Personal financial counseling education and one-on-one coaching that helps you build the skills, the plan, and the habits to take real control of your money — across budgeting, saving, debt, accounts, credit, and financial literacy.
Financial counseling education and personal financial coaching. We teach money management, build action plans, and support behavior change across the six EYF service areas.
Not licensed financial advice. Not a Debt Management Plan (DMP). For personalized investment advice we refer to licensed advisors. For DMPs we refer to NFCC-affiliated nonprofit credit counseling agencies.
Twenty years of working with individuals, couples, families, pre-retirees, and retirees taught me that money problems are rarely information problems — they are behavior problems. The EYF approach is built to bridge the gap between knowing and doing.
Six interlocking domains every adult must master: Budget Planning, Saving Planning, Debt Planning, Account Management, Credit Profile, and Financial IQ. Each area has its own diagnostic, its own action plan, and its own measurable progress signal.
Financial education is not one-size-fits-all. Young adults face different decisions than mid-career parents, who face different decisions than pre-retirees and retirees. EYF coaching adapts the six service areas to your stage of life.
Every coaching engagement produces a written action plan with measurable next steps, accountability check-ins, and supporting resources. Education without action is entertainment. Counseling without a bridge to action is wasted.
Each service area below comes with an educational guide for immediate reading and a downloadable EYF workbook to put what you learn into action. Start anywhere — or schedule a coaching session and we will build a plan that touches all six.
Cash flow is the foundation of every other financial decision. Learn how to build a realistic, values-aligned budget that survives the messy reality of life — not a spreadsheet that dies by week two.
An emergency fund is not optional — it is the difference between a setback and a spiral. Learn how to size, fund, and protect a savings cushion that absorbs life’s shocks without derailing your bigger goals.
Debt is rarely a math problem — it is a behavior problem in disguise. Learn how to free up real cash flow, prioritize the right balances, and build a debt-reduction plan that moves you forward without the rebound.
Your account setup quietly shapes every financial decision you make. Learn how to choose, structure, and manage checking, savings, and supporting accounts so your money flows where it should — automatically.
Your credit profile decides what you pay for cars, homes, insurance, and more. Learn how to read your report, identify what is hurting your score, and build a credit profile that quietly saves you money for the rest of your life.
Most American adults fail basic financial literacy tests. Find out where your knowledge stands today, then close the gaps with targeted education across budgeting, saving, debt, accounts, and credit.
Counseling is the most trust-dependent service in personal finance. Here is who you will actually be working with.
Founder & CEO · Financial Educator & Financial Coach · Empowering Your Finance LLC
Darnell Frazier is a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI ® ) credentialed through the National Financial Educators Council, and a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC ® ) credentialed through the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants — the two credentials most directly relevant to financial counseling education and coaching.
He also holds CPRS™(Certified Personal Retirement Specialist) and CCFC(Certified College Financial Consultant) designations, allowing EYF coaching to support clients across life stages — from young adults to pre-retirees, retirees, and families planning for college.
Through Empowering Your Finance, Darnell has built a client-focused practice specializing in financial education, coaching, and life-cycle financial planning. His mission is to provide individuals, couples, and families with current information, resources, strategies, and tools to make truly informed financial decisions.
Darnell is also the host of The Road to Financial Empowerment podcast — available on all major platforms.
Three different services. Three different scopes. Three different rules. Use the table below to decide which one fits your situation — or schedule a free discovery call and we will help you choose.
