The Financially Free Blog

The Financial Gym Team The Financial Gym Team

How to Read Your Brokerage Account Statement

If you’re investing for your future, give yourself a pat on the back. Whether you’re investing in a 401(k), ETFs, mutual funds or other investment vehicles, you’re already ahead of the curve. It’s great to start investing as it beats the cost of inflation and can help you build wealth for your future. The problem most newbie investors face is how to make sense of all the information they get from the brokerage firm. Brokerage firms are required to provide monthly or quarterly brokerage statements. It can look like another language if you’re not sure how to read it. If you have a brokerage account, here’s how to understand your brokerage statements.

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The Financial Gym Team The Financial Gym Team

5 Tips to Getting Your SO On Board with Your Financially Fit Journey

You’ve finally had enough of being broke and overspending and are ready to get financially fit. There’s just one problem. Bae isn’t on board. Let’s be real, getting financially fit requires some changes and when you must do things differently, not everyone in life will be as thrilled about it as you. But your relationship can have a huge impact on your journey so how do you get your SO on board? Here are five tips for getting your significant other on board with your financially fit journey.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of A Money Windfall

Whether you’ve just found out Grandma Betty died and left you a sum of money, or you got a huge bonus or miraculously won the lotto, you’re probably wondering one thing: What’s the best way to use your newfound wealth? There are no shortage of ways to spend money but without having a plan, you can easily stick to where you’re at or be more worse off than you were before the windfall.

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Shannon McLay, Founder and CEO Shannon McLay, Founder and CEO

Message from the CEO: Mental Health

In case you didn’t know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I think it’s interesting that it falls the month after Financial Literacy Month because there is such a strong connection between the two; and I never truly saw just how much until I experienced it firsthand last year.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

How to Help Your Elderly Parents

Let’s face it, you’re not getting any younger. And neither are your parents. At this point, they’re getting up there and you’re starting to worry about their finances and security. What will happen to them? What do you need to do to make sure they have a plan in place for their finances? It can be tough to think about but taking action now and having a conversation now can help everyone. Here’s how to help your elderly parents to get their finances and care in order.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

The Difference between a Savings and a CD Account

When you’re ready to get fit, you start working out, trying to find the best equipment that gets you the most bang for your buck. What will really get you looking like J. Lo who seems to defy age? Similarly, when it’s time to get financially fit you want to find the right tools to help grow your assets and that starts with saving. There are two different tools that can help you stash your cash: savings accounts and CD accounts. Read on to learn more about these two options and decide what is best for you.

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A Financial Gym Client A Financial Gym Client

What My Quarterly Weigh-In Was Like

Our client Keeley shares about her initial fears for her first quarterly review and what she’s accomplished in her first 3 months as a client at The Gym. She’s upped her emergency fund and also budgets for fun money since we want you to keep living your best life! Great job Keeley!

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

What is the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds?

You know you should be investing to build wealth and beat the cost of inflation. But when it comes to investing vehicles there are so many options to choose from. Some options you may have come across are ETFs and mutual funds. But what are they and what is the difference? Let’s break it down.

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A Financial Gym Client A Financial Gym Client

What My Plan Session Was Like

What’s it like to receive your financial plan? FinGym client Ruth Joseph explains how she tackled her plan’s “to-do” list!

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

How an Accountability Buddy Can Transform Your Finances

It’s almost the new year and you’re ready to get your finances in check. You’ve tried before but you tell yourself this time will be different. Sound familiar? Many of us have goals to improve our finances but fall short for a number of reasons. But there’s a secret weapon that can transform the process: getting an accountability partner.

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A Financial Gym Client A Financial Gym Client

What My Financially Naked Session Was Like

I was huffing and puffing on the stationary bike in the workout room of my Southern Utah home where my boyfriend and I live with our two dogs. I looked at the incoming call from New York with some amount of trepidation - "I am struggling to remain physically fit,” I thought to myself, "why am I adding the massive challenge of becoming financially fit to my plate?" The holidays were winding down and I was guilty of overindulging not only on food, but also spending too much on more than one occasion - I connected to the video chat anyway. 

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A Financial Gym Client A Financial Gym Client

What My First Warm-Up Call Was Like

FinGym client Jessica Weeks opens up about how she felt about her WarmUp call and what she has accomplished in the 3 months that she’s been a client of Tai’s.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Filing For a Tax Extension

The tax deadline is approaching and panic is starting to set in. You feel like there’s no way you can get everything together to submit in time, so what can you do? The good news is you can file a tax extension. While that might seem like the easy way out, there are some important things to know first. Here are the top five things you should know and how to file for a tax extension.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

Message from the CEO: Asking for Help

In case you didn’t know, The Financial Gym is my life’s purpose (in addition to being Will’s mom). And I never thought about living a purposeful life until ten years ago when my life coach suggested it would make me a happier human being. In 2009, I was living the opposite of a purposeful life. I was working at a hedge fund, making a six-figure salary; and my only career goal was to make more money and buy a massive home at some point. During my life coaching, one of my “exercises” included reading a book about Happiness; and after finishing it, I knew that I would find my life’s purpose in the pursuit of helping people. I just didn’t know what that would look like.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

5 Ways to Use Your Tax Refund Wisely

After all the talk about Trump tax reform, you were worried about tax time. Will you owe? Or will you get a refund? But you got a tax refund! Phew. Getting back a chunk of change can be a relief and also cause for celebration. But before you start popping off the bubbly, think about how you can get the most out of your tax refund. We got you covered. Here are five ways you can use your tax refund wisely.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

Do I have to report cash and side hustle income on my tax return?

If you’re a side hustler, but also have a 9 to 5 job, you might wonder how all of this will affect your taxes. You’re familiar with the W-2 life, but what about all of your side hustle income? Do you have to report it? Read on to learn more about what you need to know about side hustles and taxes.

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A Financial Gym Client A Financial Gym Client

My "Gym-Fueled" Life Changes

Client and Warm Up Call Associate, Rebekkah, has paid off $14K in credit card debt, funded her emergency savings, increased her credit score by 50 points and even funded a two-week European vacation. Learn how she overcame her money fears and to accomplish all of this and more.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

5 Women to Know In the Personal Finance Space

You know at The Financial Gym we’re all about supporting women. As a female-founded company, we love supporting other women trailblazers, especially in the personal finance space. That’s why for Women’s History Month and International Women's Day we’ve rounded up our favorite top five ladies in personal finance.

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Caitlin Lyttle Caitlin Lyttle

4 Reasons to Enjoy the FinGym Webinars

Let’s be honest, webinars have a bad rap. If you’re anything like I am then you know the drill - log in, tune out. My experience with the Financial Gym webinars has been different. These one-hour sessions are packed with information and make it easy to get the most out of the brain power behind The Gym.

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