How Capital One Helped Us Reimagine Banking

As a part of our CreditWise® from Capital One® partnership, we have been having conversations about the effort we put into taking care of our finances. Money management in marriage requires a lot of resources to help bring two individuals together and on the same page. Don’t kid yourself this is not an easy task and will require tools and resources to help alleviate any stress that may come with it. We know about this all too well.

13 years ago, we were a couple of high school sweethearts who fell in love and got married. But we were total opposites when it came to handling our finances. Before (and after) saying ‘I do’, we had some very serious issues to face. While it wasn’t glamorous, we were disciplined in asking the hard money questions so we could collectively become better stewards of our finances.

We set out on a path to learn as much as we could about money and how we can navigate it in our marriage. This meant reading books, watching videos, and discovering tools that would help us win with our money and our goals. To this day, we still ask the hard questions and seek resources that help us feel more confident in our relationship with money!

One of the amazing resources that we have explored and learned about was all about Capital One Café’s. We learned about many of the free, empowering tools Capital One provides, and what’s cool is, they’re available to everyone, not just customers!

Recently, we made a visit to the Capital One Café in Washington DC’s Chinatown neighborhood and were blown away by the entire experience. We could not believe everything offered at the Café for free and also for everyone, not just Capital One customers. The Café is not what you think of as a traditional bank; teller lines are replaced by workstations with iPads and Café Ambassadors that can help with personalized needs. We immediately commented that the Café was so inviting and not the least bit intimidating, which is something we frequently hear from our followers that banks can be intimidating. Some of our favorite Café features included:

• A Peet’s® coffee bar with local baked goods (Capital One customers get 50% off coffee!)  to keep you caffeinated all day long
• Community spaces for nonprofits and students to use for free
• WiFi and power outlets to keep you charged and connected
• In-person Cafe Ambassadors to assist with your banking needs with none of those behind the desk formalities
• Free Money Coaching Sessions with a certified coach to help you set goals and create a plan to start working toward them.
• Community events like weekly happy hours with discounted coffee and financial literacy sessions called Money Workshops

We loved being able to sit down in a comfortable and inviting space, drinking a cup of coffee while taking care of our banking and non-banking needs. We’d never experienced a banking experience like the one that we had at the Capital One Café; we thought that we knew about how banking looked but this experience reimagined and redefined banking for us.

Our absolute favorite part of the Café visit was our Money Coaching Session with a certified coach. We really didn’t know what to expect going into the session but assumed we would be sharing a lot about our financial history, including numbers, and then we would be presented with financial products to help our financial situation. But it was none of the above. We were not asked once about any specific numbers and we were never pushed any products.

Our Money Coach asked us personal questions such as, “what do we value in our lives,” and then we had to literally map it out and share how well we are doing in each of those areas. Everything said in the session was confidential, so we felt comfortable openly discussing personal topics with our coach. We had no idea how much we needed this session because it allowed us to connect and focus on our values. Too often we get caught up on the day to day numbers that we miss the bigger picture.

After we left the session, we received an email from our Money Coach with the action steps we created and committed to take to achieve the goals we discussed during the session. It was a very eye-opening experience as we received help to map out our goals and plans and removed any roadblocks that were hindering us from getting there. It truly exceeded our expectations! And to make it even better, it was completely free.

It was a POWERFUL experience that we would highly recommend to everyone! No exaggerating. We encourage you all to visit a Café and take advantage of the free tools and resources, including Money Coaching, to take control of your financial future! 

For more information on the Capital One Café locations and Money Coaching Sessions, visit https://www.capitalone.com/local/ or https://www.capitalone.com/local/moneycoaching to sign up for a Money Coaching session near you.