Client Happy Hour: Three Year Review with Maria, Jenn, and Kelly
Client Happy Hour: Three Year Review with Maria, Jenn, and Kelly
Before I get into the introduction for this show, I want to address some views that have come up since I’ve shared more diverse topics and conversations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Something that has become clear to me in the multitude of conversations I’m having on and offline is that racial sensitivity is not exclusive to the black community, and microaggressions can happen no matter what you look like or how you identify. As these arise, I think it’s really important for us to have honest conversations across the board and to have them from a place of compassion and empathy, with the goal of education and enlightenment. We’re all walking in completely different shoes on different journeys and the more we can share our truth and receive other people’s truths, the better we’ll all be. I won’t always get it right and neither will my guests, but like I tell my team, all we can do is get better everyday, and growing in compassion and empathy, I believe, is a way for us to get better everyday.
Now onto one of my favorite podcasts I record every year. Three years ago, when we were actively trying to expand The Gym for the first time, we thought it would be a good idea to record a show about our clients’ experiences with The Financial Gym and how it fit into their lives. We gathered three clients to share their stories, and if you haven’t heard them, links to their shows are below. Every year since, we’ve checked in with these same three clients to see where they are in their financial journeys.
Joining me today for the third time are Kelly, Maria, and Jenn, to share where they are personally and financially and why three years later they still think being a Financial Gym member makes all the sense in the world.
What are we drinking?
Maria - Coffee with milk and no sugar
Jen - Water
Kelly - Coffee and water
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Maria, Jenn, and Kelly have been clients of The Gym for over three years and this is their third happy hour podcast. You can find the previous podcasts here: 2017, 2018, 2019.
Maria has been handling quarantine pretty well. She is still working and she was already set up to work from home. She has been doing frugal home projects and has been trying to exercise regularly.
Maria feels good about where she is financially, because of the plan she has been following. When she started at The Gym, she was invested very conservatively for retirement. Even though Maria is over 50, she needed a more aggressive allocation, because the funds need to last her more than 20 years.
It took the first few years for Maria to get comfortable with the plan and investment guidance. Now her financial health choices are second nature and she needs to shift and take care of herself and enjoy her money a little more.
The latest conversation is Maria’s home renovation. Her brother, daughter, and others are living in her house.
Jenn lives in San Francisco and Tucson and she decided to shelter in place in Tucson, because of the population density. There are hiking trails in her backyard and, along with other exercise, she has lost about 10 pounds during quarantine.
This last year, Jenn transitioned to a new job and she is now the Interim Executive Director of the largest LGBTQ military non-profit in the country, called the Modern Military Association of America. She is about to do her comprehensive exams for her PhD and she is about four months away from being debt free.
Jenn has been able to do a side hustle during quarantine tutoring kids. She has been able to live life pretty well and it has brought out different emotions, like guilt.
If you are feeling survivor’s guilt, there are many ways to give back with your money and your time. If you don’t know who you want to support, there are a ton of options, including your local non-profits and food banks.
After Jenn is debt free, she is going to start investing. For 2021, her goal is debt free and Dr. Dane.
Initially during quarantine, there were a lot of emotions in Kelly’s household, but she moved on to acceptance pretty early on. She is an interior designer and has three kids under seven years old. They’ve been working on chores and arts and crafts and they have been going outside a lot.
Her seven-year-old son is in second grade and has ADHD and autism. In quarantine, her son doesn’t have a team of people helping him all day. Kelly has been focusing on mental health and her son is thriving. Kelly will need to decide if they will continue to home school him in the fall.
Kelly’s husband is considered an essential worker, because he is in construction. He spends 50% of his time in the office and 50% working at home.
Financially, Kelly and her husband are doing well and she has found a lot of relief in that. Her student loans are deferred for now and she is trying to watch her spending, but her grocery bill increased. The win over the last three years is figuring out how much money they need to make per month.
Maria’s big goal for the next year is planning for her home renovation. Jenn wants to be debt free and have $10,000 in savings. Kelly’s goal is to increase her income.
The membership at The Financial Gym for Maria means she has a place to go when she has questions and when she needs support.
For Jenn, The Gym has changed her life. It is a family and she wouldn’t be in the same place financially and personally without it.
For Kelly, it changed the course of her life. They are learning new habits and new things and having the support is important to them. It is a long-term plan. When you don’t have the education growing up, it is nice to have someone teach that to you and hold your hand.
Some people stop using The Gym after a few months, but once clients get to one or two years, so many things change and many clients continue their membership because their trainer has been there the whole time.
TAKEAWAY: My biggest takeaway is that financial health, just like physical and mental health, is an ongoing journey. There is never a destination, and your journey will likely have many twists and turns, but having someone on the roadtrip to re-focus you after setbacks or keep you motivated is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
If you’d like to start your financial health journey with my team at The Financial Gym and see just how much we can improve your financial life, like Kelly, Maria and Jenn, we’re offering a number of great deals right now. We’d love to be on this journey with you, so head over to or send friends to financialgym.com, to get set up today.
If you have any topics you would like for us to talk about during happy hour, please feel free to email me at shannon@fingyms.com or tweet to me at blonde_finance or join the private martinis and your money Facebook group and let us know. Until next time, take care!!