Financially Naked

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Victoria Sechrist, Level 3 Trainer. She is joined by her client, Claire, to talk about meal prepping. Clare lives in Vancouver, Washington, and she is a licensed mental health therapist in a private group practice. She specializes in trauma, grief, perinatal loss, miscarriage, anxiety, and EMDR (eye movement desensitization to process trauma). She is currently doing video sessions. In addition, Clare is an expert meal prepper. Prior to COVID-19, Claire's quarterly dining out number was under $100, which means she spends less than $33 per month on dining. Claire got serious about meal prepping around age 20 or 21, because she had developed food allergies to wheat, dairy, eggs, banana, and pineapple. All baked goods are off limits. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode20

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Emily Egan, PR Manager. She is joined by her trainer, Chandra Savage, Level 2 Trainer, to discuss the fear of money (chrematophobia), money prisons, and the spirit of money. Chrematophbia is the fear of money. At some point in your life, you are going to have this fear, whether you are making too little or making too much. Chandra has had periods of time where she had a fear of money. However, she never feared having too much. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode18

In this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Hector Lopez, a Certified Financial Trainer based out of Los Angeles. A few years ago Hector was looking for podcasts in Spanish that taught financial literacy, and he couldn't find anything. That's why he decided to record an episode in Spanish about getting financially healthy. He wants to have something he would be proud to give to his parents and family to listen too. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode17

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Jenny Maenpaa, a FinGym client and Founder of Forward In Heels, where she is a clinical therapist and also an author based in Chelsea, New York. She is here to talk to anyone who's feeling anxious about what COVID-19 means for their financial and personal health going forward. NOTE: This episode was recorded on March 20, 2020 so certain things are true to that time and may developed since then. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode16

Today, our host is Joy Liu, Level 2 Trainer at The Financial Gym. She is joined by Bridget Todd, Level 3 Trainer, to discuss how you can prepare mentally and financially for an impending recession. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode15

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is FinGym Client, Will Paybarah who has a full time job and is also a freelancer. He is joined by his friend Scott, a full-time freelancer, to discuss the freelancing industry in relation to finances.

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Victoria, Level 3 Trainer, in Boston. She is going to discuss your goals versus expectations of other people and how that affects the major money decisions you make. Podcast Notes Victoria sees plenty of clients that make really big money choices based on other people's expectations of them and not based on their own goals. This may mean that clients are going into debt to fulfill an expectation of a parent, sibling, friend, etc. It is usually not even something they want to do. Victoria came up with the top three goals she sees from clients, and when they dig a little deeper many find that these are goals are ones they feel they "should" accomplish. More often than not, these goals are pricey and have a major affect on their finances. During the first session, the naked session, one of the questions is, "What are your goals?". One thing Victoria is looking for is the word "should". That is the first clue a client is trying to live out expectations of other people. If you find yourself thinking you "should" reach a certain goal, ask yourself, Says who? Who says you should do that? Do you agree? If not, why are you working toward that goal? Shownotes:

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Emily Egan, PR and Strategic Projects Manager. She is joined by FinGym Client Catherine Lavelle to talk about going back to school later in life and how to get someone else to pay for it. Podcast Notes Catherine works in admissions at a college in New York. Recently, she started a company on the side to help people go back to school. In her work in admissions, she came across a lot of people who were looking to pick up where they left off five, ten, or fifteen years ago, when they had to quit due to life. The first thing Catherine recommends is to define your goals and figure out what is most important to you. Is it to finish in the shortest amount of time possible? Or is it to get a particular degree or to reach a particular goal? A good place to start is a weigh in to see where you are. Did you leave school with an associate's degree? Did you leave because you failed out or were dismissed? One of the secrets most people don't know is that your school wants you to finish. When you finish your degree, their completion rates go up and it makes them look better. If you leaving school was not on a positive note, you can make an appeal. How many credits do you have? What were your grades? Do you owe the school money? If money is a roadblock, talk to someone in admissions. Catherine tries to tease out the specifics to see where each client is and create a roadmap to move forward. Sometimes private schools offer discounts to returning students. Going back to the college you left is a great place to start. You may qualify for a reverse transfer and take classes at another school and apply them to a previous school toward a degree.

