We recently connected with Ashley Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best advice you ever gave to a client? How did they benefit / what was the result?

The best advice I’ve ever given to a client is to trust the process. A lot of people tend to think that personal finance is just math, and it’s not. When discussing personal finance you’re addressing your fears, priorities, limitations, learned behaviors and so much more. My client met all of their financial goals within 8 months of us working together despite all of the limitations they had when we began working with each other.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Ashley Thomas and I’m a personal finance coach. I help people identify their financial goals, prioritize those goals, create a budget, and address limiting financial beliefs. Can I tell you a secret? I’ve been horrible at math – all of my life (think remedial math from high school until college), but I understand money. I officially started in financial services back in 2009 when I was a financial aid officer and I’ve slowly worked my way through the retirement industry. What sets me apart from others? My company is not focused on just the math, it’s truly about money meeting mental health. I partner with a licensed psychotherapist in the Atlanta area, Dr. Katrina Pittman, and we talk about how your mental health impacts how you spend or don’t spend your money. I want potential clients to know that when you’re trying to get your finances together, you’ll feel some really big emotions like shame, guilt, fear, etc. – that’s normal. You deserve to enjoy your life and your money, that happens by getting clear on what you want and being honest with yourself that what you’re doing right now isn’t working.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I relocated to Georgia in 2012 from Orlando, FL, and at the time, I had been working in financial aid for 3 years. I was always the co-worker who asked people if they were in the 401k and helped them select their investments. During one of my office rants, my co-worker complimented me on how well I did that and she told me that I should consider it for a job. I didn’t even know that speaking with employees about their 401k was a job. I spoke with someone that actually was a participant educator and she referred me to a position but I didn’t have the experience or knowledge for the role. So – I switched industries. I took about a $10K pay cut to go into an entry-level role and I had to get licensed within 3 months of starting. I never thought pivoting would be taking a step back, but sometimes we have to take a few steps back to move forward.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I truly offer a judgement free zone with finances. I think sometimes when you deal with people in financial services they look down on you for not having the knowledge or they don’t take the time to make sure that you understand what’s being said. I always want anyone I talk to about money to walk away having learned something.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makingmoneymatter.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/makingmoneymatterllc
• Facebook: facebook.com/makingmoneymatterllc
• Other: Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/makingmoneymatterllc

Image Credits
Dr. Katrina Pittman, Licensed Psychtherapist Montoya Smith