With only a few weeks left until the 2020 presidential election, the stock market has been on a bumpy ride for the last several weeks. Typically, in election years, October tends to be a lackluster month as the country prepares for uncertainty related to a potential power shift.

It’s the most wonderful time of year for a lot of people. But for your wallet? It can be the most stressful time of year. This year, retailers are rolling out the holiday marketing even earlier than usual. Whether you’re shopping early sales or trying to get ahead of long shipping times, keep in mind these smart holiday spending tips.

In honor of World Mental Health Awareness Day, we are sharing a personal story from a client who used shopping as a coping mechanism for her depression.

Welcome to parenthood! Your new bundle of joy will brighten your days and make life have so much meaning! It truly is a new chapter that will alter your life forever. But, how are your pockets doing?

Here at the Financial Gym, we realize that we all make mistakes. No one makes perfect money decisions 100% of the time. Even our trainers make mistakes sometimes! Here are some money mistakes that two of our LA-based Financial Trainers, Hector and Garrett, have made.

It is officially a new season and a new month which means it is the perfect time to conduct a financial refresh! It is easy to put your financial health to the side, especially given all that we have going on in our world right now, but checking in with your financial wellness is extremely important. Below are 6 ways you can take a few moments to review your overall financial health and make sure you’re setting yourself up for ultimate success!

Many individuals will more than likely say that it’s hard to save money. And it’s true, it is hard, especially when much of America is living paycheck to paycheck. Setting funds aside for a rainy day seems pointless and even scary when you feel like you need every cent right now, but we can’t express enough how important it is to build strong saving habits.

One question we trainers have been hearing a lot is whether it still makes sense to pad your travel fund even if we have no idea when you’ll be wheels up again. Do you really need to put hundreds of dollars aside for travel when we don’t know when it will be safe to hit the road again?

Credit cards are a few things. They’re a means to an end in a tough time, they’re a necessary tool for getting a job done (think renting cars or hotel rooms), and they can even help us travel more for way less when we use points and miles.

As we head into fall, now is a great time to take stock of your home furnishings. Especially if your apartment is now your home office or your nursery doubles as a conference room, your spaces might need a refresher. At The Financial Gym, we always want your money to align with your goals and we know building a home office might not have been part of your original 2020 goals.

Hey Friends! So 2020 has been, well….. 2020, especially for finances! We just had a big bunch of tax changes back in 2018, and from a professional sense we think of the 2020 stuff as just some “tweaks.” With most people having been thrust into a new financial position, however, you may find yourself encountering areas of the tax law you’ve never had to deal with before so we’re recapping some of the most common things we’re talking to our clients about to avoid surprises in 2020!

Since the arrival of COVID-19 in America, our daily habits, routines, and lives have all been upended. As we’re all doing our part to slow the spread, we’re finding ourselves spending more time at home and building new routines. While there are many parts of before life that we’re looking forward to again (like giving big hugs!), the past few months have given us a chance to slow life down and build some new habits.

As the leaves turn from green to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges, and the temperature drops below 80 degrees, you know what time of year it is: apple cider doughnuts, pumpkin picking, long walks, and bonfires. Summer is rapidly coming to an end and although we will miss sunny beach days, we are excited for the cooler weather that’s approaching.

In 2019 I attended a Women in Events conference where I was introduced to the Financial Gym. It seemed like perfect timing since I had been considering seeking help for my finances but always imagined I’d have to sit in a small office with a stuffy old man and piles of paper to do so. The Financial Gym was anything but that. Shortly after the conference I set up my introductory call which turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Understanding our personal finances --- how to budget, save, pay off, spend, and invest wisely -- is essential for everyone, including your employees. Financial wellness is a growing concern of employees and the Culture and HR managers that we speak to on a daily basis. We have complied free resources so you can create a free financial wellness week for your employees.

54% of employees say that Financial or money matters/challenges cause them stress according to the PWC Employee Financial Wellness Survey. Studies have shown that if employees are financially unwell, absenteeism and presentee-ism will increase and employee productivity will decrease.

Every 10 years the government is required by the constitution to conduct a census which counts the population. The data collected helps inform federal funding towards daily services, products and community support such as hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads and other resources. The information is also used to decide the number of seats each state has in Congress and your political representation at all levels of government.

You can think of your financial journey to retirement as a road trip. If you start in New York and plan to retire in California, you have two choices: make the trip as direct as possible or allow some stops along the way to make the journey a little more comfortable.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), surveyed families are expecting to spend more money on back to school items this year - particularly technology - to make it through partial or full remote learning. If you have kids at home, here are 5 ways to plan it out and stay on budget:

Joanna Lovering is the Founder and CEO of Copper + Rise, a New York City-based style coaching service dedicated to personal and professional empowerment. A passionate stylist and trained executive coach, Joanna pairs her seasonal sensibilities with leadership development techniques to help clients rise to the next level.