Getting Financially Naked with Mike Poulin
Getting Financially Naked with Mike Poulin
At the Financial Gym, we call the first meeting you have with a trainer, the “financially naked session”. In this meeting, you share everything about yourself financially so the trainer knows where you’re starting so that he or she can make the plan for how you can get where you want to go. Above all other meetings, this one scares clients the most because they are afraid or ashamed of their financial situation. Over year ago on this podcast, I shared my financially naked session and it led to a request for more. Now, this is a regular series on this podcast.
Getting in the hot seat today is Mike, who is actually a Financial Gym trainer. Mike joins me today to share not only why he wanted to become a financial trainer, but all of his financial digits, the good, the bad and the inexplicably emotional.
What Are We Drinking?
Mike — Truly Hard Lemonade
Shannon — Vodka and Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Mike works out of the D.C. Financial Gym location. Right now he is working from home, but hopes to go back to The Gym building soon.
Prior to working at The Financial Gym, Mike was in the military. He had to leave the military, because his contract was over and the job he was doing was being eliminated. Prior to the military, Mike worked at a credit union.
Joy’s husband, Wes, and Mike served in the military together and they are very close friends. Mike knew The Financial Gym was for him, when he saw what Joy was doing.
Mike interviewed for a job as a Trainer at The Gym nine months before he was able to accept the position.
Click here to learn more about Mike’s background.
Mike’s priority is to make new clients feel comfortable, and he puts an extra effort into his first emails to them. He has spent hours looking through templates on HubSpot to find language to use. He has the lowest number of clients that ghost.
Questions from the financially naked discovery questionnaire:
Birthday: September 8
Job: Level 2 Trainer at The Financial Gym
Pay: $60,000 ($1,979 per pay check); total income with spouse $7,550/month
Disability Pay: $2,017 (Veteran Affairs)
Drill Pay (Reserves): $297/month
USAA Automatic Bill Account: $4,005
USAA Joint Spending Account: $832
USAA Mike’s Spending Account: $640
Marcus Savings: $26,025
TD Ameritrade Stock Account: $317
Roth IRA: $3,742 ($100 contribution per month)
TSP: $6,016
Condo Mortgage: $326,000 (30-year mortgage, 3% interest, $1,780 per month)
Student Loan Debt: $31,323 (husband’s loan)
Car Loan: $10,672 (4.24%, $252 per month, through USAA)
Car Loan: $7,443 (7.89%, $192 per month, through USAA)
Consolidation Loan: $8,300 left of $15,000 (14.00%, $424 per month)
Husband’s Loan from His Mom: $6,400 (0%, $300 per month)
Credit Score: 716
Chase Sapphire: $2,800 (Monthly expenses)
Chase Slate: $5,400 (0% until January, $607 per month)
Wells Fargo Transfer Account: $2,500 (moving expenses, $145 per month)
Health Insurance (Tricare): $228 two person coverage
Life Insurance: Free through the military; need to shop for husband’s life insurance
Average Monthly Expenses: $1,627 (excluding mortgage); variable spending is approximately $3,200 per month; biggest expense over the last year was eating out
Will: On the list; Can create one for free at the military base
Children: No; interested in fostering possibly in 10-15 years
Goals 1-3 years: Two-week excursion to Iceland during summer 2022; small vacation fund for weekend visits to family in New England; home improvements; have his husband start saving for retirement
Goals long term: Financial independence; save a six-month emergency fund; buy a property in New England
What’s important to you (sacred cows): Enjoy time with friends and family; dogs
Connect with Mike:
Website: The Financial Gym
TAKEAWAY: My biggest takeaway is that personal finance is personal and not all of the decisions you are going to make will make sense on paper, but as long as they mean something to you, you can make them work financially.
If you’d like to get financially naked with my team, and drop any fear or shame you have around money, I hope you’ll reach out to us at The Financial Gym. My trainers have literally seen it all so nothing will surprise us. We don’t care how you got here, we just care about getting you where you want to go.
The great news is that we’re offering our best membership deals we’ve offered in a long time. If you are ready to get your financial life in order, head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com to get set up today.