Getting Naked with the Cash Sisters
At the Financial Gym, we call the first meeting you have with a trainer the “financially naked session.” In this meeting, you share everything about yourself financially so the trainer knows where you’re starting and so that he or she can make the plan for how you can get where you want to go. Above all other meetings, this one scares clients the most because they are afraid or ashamed of their financial situation.A few months back on this podcast, I shared my financially naked session so this group could start dropping any fear or shame they had around their money. Well, podcast listener and Facebook Group member Dylan suggested I share more naked sessions on the podcast because mine really helped her open up about money with her friends. This is now officially part of the show. I’ve done two naked sessions with employees of the Gym and this is our first non-Gym employee naked session, and it’s actually a two-fer. You’re getting two naked sessions in one, as our clients, Caet and Samantha Cash, share their details with you. I hope you enjoy.
What are we drinking?
Samantha — Pabst Blue Ribbon
Caet — Black Box Chardonnay
Shannon — Bota Box Malbec
Podcast Notes
Samantha had recently switched to a civil engineering position in upstate New York, when she started listening to this podcast. She was making more money and needed help figuring out what to do with it, so she joined the Gym. She found this podcast through Listen Money Matters, about two years ago.
Samantha’s trainer is Joy and she is a saver.
Samantha’s life goal was to hike the Appalachian trail, like her sister Caet. She didn’t have a timeframe on it until Joy wrote it in her plan.
Samantha took six months off work and started the hike on April 26. The trail is 2,089.9 miles. She was the recipient of Gym Magic funds, because she was raising money for Casting for Recovery, which is a charity that sends women with breast cancer, or recovering from breast cancer, on free fly fishing retreats. Samantha visited the Gym after she finished the trail and met Shannon and the other trainers in person.
Caet lives in Asheville, NC, and she is a spender. She joined the Gym after her sister and her trainer is also Joy. Caet is a wilderness guide and she works for a small, women-owned hiking company.
Samantha bought Caet a gift certificate for the Gym, but Caet hesitated on joining. She was having difficulty getting her finances in order after she hiked the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, which was 2,650 miles. Their mother is an avid walker from NYC, and their father is a woodsman.
All of Caet’s hikes are solo, except she and Samantha did the last 277 miles of the Appalachian Trail together.
They are both avid podcast listeners and they did not share their numbers with each other prior to this show.
Samantha wasn’t nervous for her first financially naked session, but Caet was terrified and cried afterwards. Sam was told to spend money and Caet was told she needed to make more money.
Questions from the financially naked discovery questions for Samantha:
Employer: A small engineering firm
Current Salary: $60,000
Monthly Take-Home Pay: $3,500
Birthday: 6/15/88
Emergency, High-Interest Savings Account: $10,700
Checking Accounts: $4,000
Betterment (House Goal): $14,000
Betterment IRA: $2,900
401k: $8,000
AT&T Stock (gift): $1,500
Government Saving Bonds: $1,000
Student Loan Debt: $10,000
Mortgage: N/A
Bank of America Travel Rewards: $0
Citi Double Cash: $0
Credit Score: $760
Own or Rent: Renting a room in a house
Monthly Rent: $600
Renter’s Insurance: No
Life Insurance: No
Disability Insurance: Yes, through her job
Will or Trust: No
Children: No
Average Monthly Expenses: $1,200
Current Monthly Saving: $2,300; Her savings rate is 46%
1-3 Year Goals: Write a book with her sister about their trail experiences; a new car; a canoe
3-5 Year Goals: Purchase a house in the Catskills
What is important to you (sacred cows)? Family, experiences, travel
Questions from the financially naked discovery questions for Caet:
Employer: Blue Ridge Hiking Company
Birthday: 3/2/90
Current Salary: $25,000
Freelance Writing: $3,000 per year
Monthly Take-Home Pay: $2,000 - $2,500
Checking Accounts: $6,500
Emergency Fund: $4,500
Investment Accounts: No
Retirement Savings: No
Student Loan Debt: $36,000
Mortgage: N/A
Personal Loan: $4,000
Credit Score Now: 655
Credit Score in January: 595
Own or Rent: Lives in a van in the Appalachian mountains
Current Monthly Rent: N/A
Renter’s Insurance: N/A
Life Insurance: No
Long-Term Disability: No
Disability Insurance: No
Will or Trust: Yes, a will
Children: No
Average Monthly Expenses: $1,000
1-3 Year Goals: Write a book with her sister; build a website around the book; grow the company she works for, so she can make more money
3-5 Year Goals: Hike the North Country Trail; build a yurt in the woods
What is important to you (sacred cows)? Family, personal and professional success, making a difference as a woman who is in the outdoor industry
TAKEAWAY: My biggest takeaway is the importance of living a life, and setting goals, that are true to you. You don’t need to make six figures and live in a big home to find happiness. Connect with what truly makes you happy and the money will figure itself out.
Random Three Questions
Do you have any trails you want to hike outside of the US?
What shows do you like to binge watch? What is your entertainment in the van?
If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
If you’d like to get financially naked with my team and drop any fear or shame you have around your money, I hope you’ll reach out to us at the Financial Gym. My trainers have literally seen it all so nothing will surprise them. We don’t care how you got here, we just care about getting you where you want to go. Head to financialgym.com to sign up for a free warm up call to find out more.