Finances… boring right? I get it. I used to feel the same way! It wasn’t until I graduated college and moved to New York City that I really began to take an interest in my finances. Probably due to how freakin expensive it was to live here. However I have always understood the value of a dollar and the art of saving. Nothing gave me more joy when I was younger than seeing that dollar sign get bigger and bigger in my savings account. I understood how to save and that has benefitted me greatly into my adulthood.
On the flip side, I learned quickly when I turned 26, that no matter how great you are at handling a debit card there is so much more to being good/great with your finances than growing a savings account. There are credit cards (and lots of em!), 401k’s, high yield savings accounts, IRA’s, investing, will’s, it goes on and on! To be honest with you, when I turned 26 I didn’t even own a credit card, I quite truthfully had a nonexistent credit score lol. Which is where The Financial Gym came in.
As described on their website, “The Financial Gym is a personal financial services company that takes a fitness-inspired approach to our clients’ finances. Like a regular gym, you pay a monthly membership fee; but unlike a regular gym, your monthly fee includes a dedicated financial trainer, we call it your “B.F.F.” (Best. Financial. Friend.) who works with you one-on-one to help you set financial goals, create a plan for accomplishing them, and supports you along the way to achieving these goals. Our financial training program is based on over 7 years of working with clients of all financial shapes and sizes and we have a 90% success rate over this time of our clients achieving their financial goals.”
I have worked with The Financial Gym for the past three months and have since learned so much from my trainer Victoria (who is an absolute sweetheart btw)! At the time I had just got a starter credit card and have since grown to a “good” credit score according to Credit Karma, which is a win for me! I was able to roll over the 401k I grew while working at Macy’s to an IRA and created a high yield savings account banking in INTEREST! All things I was pretty clueless about before meeting Victoria.
As this is always the first question I get, to answer now, your initial 20 minute call with The Financial Gym is free of charge. The goal is to get a feel for the company and see if it is something you would be interested in. From there it is $99/month but if you mention my name COURTNEY on your warmup call you can get 15% off, getting you down to $85/month. Woo! Another frequently asked question I receive is if you have to be based in NYC. You do not! Every call I had with my trainer Victoria was over Google Hangouts. They are completely accommodating! However if you are in NYC I do recommend checking out the office as it is beautiful and has loads of snacks and beer/wine! Pictured above and below.
One of the most interesting things I learned from my time with The Financial Gym were my EXPENSES. My trainer said I had one of the lowest coffee spends of all time. I don’t drink coffee so over a 10 week period it was pretty desolate, I copied and pasted it below for a good laugh. I also was able to see where I was spending a lot of money. For me, that was travel. As you can see from my pie graph above, travel, rent (of course) and dining were my three largest expenses. However, Victoria said that my dining was pretty in line with what she sees from New Yorker’s. Which was a relief!
Seeing it visually also helped incredibly with cutting down certain habits like Seamless and Uber. Trust me, if you were to see an excel sheet with the amount of Seamless you ordered in 10 weeks, you’d think twice before ordering that Pad Thai too!
Overall I learned an immense amount of where I was missing out on “free money,” aka interest and credit card points. I was able to set up new accounts and close ones that weren’t necessary and talk with someone that really understood my goals and helped me plan for the next 5 years. She was extremely nonjudgemental and was ready to take on any financial situation that I may have had. I also felt comfortable and confident in sharing my private financial details with her. She truly was an expert!
If you have any questions about The Financial Gym please feel free to reach out!
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