This post was written in partnership with Capital One. As always, my thoughts, opinions, and experiences are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Oh I Design! 
The end of this year feels so different than previous years. In previous years, the holidays would sneak up on me and I would find myself scrambling to send my loved one’s gifts, let alone brainstorm & write down my goals/resolutions for the upcoming year. This year, I feel so motivated to sit down and plan for 2017 and I have few things to thank for that, including my recent Money Coaching session at Capital One. Seriously, keep reading.
I signed up for a free 1:1 coaching session with a Money Coach at a Capital One Café in Boston. Yes, they are free! I had no idea what to expect from this session and was pretty nervous about what I had just signed up for. To be honest, money is not a topic I bring up often on this blog, mostly because I don’t love talking about it. I get stressed out, feel guilty about my spending habits, am overwhelmed by budgets, and sometimes just wish that money trees really existed. How’s that for honest?
That being said, I am excited to say the Money Coaching session was enlightening – their creative approach helped me put my financial situation and emotions into words so I could see the big picture. It made me appreciate where I am at and gave me the roadmap I need to begin planning for 2017. I basically left the Café feeling like I could accomplish anything. I think a lot of people would benefit from this program and am excited to team up with Capital One to share my experience. So let’s jump into the details!
THE 1:1 DETAILS:
So I walked into the Capital One Café, grabbed a chai tea latte (already feeling better about the idea of this session), and was ready to face my fears. Aayla, my money coach, greeted me with a warm smile and walked me through how the session would go and why they started this program. She answered a question I had right off the bat: what is the difference between money coaching and financial advising? I learned that Money Coaching is a judgement-free, guided program designed to help people discover fresh perspectives on their money and also build actionable plans through workshops and in-person sessions.
We started the session with a survey so Aalya could get a sense of my current lifestyle & relationship with money, and from there determine the best direction for the session. Keep in mind, we were not talking specifics in money (i.e. how much I spend on groceries) it was more conceptual.
Next, we started talking about my today self vs. future self. After asking some open-ended questions, I was able to get a visual of where I am today, what I’m doing today and what I have today, and understanding what that might look like in the future. A lot of things we talked led me to conclude that I need to say YES to the RIGHT projects.
Finally, Aayla had an activity for me that helped chart my values so that I could identify what I should be spending money on and what I should be saying yes to. She mentioned that I should go through my values for each project inquiry and see if it fits those before moving forward. What a great idea, I thought, why didn’t I think of that? Here’s what I’ve come to realize: sometimes it takes talking to a complete stranger without any distractions to find some clarity.
HOW YOU CAN SIGN UP:
Please do yourself a favor and sign up for a session! It’s free for everyone and super easy to schedule a session in their Harvard Square Café. The 1:1 money coaching is part of Capital One’s ongoing efforts to reimagine banking and continued growth in Boston. If a 1:1 isn’t your thing, you can sign up for a workshop, which are also held at their Cafés. The workshops, which range from talking about money with your significant other to how work impacts your finances, are designed to get you talking and thinking about money in a whole new way.
Also, can we take a moment and all agree that the Café concept is genius?! Capital One brought the concept to Boston more than 2 years ago and have since expanded to five locations across the city. You may catch me working/drinking a chai tea latte at the Ink Block location in the near future. I’m also planning on attending another 1:1 session to hone in on my business and set more goals. 
3 OF MY GOALS FOR 2017:
- Saying YES to the RIGHT projects + collaborations. This is my #1 goal.
- We have some exciting plans for Oh I Design in the upcoming months, like a new website design by The Business Bar!! We doing a lot of work behind the scenes to give this site a new look and easier to navigate.
- Volunteering more. I feel as though I will spend less on trivial items if I get fulfillment elsewhere, like volunteering for something I am passionate about. We have talked about getting Bella certified to visit children at the hospital and we are going to do this in the new year!
What are one of your goals for the New Year?
