What My Financially Naked Session Was Like
Elizabeth DeHaan has been a Financial Gym client for almost 8 months( Hey Georgina!). She works has an administrative assistant in Brooklyn, and spends her 5-9 working on her blog enovaturient.com.
One of the biggest areas of anxiety in my life is my finances. I hate budgeting. I’m not good at negotiating my salary. I check my bank accounts with trepidation and have no idea how my 401(k) works or what its means to invest. As I started working and saving, I knew that I needed to get my finances in order, but I felt so overwhelmed that I didn’t even know where to start.
When I first heard about The Financial Gym, I loved the idea of a gym to get your finances in shape, and that it was started by a woman with a majority female staff. I also liked the idea of having a financial advisor; something I only thought the ultra-wealthy could afford. I scheduled an initial call in 2017, but at the time was not able to afford the monthly fees. I stayed on the mailing list and would attend free events when I was able. Fast forward to last summer, the gym was having a sale, and I decided that now was the best time to take control of my finances.
I’ve now been a member of The Financial Gym for almost 7 months. It has helped me to become more aware of my spending habits as well as my relationship with money. My financially naked session happened in October. In all honesty, I was very nervous about having to bare my finances in front of a complete stranger. In our society, we are taught not to talk about our finances especially if our finances are a mess. And let’s just say that my finances were sporting a “winter body”.
To prepare for my financially naked session, I made sure that I had all the necessary documents such as bank statements, monthly spending, my 401(k)K, and any debt such as student loans and credit cards. My trainer Georgina was all set up and waiting for me and walked me through what my financially naked session would entail, and we dived right in.
It is a little nerve-wracking to talk about finances because it’s so personal. We tend to base someone’s worth on their wealth so to have someone see what’s in your bank account or how much debt you have is a little embarrassing. But Georgina totally understood and wasn’t there to judge me, but to help me. Going through the process of talking about my finances as well as what goals I have in the future for my finances really helped to give me a new perspective.
After I left my financially naked session, Georgina and I made an appointment to meet in a couple of weeks so that way we could discuss my financial plan. I left feeling encouraged that I had the help I would need to get my finances in order as well as the knowledge that I had been trying my best and that a lot of my financial anxiety was sort of based on issues out of my control.
My finances and I are still working through our issues. Having my trainer there to check in on me and encourage me that I am trying helps me to not feel so hopeless. I look forward to having The Financial Gym continue to whip me into shape!
If you’re interested in learning more about The Financial Gym process and how our team of Financial Trainers can help you reach your goals, schedule your FREE 20-minute consult call here.