Financial Gym Client Stories - One Year Later
This time last year I was actively looking for investors for the Financial Gym, and as part of the process a number of people asked us what the experience was like, so I decided to record a happy hour with three financial gym clients to ask them about their experience and their thoughts on the gym. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly encourage you to go back and find it to get more background on these clients. So fast forward to a few months ago when one of them says to me, “You know it’s almost been a year since that show, we should record a check-in show”. I thought it was a great idea, especially since all three are still Financial Gym clients. So, without further ado, here are Jen, Kelly and Maria back to let you know what they’ve been up to the last year and where their finances are now.
What are we drinking?
Jen — Grapefruit infused water
Kelly — Founders All Day IPA Session Ale
Maria — WaterShannon — Pinot Noir, Irony
Podcast Notes
Kelly has been a client at the Gym for about three and a half years. Jen and Maria have been clients for about two years.
Shannon has been coming up on some big milestones with clients that have been three or four years in the making. The small things add up over time and it is important to focus on that.
Where are you now?
Kelly: Last year, Kelly was pregnant with her third child and now the baby is six months old. One of her goals was to sell her condo and buy something bigger. She sold the condo for more than listing price, and last week she moved into her new house. Kelly’s husband has a new job and is making more money. When she started, she had $2,000 in the bank. Now, she has $30,000 in the bank.
Jen: She finally got to visit the Gym and NYC for the first time. Jen finished her second year of her PhD program and is going into her final two semesters. She tripled her income from when she started at the Gym. Jen will be moving to San Francisco in a couple of months and is currently applying for jobs. She is living Ohio and Arizona, in addition to San Francisco. Jen has paid off over $20,000 of debt since joining the Gym and now is focused on investing. She will be debt free in about a year.
Maria: She sold her BMW convertible and feels relief, because she freed up over $500 a month. She now takes public transportation or Uber, and yesterday she rode her bike from Brooklyn to Govenors Island. Maria is 52 and is always working out. She went to Hawaii this year, which was her dream vacation. It wasn’t in the plan, but it was possible because of the plan. Maria always had credit card debt and was not financially naked before joining the Gym. After joining, she paid off her credit card debt and it has not come back. Maria is debt free and now she wants to work on her mortgage. She wants to travel more and spend on experiences.
The Financial Gym is in a growth period and there are special promotions going on.
The cost for a membership begins at $85.00 per month, but on average clients save $2,500 in a quarter. When people put in the work, they get results. It takes most people three to six months to see results to change their habits. By the second quarter review, there is a 75% - 80% success rates, and a high retention rate after that point.
The Gym will be implementing a money-back guarantee soon. Shannon is currently working on the details.
The trainers work with clients as their plans change. When Kelly started, she was saving for a house and now they will talk about the mortgage payment for the house they bought. Maria was paying off debt and saving for early retirement, and now she is prioritizing travel. Jen is now moving and planning for that change.
The hardest part of the trainers’ job is when clients quit within the first three months. It takes time to get your finances in shape! The trainers don’t want you to give up.
Sometimes slip ups happen and the quarterly reviews put you in check. At the review, trainers give a letter grade to assess the client’s performance that quarter.
How do you describe the experience of joining the Gym?
Kelly: It is so nice to have that third person at the table with you, especially when you cannot come to a conclusion on a financial decision. It is nice to have help making these decisions.
Maria: She has never had anyone look at her finances holistically and come up with a plan and point her in the right direction, while taking everything into consideration.
Jen: You can be so vulnerable and have a lot of acceptance. You have another person to bounce ideas off of. You use a personal trainer to get in shape and a counselor to get through school, why wouldn’t you use a financial trainer to get your finances in order. There is so much caring and acceptance from the trainers that makes it special. The mission of the Gym is to make a huge social change.
Shannon and the trainers do not quit on their clients, especially if the client wants to keep going. They work with them and help them be successful.
TAKEAWAY: My biggest takeaway from all of their stories is the power of change and how anything is possible when you put your mind, and sometimes your money, towards making changes happen.
Random Three Questions
Comedy or drama?
Wine or mixed drink?
Beach or mountains?
I can think of no better commercial for the Financial Gym than hearing our clients’ stories. If you’re interested in investing in financial change for your life, now is really the time to do it. We are offering a number of summer promos we’ve never offered before so there’s no excuse not to try us out. Go to financialgym.com today to schedule a free warm up call and find out more about how we work with our clients.