I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and concluded that everyone has that year: the year of all the weddings. Like all of them. At the same damn time. For me, that meant six destination weddings for six people whose weddings I really, really wanted to attend, all of which required plane tickets and hotels for two people since I was married at the time. For a BFF that same year, there were 13 weddings (although if you ask me she got off easy because most of them were in Long Island, which apparently is a place that natives like to return to to proclaim their love for one another, unlike my New Jersey homeland).

Imagine that you are on track with your budget for the month and feeling amazing about it — as you should be! But then you go for your $200 quarterly hair appointment or your $500 annual credit card fee hits, and suddenly, your budget is busted.

These types of expenses feel like surprises, but they aren’t — they are regular, predictable expenses that should be part of your budget. The problem is that we are so focused on monthly budgets that we don’t plan for expenses that occur annually, quarterly, or every few months.

My 5-year-old son saved up enough money for a Nintendo Switch this year. Weirdly enough, my first money memory is also of saving up enough money to buy a Nintendo system (a purple Gameboy at the time) with my own money. I saw the opportunity to give him his first money memory and I ran with it. So how did I talk him through saving up for it? He had received a gift card for Christmas and wanted to go spend it immediately. We walked through each aisle about 4-5 times. He picked up toys in each aisle, all of which he already had. Each time he picked up something I asked him the following questions.

We’ve all seen the news: the last year of Covid-related upheaval has created quite the housing boom. As many people are able to work from home, many have also decided to relocate, moving out of small apartments or cramped cities to have more space and a place to call their own. As we tell our clients, buying a home takes a lot of financial preparation. You’ll need to figure out how much you can afford to pay for your mortgage each month and create savings accounts for your downpayment and a contingency fund.

If you read, this Financial Gym article, then you already know why you should apply for a job you aren’t qualified for, in the eyes of a recruiter. Recruiters and hiring teams look for stand-out cover letters, unique answers to interview questions and interchangeable skills. These are all traits that are not specific to one field or dependent on your background. Meaning the hiring team thinks you can, and should, still apply for the job you aren’t technically qualified for on paper.

Let’s set the context: you have already gone through the homebuying process once, and you probably learned a lot from that experience as a buyer. Now, you’re ready to buy a second home. But here is the kicker: you have to sell the home you’re currently living in to afford the home you want to buy. You may be wondering, can I do that at the same time? The answer is yes and it’s pretty straightforward (in theory) with complexity in the process (in practice). To start, you need to make sure everyone is on the same page.

This month, we’re bringing you bite-sized servings of financial literacy. Each week, we’ll introduce you to a core concept and map out a fun and easy daily action item. This is our third week in the series.

Debt. Most of us have it in some form — credit cards, student loans, a car loan, a mortgage, an outstanding medical bill. Having debt is not a moral failing, but we can get so wrapped up in our feelings about having debt and how we got it that we get in our own way.

Many homeowners have taken advantage of historically low interest rates over the past few years to refinance their mortgages. If you aren’t among them, the talk of rising interest rates might be prompting you to consider whether you should refinance now. Refinancing your mortgage can have major benefits such as lowering your monthly payment and reducing the amount of interest you pay in the long run. However, refinancing to a lower rate isn’t always the best financial decision.

This month, we’re bringing you bite-sized servings of financial literacy. Each week, we’ll introduce you to a core concept and map out a fun and easy daily action item. This is our second week in the series.

Our topic for this week is saving! Saving might sound boring, but it is actually a secret superpower. Almost all financial goals involve saving, so mastering this skill will get you far. Saving is the act of setting aside any money that you earned and didn’t spend in a given month — ideally in a separate high yield savings account.

Inflation is here and we are feeling it — at the grocery store, the car dealership, the gas pump, and in our housing costs. It is frustrating to shell out more cash for the same products, but there are a few actions you can take to ensure that you are keeping your finances on track when it feels like prices are out of control.

Inflation is a broad increase in the prices of goods and services across the economy that results in reduced purchasing power. In other words, you pay more money for the same groceries, cars, and haircuts.

There are many reasons home buyers opt to work with a mortgage broker. A broker acts as an intermediary between you and the lender, helping you navigate loan documents, get the best mortgage, and quickly close on your new home. Some homeowners, however, will choose to do their own loan research and work directly with the lender's loan officer. Either option requires some thoughtful research. Your mortgage broker or lender will be in charge of one of the biggest purchases of your adult life.

Happy Financial Literacy Month! At the Financial Gym, one of our core values is “gymsplaining.” We take seemingly complicated financial topics and break them down in a way that people without a finance degree can understand. Because most people don’t get a financial education at school or from their families, many clients come to us with the goal of increasing their financial literacy. But what is financial literacy and why is it important? At its core, financial literacy is the ability to understand the impact of your financial decisions.

By this point, most people are well aware that gender can have an impact on their financial situation. As women, we face the wage gap, the investing gap, the pink tax, the mommy tax, etc. But many people are less familiar with the financial barriers that transgender and non-binary people experience.

The past few years have been particularly challenging for trans people and the folks who love them.

With the massive movement towards remote work, a lot of us have questions about what this means for our 2021 taxes. Are there deductions you can take advantage of? What if you use your cell phone for work? Can you deduct for a home office? The answer to these questions is more complicated than you might think, and more often than not the answer is no. Here we clarify some myths about tax deductions for those of who have been working remotely for most of this year. While it seems intuitive to take home office deductions, in reality few W2 employees can take these deductions.

A developmental disability is a type of condition that affects a person’s physical, language, behavioral, or learning abilities. According to the CDC, roughly 17% of children ages 3 through 17 have a developmental disability. Examples of developmental disabilities include autism, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities. People with developmental disabilities face a lot of the same challenges as any of us do with our finances. However, there are specific challenges that need to be understood so that we can find pathways to financial health and empowerment.

Here you are, ready to embark on an American tradition: purchasing your first home. It’s an often-sought-out goal, one that is implanted in our minds early on. All that aside, how do you actually go about it? It seems daunting; there are all of these expenses, ratios, and procedures you need to follow before you can even consider purchasing a home, so where do you start?

For many people, coming up with the cash for a down payment and closings costs is the biggest hurdle to homebuying.

As I sit down to write this note to you, I’m reflecting on all of the messages I’ve sent before — especially over the last two years. I’m thinking about how many challenging stories I’ve shared with you, how much our business and team have evolved, and up until three months ago, I never thought I would have to write this message. Unfortunately, the pandemic has forced another change, the loss of our physical Gym locations.

One of the most common goals our clients have is to buy a home. Some are looking to expand their space because they have a growing family. Others are relocating from cities to places where they can enjoy a little more space. Some want to house hack and create a source of relatively passive income. But one of the reasons we hear most often is that they are tired of throwing money away on rent.

This month at the TFG, we are focusing on homeownership. In honor of International Women’s Day, we want to highlight the strides women have made in homeownership and the challenges they still face.

Over the past 30 years, women have made substantial gains in homeownership, but challenges for women in homeownership remain. Particularly for single women, single mothers, and BIPOC women.

This is a continuation of Breaking the Debt Cycle (Part 1) from last week.

Getting out of debt often feels like an uphill battle. One month, you receive a bonus at work that helps you pay down your balances, and then next, you have a big car repair that brings them back up. One step forward, one step back. This is what we call the “debt cycle.” While getting out of the debt cycle is challenging, identifying and committing to a few strategies can help ease the process.