Fanny Snaith is a Certified Money Coach (CMC)® and financial therapist who lives and works in Cheltenham. After building a £1m+ net worth from a £40k salary, Fanny was surprised that her wealth didn’t bring her the happiness she expected and wanted to know why. Fanny She trained with the Money Coaching Institute in the USA, studying the emotional connections we have to money and how it impacts the way we spend, save or value it. Through this work, training as a 121 and couples money coach, she began to understand her money mindset and harness it to her advantage.
Fanny is now one of the most sought-after money coaches in the UK with over 3000 participants in her talks and seminars and 121 clients. She works with professionals and business owners individually or as a couple to not only help them manage their finances better to build wealth, but also to understand how their relationship with money not only affects their income and lifestyle but, their whole world.
Fanny is committed to starting as many money conversations as she can. Talking about money so that we can realising that we are all different with our finances is key to eliminating what is possibly the last taboo subject.
She has delivered talks on “Making Wise Financial Decisions” in secondary schools and led three teams of young people to the regional finals in the Young Enterprise Scheme.
Fanny was a finalist at the Money Marketing Awards in the category “Financial Wellbeing Champion of the Year.” She has contributed to three books and appeared on the BBC and Sky News.
What’s your happiest memory?
I have so many! I think my happiest memory was being accepted by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the Stage-management course. I’d dreamed of working in theatre all my life and this was the cherry on the cake for me. It meant that the next two years would mean me spending my days in production heaven. They were actually the best two years of my life for sure.
What one thing do you wish you’d been told about finance when you were 15?
I wish I had been told that the emotions we attach to money are best looked at and questioned the hell out of. Money to me at that point meant arguments and fear. I had not seen anything pleasant in the money camp at that time in my life. Money was to be feared, was scarce for us and was open to being nicked at any moment. That was my belief.
What made you want to work in finance?
I became a bookkeeper when I had had our first child Connie. I did that because I could work at home and that my new career could be worked around her and my family’s needs. This was very important to me. Bookkeeping was easy for me as I had run budgets as a production manager in TV, theatre and also as the operations director at postproduction houses in the West End of London. Money management was my thing. What’s not to love about putting numbers in boxes?
How did this lead to you then training as a certified money coach?
I was 51. Like many women I decided to do a crazy thing. Set up my own business. I was bored with the part-time from home job I had had for 13 years and needed something new. I realised that there was a need to help people manage their money so I started inviting people to work with me to teach them how to become their own personal bookkeeper.
My clients were generally management or entrepreneurs who seemed to be doing well – apart from managing their own money. Some were managing budgets of millions at work very well. Home money was not the same at all. I noticed very quickly that as soon as we began working the yawns started. They fidgeted, a couple fainted, two vomited and many were almost asking to clean my loo rather than do this work. I was so puzzled and genuinely thought that there was something wrong with them! I started delving into the psychology of money and realised that our mindset mattered. A whole new world opened up for me and I threw myself in feet first. I found the few courses that existed and chose to join The Money Coaching Institute in the US.
What led you to then train as a money therapist?
I’ve been told that I am very good at listening. Clients tell me that they feel heard. Through my own experience I realised that our relationship with money is complex. It is not just our money story that is important. It is the relationship we have with our parents, carers, siblings, teachers etc. Significant emotional experiences in any shape or form affect how we think about ourselves which is then projected onto money – and vice versa.
With clients opening up to me, some having never opened up before, I found that they were disclosing information about events that I was not qualified to help them with. Whether it be voids in childhood, abuse, addiction, ADHD, divorce or any of the adverse childhood experiences (ACES), globally recognised as having tremendous impact on lifelong health and opportunity. This frustrated me so I explored different types of therapy that I felt that could help them efficiently and effectively. I chose a cognitive hypnotherapy, NLP and have now added AMDR (Applied Memory Deconsolidation and Reconsolidation) to my skill set to work with trauma. This is working very well both with my signature program clients and stand-alone therapy clients.
What prompted you to join the Institute for Financial Wellbeing?
Well, it seems like a good idea right? When I first started there were very few money coaches around. The partnering of financial advice and money coaching still seems like a good idea and the IFW surely can help that partnership. Meeting new people in the field, learning, sharing is something that I enjoy in a vibrant environment. For me every day is a school day… I love to learn.
What drew you to financial wellbeing in the first place?
I’ve had a rollercoaster of a money life, life in general really. The main events happened before I was 10 so my blueprint is interesting. I believe that we are all fellow strugglers. Money seems to be my calling. The theme of money has run through my life from the get go. That is a story for another day but spiritually, I am a Virgo Dragon, who has a number 8 life path. For anyone who knows numerology, an 8 is all about the balance of abundance and power/influence. Our minds and money will never cease to intrigue me. Never will. I also believe that everyone deserves to have a balanced relationship with money or at least know how to work towards one.
What is your top tip for someone wanting to improve their financial wellbeing?
I urge clients to approach life as a financial adventure and ‘sail the seven Cs’ – approach your finances with curiosity, courage and compassion. Add in some commitment and consistency and you will get confidence and clarity. Follow those steps and you will be heading towards feeling better about your money in no time.
Who or what is your favourite wellbeing guru, podcast or book?
I am a big fan of Lynne Twist who wrote The Soul of Money. I love how she describes the three myths of scarcity: ‘There’s not enough’, ‘More is better’, and ‘That’s just the way that it is.’
I am also a fan of Ken Honda and Davidji. I am believer of universal law which means generally we might learn more by rising out of the weeds and take a global – even universal view of our future. Any thing that is about self-agency and that focuses on our internal locus of control rocks for me.
What are you doing to advance your own financial wellbeing?
Working on building up my business. I am very good at looking after the money that flows in, I am working on becoming better at running my own business. I am focusing on getting myself out there more and serving the world with my new found therapy skills. I will also be looking at setting up trusts etc re inheritance tax this year. My legacy is important to me too.
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