Maltese finance coach places third in international money awareness awards

A popular financial coach placed third in an international financial literacy award for best content creator. 

Lecturer and financial coach Patrick Debattista, the face behind the social media account ‘Finance For You’, came third in the category Best Content Creators or Aggregators in the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIAS) on Thursday.

Debattista uses his platform to promote the importance of financial literacy and also holds workshops for people to understand how to create a financial plan and how investing works.

In its fifth year of the MAIAs, the awards are presented to individuals, organisations, companies and projects which focus on making finance more inclusive and help people understand how to use their money more wisely. 

When asked if he entered the MAIAs, Debattista said a “kind stranger” nominated him, adding how he was surprised to find out he was nominated for the award. 

The award DeBattista won on Wednesday evening for his work as a content creator. Photo: Patrick DeBattista

The 38-year-old said this was his first international recognition and dedicated it to his mother.

“When I was younger, I saw my family fall into poverty overnight, and my mum had to work three jobs to put food on the table,” he told Times of Malta.

“My mum was never taught the tools to help her make her money last or grow; instead, she was always trying to make ends meet. My mission is to help as many people as possible around the world, especially locally, to make their money grow.”

He said Malta currently holds €27 billion in cash deposits, and very few are investing in their money.

“I want to tilt the balance and help people with the right tools to have control of their financial future,” he said. 

“It’s the best thing that happened to me, and the knowledge of how to use my money has led me to do what I love for a living.”