Getting Naked with Natalie
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 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 and it led to a request for more. Now this is a regular series on this podcast. I’ve had Financial Gym trainers get naked, sisters get naked, single clients both male and female get naked, and this is my first married couple to get naked. Not only are they married with children, they also run a farm. I just love the diversity of Financial Gym clients.
What Are We Drinking?
Natalie — Pear Thyme Kombucha
Shannon — Matcha Latte
Podcast Notes
Natalie is a professor of environmental studies and she focuses on water quality - mostly water quality impairment from mining, oil, and gas. She lives in an area that has a lot of legacy coal mining.
Natalie moved to a university in Ohio to be a professor, and her family is nearby. She relocated there from northern England, where she and her husband both earned their PhDs.
Over the course of a few years of living there, she and her husband were renting a house from her dad. Her dad didn’t want to live on a farm anymore, so she and her husband switched houses with him. They now have dairy goats, chickens, and chickens for meat. They have two greenhouses, an orchard, a bunch of gardens, and woods.
Natalie grew up on this farm, but they didn’t have livestock when she was young.
After earning her PhD and working a few years, she was offered a position at a university in Ohio. Her husband is originally from northern England and they met playing ultimate frisbee at the university in England.
When they moved back to Ohio, they wanted to have chickens and it unfolded from there.
For about six or seven years, Natalie’s husband worked full time at the university. Now he works part time at the university and has taken on more of the farm work.
Natalie does a lot with the plants and her husband mostly takes care of the livestock.
The farm is more on the homestead/sustainability side. Her husband is moving into trying to make money from the farm.
When Natalie and her husband relocated back to the States, they didn’t have any credit.
They now have two kids: Wilder is four, and Wolf is one. It changed their financial picture having the farm and two kids and planning for the future. Also, her husband’s contract went from full time to part time, and that changed their financial picture.
Questions from the financially naked discovery questions:
Birthday: Natalie - May 10, 1984; Husband - August 6, 1985
Employer: a university in Ohio
Salary: $127,500 (includes $17,000 for a three-year appointment)
Pay Cycle: twice a month
Natalie Net Pay: $3,166.84 bi-monthly
Husband Net Pay: $250 bi-weekly
Husband Net Pay: $200 month (rental management)
Rental Home Net Income: $540 month
Checking account: $5,685
Rental savings account: $5,000
Emergency fund: $4,500
Travel account: $4,800
Farm down payment fund: $475
Appliance repair fund: $420
Car down payment/repair fund: $200
Ally savings account: $500
Ohio State Teachers Retirement: 14% (defined benefit)
Husband Roth IRA: $8,200; monthly contributions
Natalie’s Roth IRA: $1,400; monthly contributions
Husband Roth IRA: $17,000
Natalie’s IRA: $85,000
Wilder’s 529: $23,000
Wolf’s 529: $4,000
Rental house #1: $53,108 mortgage; value $111,000
Rental house #2: $76,000 mortgage; value $114,000
Husband’s Car: Honda Insight (paid off)
Natalie’s Car: $6,800 loan; 1.49% interest
Student Loan: None
Credit Card: Netflix fee only; paid automatically each month
Barclay Credit Card: $2,500 - $4,000, paid off every month
Natalie’s Credit Score: 776
Husband’s Credit Score: 725
Rent: Sweat equity
Renter’s Insurance: Yes on the farm and the two rental properties
Disability Insurance: Short-term and long-term on Natalie through work
Life Insurance: through Natalies work; looking into it for her husband
Will/Trust: Yes, reviewed within the last three years
Children: Wilder (4), Wolf (1)
Daycare: $1,500 month
Average Monthly Expenses: $5,000
Goals 1-3 years: Visit family in England annually, continue investing in the farm and in the rentals, moving to the new school for Wilder, consider having a third child
Goals long-term: College saving and retirement, possibly more rentals
What’s important to you (sacred cows): family, both staying in physical touch with family far away and supporting and growing her family here; the farm; good, healthy food
Takeaway:My biggest takeaway is to try and have as much transparency with your finances where your family is concerned. We always say it’s tough getting financially naked, and it is even tougher talking money with family. If you’re financial life is going to be impacted by the people you are related to, then you want to have those conversations sooner than later.
Random Three Questions
What do you feel your farm is missing?
If this was your last night on earth, what would your last meal be?
If a movie was made about your life, what genre would it be and who would play you?
If you’d like to get financially naked with my team, and drop any fear or shame you have around money, I hope you’ll reach out to us at the Financial Gym. My trainers have literally seen it all, so nothing will surprise us. We don’t care how you got here, we just care about getting you where you want to go.
As many of you know, we increased our rates in 2019 for new clients, but I have instituted a 15% discount for Martinis and Your Money listeners going forward, so the new rates will not impact you. If you’re ready to manifest your dreams, like Natalie and her family, in 2019, head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com to get signed up today.