| Feature | EYF Counseling Education & Coaching | Nonprofit Credit Counseling Agency | Licensed Financial Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Service | Education and coaching across the 6 EYF service areas | Debt Management Plans (DMPs) with creditors | Personalized investment, insurance, and securities advice |
| Regulatory Framework | Financial education and coaching (CFEI ® / RFC ® standards) | NFCC / HUD-approved nonprofit regulations | SEC, FINRA, state insurance licensing |
| Negotiates with Creditors? | No | Yes (via DMPs) | No |
| Provides Investment Advice? | No — refers to licensed advisors | No | Yes |
| Builds Behavior & Habit Change? | Yes — this is the core service | Partial | Limited |
| Best For | Anyone who wants skills, structure, and accountability across budgeting, saving, debt, accounts, credit, and financial literacy | Anyone in severe consumer debt who needs creditor negotiation | Anyone ready to invest meaningful assets and needs portfolio guidance |
Silence on pricing helps no one. The ranges below are placeholders until final 2026 figures are confirmed — you will see exact pricing during your discovery conversation.
Best for: self-starters who want structured education without one-on-one engagement. Less than a takeout meal.
Best for: anyone serious about real, durable behavior change. About 80% below typical market rates.
Best for: learners who want a deeper curriculum than the workbooks at their own pace.
Financial counseling education is one-on-one personal finance guidance that helps individuals understand their financial situation, build practical money management skills, and create action plans for budgeting, debt, credit, savings, and long-term financial stability. It focuses on education and behavior change rather than licensed financial advice or debt management plans.
Financial counseling education focuses on teaching money management skills, building healthy financial habits, and helping you understand your own situation — it is educational, not regulated investment advice. Licensed financial advice involves a registered advisor making personalized investment, insurance, or securities recommendations under fiduciary or suitability rules.
Empowering Your Finance provides the educational counseling and coaching layer. For personalized investment advice, we refer to licensed advisors.
Credit counseling typically refers to services offered by NFCC- or HUD-approved nonprofit agencies that can negotiate Debt Management Plans (DMPs) with creditors. Financial counseling education, like the service offered by Empowering Your Finance, teaches you how credit works, how to read your reports, and how to build a healthier credit profile — but does not negotiate DMPs.
If you need a DMP, we refer to NFCC-affiliated nonprofits and continue supporting you with the educational and behavioral side.
Financial coaching pairs education with ongoing accountability. Sessions are scheduled one-on-one, focus on a specific area such as budgeting, debt, or credit, and produce a written action plan. Between sessions you implement the plan; in the next session we review progress, troubleshoot, and adjust.
The EYF coaching approach is built around the six service areas and the Life-Cycle Financial Education framework.
A financial counselor helps people assess their current financial picture, identify gaps, and build practical skills across budgeting, saving, debt management, account selection, credit building, and overall financial literacy. The work is educational and behavioral — the counselor teaches frameworks, models decisions, and supports the client in taking action.
A Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI ® ), credentialed through the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC), is trained to deliver standards-based financial education to individuals, families, and groups. CFEI ® professionals teach money management, budgeting, saving, credit, and debt concepts using research-backed methods designed to drive measurable behavior change.
A Registered Financial Consultant (RFC ® ), credentialed through the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC), is a financial professional who has met education, experience, and ethics requirements to consult on personal financial planning topics. RFC ® professionals adhere to a published code of ethics and ongoing continuing education standards.
Financial counseling and coaching pricing varies by scope. Empowering Your Finance offers self-paced educational resources, single-topic coaching engagements, and multi-session coaching programs. See the Investment in Your Financial Future section on this page for current ranges, or make an appointment for a no-cost discovery conversation.
For most adults, the answer is yes — because most financial problems are not information problems, they are behavior and decision problems. A counselor or coach provides structure, accountability, and a customized action plan.
The value compounds: better budgeting frees cash flow, better credit lowers borrowing costs, and better savings habits create resilience over time.
Look for credentialed professionals (AFC ® , CFEI ® , RFC ® ), clear scope of practice, transparent pricing, and a published code of ethics. Ask whether they provide education and coaching, licensed financial advice, or formal credit counseling — these are different services with different rules.
To work with Empowering Your Finance, simply make an appointment.
Book a free discovery conversation. We will review where you are, where you want to go, and which of the six service areas to start with — no obligation, no pressure.