I’m a busy, working professional. How flexible is this program for people with demanding schedules?
The Financial Fitness Coach™ program was designed with working professionals in mind!
All FFC™ Courses are facilitated in a hybrid structure (also known as blended courses) with web-based online learning (e.g., video lectures, online discussions, or activities).
All Modules are a combination of live training, mentor coaching sessions, and self-paced course work and fieldwork experience, making FFC™ the ideal certification program for working professionals.
I know I want to help more people with their money, but I’m unsure about which role I should train for. How do I know which pathway is right for me?
We’ve identified the 4 possible pathways you can take to make maximum impact as a certified Financial Fitness Coach™:
- Fresh Start Pathway may be for you if you need to complete the financial knowledge corequisite, or are looking for financial content, and coach training.
- Financial Professionals Pathway aligns with the financial professional who meets the co-requisite and is in need of the financial coach training.
- Coaching Professionals pathway supports those that may hold a coaching certification and are looking for financial-specific coach training, as well as access to more financial content.
- Head Start Pathway supports seasoned professionals who hold financial and coaching certifications looking for professional development courses that are financial-specific and build on coaching expertise.
How will I know this investment will be worth it?
This program is an investment in yourself and in your career that will allow you to make impact and income in a sustainable, ethical way.
We’re committed to offering you a world-class curriculum, along with transformative coaching skills.
The Financial Fitness Coach™ program is the only one of its kind that applies the International Coaching Federation standard to financial topics and requires demonstration of the skills.
When trainees become certified, they can also be confident in their ability to do their work well and help their clients experience powerful results.
That kind of ROI is infinite for you and your clients.
I’m an experienced financial professional and I’m wondering if the Accredited Personal Finance Coach® program is teaching things I already know. How will this program add to my knowledge base and skillset?
The APFC® program teaches you how to take a 360-view of your clients’ financial lives while equipping you with the tools to catalyze commitment and inspire transformation within the clients and communities you serve.
The benefit of the program is that it supports professionals with services spanning the Continuum of Financial Wellbeing. That means financial educators, counselors, planners and therapists can get expert training to support their clients at the highest level.
The APFC® program can help you integrate your knowledge of foundational financial principles with effective client communication to support clients with creating healthy financial habits.
Will I be able to implement the skills and strategies that I learn in the program even if I don’t have my own financial services practice?
The short answer is yes!
The principles you learn in the FFC™ program will prepare you to make maximum impact in any role within any company, organization, or community.
I’m not sure if I have the time to commit. How long will the certification process take?
Professionals can obtain their FFC™ certification in as little as 6 months.
Develop Mastery. Cultivate Confidence. Transform Your Life.
You’ll need to click “Create Account” in the upper right corner to create your account and then enroll in the program.
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