A Day in the Life of a Certified Financial Trainer with Gina & Bevin
Hello Martinis and Your Money listeners! I hinted at this in the year end podcast, but for the first time ever, The Financial Gym is offering a certification program for non- Financial Gym employees to become a Certified Financial Trainer. Until Now, this program and our training has been exclusive to The Gym but offering it to more people was always on our radar. As many of you know, the CFT program is essentially based on the last eight years of mine and my teams work with over 10,000+ people in all fifty states. Because of the vast and diverse client mix we’ve worked with over the last eight years, we’ve really seen it all. And we are literally the best team, I feel like the only team, to teach others how to help anyone get financially healthy. So joining me today are Bevin and Gina, two financial gym trainers and members of the team working on the Certification Program to share more about life as a trainer, what you can expect if you want to be one, and why this is literally the greatest job in the world.
What are we drinking?
Gina - Coffee with a splash of oat milk (but she can drink it black)
Bevin - water - but Bevin drinks her coffee with honey and oat milk
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes - she likes her coffee light and sweet
Podcast Notes
Gina and Bevin are celebrating their one-year anniversaries with The Financial Gym. Shannon starts by asking them why they wanted to become Certified Financial Trainers.
Gina was a client of The Gym while she was working as an admissions counselor full-time and pursuing personal training part-time. She worked with Joy (and still does) and improving her financial health inspired her to help others. As an admissions counselor, she felt like she was talking people into debt but wanted to start helping people get out of it.
Bevin’s dad was a mortgage loan officer, so she heard stories throughout her life. He taught her the importance of financial responsibility, so when she found herself in debt after attending undergrad and grad school, she tried to hide it from him. She had the loans and credit card debt, with the debt collectors calling. She was determined to get herself financially stable and wanted to help others do the same. In preparing to coach folks on her own, Bevin found The Gym, loved the mission, and applied for the job.
What are your favorite parts of being a Certified Financial Trainer, and what is the most challenging part?
Gina enjoys quarterly reviews with clients. The first three months is a lot of meeting folks, writing plans, and putting those plans out there. Seeing the progress the clients made and the plans really coming to life is her favorite. The most challenging part is taking on the emotional weight of the clients and what they are going through. Gina would have intense dreams the first 6 months of the job. Recently she has been working on separating work time from personal time and that’s been helpful in finding that balance.
Ten years in, Shannon still dreams about her clients. Part of the work is really getting into the weeds with clients and helping them understand. Trainers see the transactions, which is a window to what they’re going through. Trainers have a front row seat to people’s lives in an intimate way. Sometimes the show is a comedy and sometimes it’s a sad drama. It’s a huge honor to be part of it.
Bevin enjoys the intimate connection and deep friendships. It truly is an honor to be part of someone’s journey and connect to them on a deep life level. When they talk to her like family, she feels like they are bonding in a unique way. The challenge comes when the client is not ready to make the change. Bevin wants to go deeper, but knows she has to pull back and be patient. Sometimes a breakthrough just takes time and the client will get there when they are ready.
The Trainers learn from the clients as much as the clients learn from the Trainers. There are so many ways to live life out there and Trainers get a window into many different journeys. It truly is the best job on the planet.
What does a typical day as a CFT look like?
Gina talks about how no day is the same. Being able to make your own schedule is amazing. She is able to build a calendar that serves both her and her clients. She starts the day with admin work because most of her clients don’t like meeting in the morning. The evenings are when she packs in the meetings and always tries to respond to all emails in 24 hours. If a client cancels or reschedules, she tries to use that time to step back, since her admin work should be able to be finished in the time she’s scheduled.
Bevin starts her day by peeking at the calendar to know what to expect for the day. Some days are for meetings but there is other work involved, like recording the podcast, writing plans, or hosting a webinar. Writing plans, putting all of the pieces together, is one of Bevin’s favorite parts of the job. She front-loads her day with the balance pieces, which include yoga, meditation, and journaling. She makes sure she has taken care of herself before meeting with clients. From there, days start around 11 and go until 7 or 8. When someone cancels, Bevin uses that extra time to answer emails. When she’s in front of the computer, she likes to be in focus mode. Even though the job requires a lot of time in front of the screen, it is filled with different experiences.
As The Gym has grown, Shannon continues to meet with clients, as long as her calendar works for their needs. She balances this by taking a Friday evening off and opening up a weekend day for client meetings. This works well because Will sleeps in and she can meet with clients in the morning. Shannon is still a Trainer and meeting with clients is important to her CEO role.
What makes someone a good fit to become a Certified Financial Trainer?
A compassion for helping others and the ability to be a present, listening ear. Maintaining a connection through virtual meetings and shutting out all other distractions. Find your poker face and learn to let go of any judgment.
Trainers meet clients where they are and hold a judgment-free space for them. It’s about getting them where they want to go and being there for the journey.
Someone who isn’t afraid of hard conversations and helping folks through some of the hardest times.
Being able to create an open and safe space where clients can be heard without being interrupted or judged. From a logistical standpoint, time management and organization is incredibly important.
This is the greatest job ever, and The Gym is expanding even further in 2022!
Now YOU can become a Certified Financial Trainer!
Since The Gym was founded, the only way to become a Certified Financial Trainer was to be hired as an employee at The Financial Gym.
In 2022, you will be able to become a Certified Financial Trainer through The Financial Gym. This gives folks outside of The Gym who want the education and support of the internal team, but use the certification in their own lives, businesses and careers. It can also be an amazing addition to your resume.
This program is an investment that The Gym does not take lightly. It’s more than just the certification and includes resources and ongoing support to help build your business. It is a great investment and will be worth it. The program has an upfront cost of $5,000.
Like everything else at The Financial Gym, it will be worth it. It will be a lot of work, but very worth it.
Click here for more information and to sign up!
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is that being a Financial Trainer for the past eight years has literally been one of the greatest blessings of my life. If you’re interested in helping others, I highly encourage you to sign up for our program and start making a difference in your own community today. We have our cohorts starting this month, so what better time than now to get started!
Random Three Questions
What are your non-negotiables?
What is your big goal for 2022?
It’s happy hour at the bar, what are you ordering?
Connect with Gina and Bevin
Meet Gina, Level 2 Certified Financial Trainer
Meet Bevin, Level 2 Certified Financial Trainer
If you have any topics you would like for me to cover on this podcast or you’d like to get in the financially naked hotseat, I encourage you to email me to shannon@fingyms.com or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook Group and let me know what you want to hear.
We are at the start of the new year and if a change in career is what you’re looking for, why not become a Certified Financial Trainer? If a change in your finances is what you’re looking for, why not become a Financial Gym member? We have so many great and cost-effective ways you can work with us plus Martinis and Your Money listeners get 15% Financial Gym Memberships. So if you’re ready to get started, head over to or send friends to financialgym.com to get signed up today.