How Automating Helped Claire Double Her Savings in 3 Months
On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Jenny, Financial Trainer. She is joined by Claire, who is a client at The Gym.
This podcast was recorded in April 2020 - before restaurants reopened for outdoor seating in New York and before Florida had one of the highest confirmed case counts of coronavirus.
Podcast Notes
Claire was originally on this podcast in February, for her three-month review. Click here to listen to the episode.
Since February, Claire has doubled her savings, which is another $6,000, and all of her credit card debt is paid off. One thing that helped was automating her savings and credit card payments.
Claire’s spending has been pretty much the same since February, except spending on charity and takeout increased. Claire feels it is necessary to help others and local businesses because she still has a job.
Before you help anyone else, work it into your weekly budget. Make sure you take care of your expenses before helping others.
Jenny and Claire both enjoy listening to Crime Junkie.
Claire’s goals haven’t really changed, since the beginning of the pandemic. However, her move is coming up faster, so more money is allocated for that. After she moves, she will reroute the funds back to saving for a new laptop.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Claire has been doing a lot of coloring and she has also been cooking with what she has in the pantry. She has been watching Nailed It, because it is lighthearted and fun.
At the beginning of the year, Jenny gave Claire a spreadsheet with formulas. She now uses it daily to track her spending.
Her new, good money skills are rubbing off on her boyfriend. Claire recommended that he open a high-yield savings account since he had a lot of money in his savings account. He has been very receptive to having conversations about money. Since joining The Gym, Claire feels more comfortable talking about money with friends.
After the quarantine is over, the first thing Claire and her roommate want to do is go to a drag brunch. Her big-ticket item will be buying tickets to see the Browns play the Giants and to see the Browns play the Jets when they come to New York.
For the next quarter, she wants her boyfriend to sign up for automatic savings with Qapital. She is talking to him about signing up with The Gym.