Finances of Divorce with Gina Funaro
Finances of Divorce with Gina Funaro
On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Gina Funaro, Brooklyn based Certified Financial Trainer, and she is going to discuss the finances of divorce.
Podcast Notes
Gina started with The Gym two years ago as a client with her now ex-husband. They were managing their student loan debt, credit card debt from the wedding, and also making two salaries which they weren’t used to.
They wanted to find better ways to manage their money as newlyweds and they were paired with Joy. A year into her membership, March 2020, Gina went through a divorce. Joy helped her handle her finances before, during, and after her divorce.
When you come in as a couple, you record all of your numbers together, including income, expenses, and debt. At the time, they each had their own credit card and a joint credit card, and they made sure they were allocating money to pay both joint and individual debts. They were never taught how to do this before, and the plan helped.
They streamlined their checking and savings account. They opened a joint, high-yield savings account through Marcus for their emergency fund and they were trying to save up three to six months of expenses.
Joy gave them a variable spend goal, which was the money they should be paying toward their bills, savings, and debt, and anything left over was their spending. They each had $200 a week to spend on what they needed like groceries and dog food. Gina felt empowered to have that weekly spend goal, because she didn’t have that before.
They stuck to the plan as best as they could. Your plan is a living, breathing document and things will change. As they were working through their plan, her husband decided to leave his full-time job, and Gina picked up a second job to supplement their income. Joy was there and she adjusted their spending goals. Every time there was a quarterly review, Joy gave them feedback on how they were doing.
When they decided to get a divorce, they needed to figure out how to separate their money. Gina was working two jobs, one of which was as a college admissions counselor and the other as a sales specialist with Peloton part time.
While going through the divorce, Gina quit her full-time job, because she was living near the school and she had to move out of her apartment and back in with her parents.
Gina’s expenses changed, her income changed, and her whole life situation changed. Her part-time job with Peloton was four days a week, hourly plus commission. Some months were good and others weren’t. Joy was with her every step of the way, which was the most beneficial part of her Gym membership.
Since she has been working with Joy, and working at The Gym since January, her finances have never been better. She and her ex struggled to save an emergency fund, and now she has a fully funded account. Gina was recently approved for an apartment in Long Beach, New York, after a year of living at home with her parents.
If you are working with a trainer as a client, it will take time to get there, but if you keep your head down and work toward it, you will get there.
Instagram: @yourbffgina