Participant Experiences
What people say
after they finish.
These accounts are from people who worked through one of our programmes during a difficult period of their lives. They have shared their experience in their own words.
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Adults who have completed at least one programme
4.7
Average satisfaction score out of 5.0 (2024–2025)
92%
Said they felt more confident about their finances after completing
5 yrs
Running courses for adults in Hong Kong since 2020
What Participants Say
In their own words
Sandra C.
Mid-Levels, HK
"I started the four-week course about three months after my husband passed. I was not in any state to sit with a financial advisor and be asked questions I had no answers to. This was different — it moved at a pace I could actually manage, and nobody was waiting for me to perform."
Financial Footing · March 2025
Richard K.
Kowloon Tong, HK
"After twenty years in the same company, redundancy at 52 came as a shock. The six-week programme helped me understand what I actually had, what I was spending, and what a realistic picture looked like without the salary I thought I'd have until 60. It was sobering but useful."
Rebuilding a Plan · February 2025
Lily T.
Sai Wan Ho, HK
"The ten-week programme felt like a lot when I signed up. In practice, the modules are short enough that you can do one in an evening and not feel exhausted by it. What I appreciated most was the worksheet approach — you actually make something as you go rather than just reading content."
Full Programme · January 2025
Martin W.
Tsuen Wan, HK
"Going through a divorce at 48, the financial side was genuinely the part I understood least. My ex had always managed our investments. The course gave me language to work with and a framework to understand what we had together and what I was walking away with."
Financial Footing · March 2025
Alice Y.
Wan Chai, HK
"I had tried reading a few financial planning books after my separation but found them too generic. This course spoke directly to the situation I was in — accounts that needed separating, a flat I needed to think about differently, an MPF I had never reviewed. Much more practical."
Rebuilding a Plan · February 2025
Peter M.
Sha Tin, HK
"The ten-week programme was the right choice for me. I had a lot of administrative backlog — policies still in joint names, a will that needed updating, accounts from before the marriage that had just sat there. The course gave me a way to work through all of it systematically rather than avoiding it."
Full Programme · December 2024
Janet L.
Tuen Mun, HK
"My late husband had always handled our investments and I had very little idea what we held or where. The four-week course helped me understand what I was looking at — which accounts, which policies, what they meant. It was a foundation I needed before I could even think about what to do next."
Financial Footing · January 2025
David S.
Kennedy Town, HK
"I was made redundant at 56 and had always assumed I would keep working until at least 63. The six-week programme helped me understand what my actual retirement timeline looked like now — not the one I had imagined. That clarity, as uncomfortable as some of it was, meant I could make decisions rather than just worry."
Rebuilding a Plan · March 2025
Christine N.
North Point, HK
"One thing I noticed was that the materials acknowledged that you might be tired, and that some weeks would be harder than others. That made a difference. I paused for three weeks in the middle and came back to it without any sense of having failed. That matters when you are already carrying a lot."
Full Programme · February 2025
Case Studies
Three journeys, in more detail
These accounts have been shared with permission. Names and some identifying details have been adjusted.
Ellen, 54
Divorced after 22 years · Completed Financial Footing + Rebuilding a Plan
The situation
Ellen's divorce finalised in early 2024 after a two-year process. Her ex-husband had managed most of the household finances. She knew they had property and savings but was uncertain about the detail of what she was receiving and what it meant for her retirement.
The process
She started with the four-week course, which she completed over six weeks. A few months later, once the legal process had fully concluded, she enrolled in the six-week programme to build a forward-looking plan around the assets she had received in the settlement.
The outcome
By the end of the second course, Ellen had a written financial plan covering her income, MPF trajectory, the flat she had kept, and a revised retirement age estimate. She described the plan as "something I could actually hand to a solicitor and have a real conversation from."
George, 61
Widowed after long illness · Completed Full Life-Transition Programme
The situation
George's wife had been seriously ill for three years before she passed. During that period, financial planning had not been a priority. He was 61 and approaching a retirement he had expected to take with a partner, with assets and plans that had not been reviewed since before her diagnosis.
The process
He started the ten-week programme nine months after his wife's passing. He took the full twelve months to complete it, pausing for several weeks at the module covering estate planning, which he found the most emotionally demanding. He completed it in his own time.
The outcome
George completed a full written financial plan and updated his will, beneficiary designations, and Lasting Power of Attorney paperwork during the course. He said the most useful part was the module on the "paperwork task" — a systematic approach to administrative backlog he had been avoiding.
Patricia, 47
Redundancy after restructure · Completed Financial Footing
The situation
Patricia had worked for the same firm for fourteen years when her role was made redundant in a regional restructure. The severance was reasonable but she had never thought carefully about her finances as a standalone position — they had been built around a dual income household.
The process
She completed the four-week course while still deciding whether to seek equivalent employment or consider a different path. The course focused her attention on what she had — severance, savings, MPF, and shared household outgoings — rather than the career decision itself.
The outcome
Patricia described the course as helping her understand "what my runway actually was" — how long she could manage without employment at current outgoings, and what her MPF position meant for retirement. That clarity informed both her financial decisions and her thinking about the next career step.
Recognition & Standards
How we hold our work to account
HKIAF Shortlist
Financial Literacy Initiative recognition, 2024
CIFE Member
Chartered Institute for Further Education membership
CFP-reviewed
All financial content reviewed by Certified Financial Planners
PDPO Compliant
Data handled under Hong Kong Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance
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