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Emily Egan, PR Manager and Strategic Projects Manager. She is joined by Cessie, Financial Gym client since 2018, to discuss beauty and skincare. Podcast Notes Cessie has been working with Bridget at The Financial Gym since 2018. She originally wanted to get financially fit for her wedding and she didn't want to let go of her beauty routine. Beauty has always been important to Cessie. She is Latina and has always been exposed to the world of beauty. Her mother and grandmother always stressed the importance of skincare. Cessie grew up in Miami and was always exposed to the heat and sun. Cessie has always been good about wearing sunscreen, but she didn't take it seriously until her mid-twenties. In her twenties, she was on a budget and bought her skincare products from the drugstore. There are some products you can use from the drugstore, but there are some that you shouldn't try to be cheap on. Your skin is an organ, and a lot of these products are going into your body. In 2018, Cessie had just gotten engaged and was planning her wedding when she started working with Bridget. She lives in New York City and she needed help saving for the cost of the wedding and to have some work done on her skin. Leading into the wedding, Cessie started getting laser work done on her face, to get rid of brown spots. She had to do three sessions, and the total cost was about $1,000. The laser targets any dark spots. Cessie was also intrigued by Botox, because she wanted to get rid of some smile lines around her eyes. She looked into it and found it was pretty affordable - about $10 and $20 per unit, which is about $300 or $400, and it lasts about three to four months. After the wedding, Cessie loved the way her skin looked and she wanted to keep it up, so she worked with Bridget to keep these things in her budget. After doing the laser, your skin gets very sensitive and starts to dry up. The dermatologist recommended CeraVe, which is a drug store brand, because the face wash is loaded with hyaluronic acid, which helps retain elasticity in your skin. Cessie got hooked on it and continues to use that face wash. The face wash she used before was a department store brand and was very expensive, where CeraVe is $16.99 at the drugstore. Washing your face too much is not the best thing for you, because it strips your face of the essential oils that help you retain collagen and elasticity. An oily face is actually a healthy face. Cessie started reading a lot about beauty online and she has a lot of friends in the beauty industry who are trying different products. Every time she goes to the dermatologist, she asks a lot of questions. Cessie goes, Dr. Vivian Chin, on the Upper East Side, who is a medical director and the founder of Koru Wellness Aesthetics. They do everything from facials to fillers, Botox, and lasers. Cessie started going to Dr. Chin when she was getting her skin ready for her wedding. It is important to meet with someone who is patient and who will explain the different options. If you can't afford Botox or lasers, it is important to make sure you find a good face mask, drink a lot of water, make sure your face is always moisturized, and take care of your body. If you are on a budget, you can cut back on body products and use drugstore products, like CeraVe cleanser. Don't skimp on sunscreen. It doesn't need to be expensive, just make sure it is SPF 40 or above. Cessie loves using Supergoop!, because it is vegan and free of toxins. Cessie's two non-negotiables are beauty and fitness, because they are really important to her. She cut back on other things like going out to eat. In taking care of your skin you spend less in the long run, especially on makeup, because you don't need to cover up your skin as much.

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Gym, our host is Jenny Harp, Level 2 Trainer. She is joined by Financial Gym client, Claire, to discuss her experience at The Financial Gym. Claire found The Financial Gym through Instagram. Claire was paired up with Jenny as her Trainer, and in the last three months, Claire doubled her savings. Prior to The Gym, Claire didn't know anything about money. She didn't know how to save or budget. Jenny talked to Claire about automatic savings, and Claire set up a direct deposit out of every paycheck into a high-yield savings account. Now she has five savings accounts designated for different things. Shownotes: https://financialgym.com/financiallynakedpodcast/episode11