Getting Financially Naked with Rebekkah
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 and so 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.
A few months back on this podcast, I shared my financially naked session and it led to a request for more. Getting in the hot seat today is our client Rebekkah who is coming up on one year at the Gym. When she started with us, she had $767 in the bank and wondered if it made financial sense to join. She’s going to share her journey and where she is today.
What Are We Drinking?
Rebekkah — Ketel One Botanical Vodka Cucumber and Mint, Water, and Lemon Essential Oil
Shannon — Hendrick’s Gin and Tonic
Podcast Notes
Rebekkah is coming up on her one-year review at the Financial Gym. She cannot believe how much she has accomplished.
Rebekkah tried everything before joining the Gym — podcasts, books, Dave Ramsey approach, etc. It kept leading to results like yo-yo dieting. She would work really hard to pay something off and then something would happen, or she would stop buying things and going out and she wasn’t able to maintain it.
She wasn’t getting results and then she found this podcast. Shannon spoke about finances in a way that she understood.
Rebekkah had her warmup call and didn’t know how she was going to afford the Gym membership. The next day she got an extra check from work that was the exact amount she needed to pay the Gym.
If you can’t find the money to afford the Gym, you really need to join the Gym. Something needs to change if you can’t afford $85 a month.
If you are really committed to working on your finances, it will work out. If not, there is a six-month, money-back guarantee.
Rebekkah’s budget was really tight and Joy found about $1,200 to set aside for savings and debt payoff.
Rebekkah had never been able to do lump sum savings or payments without bonuses. Now she sees her savings account balance going up and her credit card debt going down. It makes a difference having a trainer.
The average Gym client stays about six months, but there are others that stay for years. The bulk of clients who leave are hitting their goals and they are more of DIY people. The clients who stay like to have someone on retainer to give them a quick response or perspective about a decision.
Getting physically and financially healthy takes work. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but if you put work into it you will get results.
The Gym offers clients a side hustle opportunity to take warm-up calls on nights and weekends. Rebekkah started doing this in November and it has helped her save for travel.
All trainers need to believe in magic to work at the Gym.
Gym trainers are cult-like about saving for emergencies and they prioritize that over debt repayment and all of the other goals. You just feel better when you have money in the bank. It is motivating to see your balance go up.
Questions from the financially naked discovery questionnaire:
Birthday: 7/3/91
Job: Lead Program Coordinator (helping individuals with disabilities)
City: Flagstaff, Arizona
Salary: $46,000
Rebekkah’s Net Pay: $1,500/two times a month
Husband’s Net Pay: $954/bi-weekly
Side Hustle: $600/month
Future Car Fund: $315
Emergency Savings: $15,222
Travel Account: $4,200
Emergency Savings for Brother: $2,000 (brother has autism)
Life Purchase Account: $500
Brokerage Fund Account: $410
Total of all Savings Accounts: $22,647 (from $767 one year ago)
Retirement Account: None yet, spouse has pension
Car Loan: Paid off; had $5,000 balance one year ago
Credit Card: Paid off; was $5,600 on hers and $10,000 on her husband’s one year ago
Net Worth Increase: $45,000
Student Loans: $32,000 (four years left)
Credit Score: 727 (was 662); husband’s increased by 20 points
Rent: $1,175
Car Insurance: $45/month (recently lowered from $165/month); once your car is paid off, you can look at lowering coverage and divert the savings and the amount of your previous car payment into the car fund
Will/Trust: Not Yet
Life Insurance: Yes
Long-Term Disability: Yes
Average Monthly Expenses: $2,000
Children: No
Goals 1-3 years: Quit current position, start investing, move to a bigger home, trip to Europe in October
Goals 3-5 years: one larger trip a year
Goals long-term: Financial independence, travel, live in different places
What’s important to you (sacred cows): Subscriptions (HBO, Hulu, Netflix, audiobooks) and expensive vodka
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is to not be afraid to invest in yourself, especially where your financial health is concerned. We see transformations like Rebekkah’s every single day at the Gym. The hardest part, like any journey, is just getting started.
Random Three Questions
What is the next big trip you would like to take?
What do you like to binge watch?
If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
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 Martinis and Your Money listeners get 15% off Financial Gym services. So if you’re ready to manifest your dreams, like Rebekkah in 2019, head over to or send friends to, financialgym.com to get signed up today.