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 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. Over year ago 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. 

Getting in the hot seat today is Lindsay. She shares why she left a higher paying job to work for The Gym and how she’s succeeded in saving more while making less. 

For more information, visit the show notes at Https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/getting-financially-naked-with-lindsay-perez

Today is the last Friday of the month and my regular listeners know that on the last Friday of the month, I host the happy hour on the podcast where I gather great friends with me to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics. 

Once a year, I like to take some vacation time from the podcast and replay past episodes while I regroup. 

This year, because I have Emily on my team keeping me on track, I’m ahead of schedule with podcast recordings, but I am giving the Happy Hour Ladies and myself a month off. So today we’re re-airing an episode we recorded about Money Hacks. I’ve been friends with these women for over six years now and I never get tired of the tips and tricks they have to share where personal finance is concerned. So I hope you’ll enjoy this replay of the money hacks episode.      

For more information, visit the show notes at Https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/money-hacks-with-the-happy-hour-ladies-replay

I recorded this episode prior to the pandemic, and I think it’s ironic that people have talked about a potential increase in divorces after the quarantine. I guess releasing this now may be apropos for many people. 

Joining me today are Kelly Frawley and Emily Pollock, partners in the matrimonial and family law department of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres law firm, to discuss the legal matters you should consider before you get into a marriage and after. Specifically, we’re talking about prenups and if it makes sense to have one before you get married. Kelly and Emily share a number of helpful lessons learned in their over 20 years of practicing law that can help you in any stage of your relationship. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/prenuptial-agreements-with-kelly-frawley-and-emily-pollack

Starting a business is not for the weak of heart, but if your gut is telling you to do it, and you just can’t imagine life otherwise, and even though it might not make sense financially and might not make sense on paper, it just might be the right path for you.

My guest today, Malyia McNaughton, founder and CEO of Made by Malyia, is one of those founders. Her story of being one of the only black women in her fashion industry job to one of the only black women designing jewelry is truly inspiring. She joins me today to talk about the seemingly crazy decisions she’s made and how that has led her to an amazing chapter in her founder’s story

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/made-by-malyia-with-malyia-mcnaughton

As an entrepreneur, I’m always fascinated by other entrepreneurs’ journeys, what led them to create a business, and how they handle the twists and turns that the business throws at them. Joining me today is Alex Waldman, co-founder and CEO of the size inclusive fashion brand Universal Standard. She is here to talk about how her company is revolutionizing the way we think about size in fashion, how the pandemic has impacted her business, and where her business is going next. I’ve been watching her company grow from the sidelines and I’m excited to speak to her directly.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/universal-standard-with-alex-waldman

Today is the last Friday of the month and my regular listeners know that on the last Friday of the month, I host happy hour on the podcast where I gather great friends with me to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics.

We are right in the middle of the summer, and summertime is usually a time for vacations. However, we’re also right in the middle of a pandemic, so I’m checking in with my friends to see how the pandemic has impacted their vacation plans and how they’ll vacation when this is all over.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/vacations-during-the-pandemic-with-the-happy-hour-ladies

If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you’re going to be very familiar with my guest today, Melanie Lockert, who is a regular on our monthly happy hour episodes and a long time business bestie of mine.

Over the past six years, Melanie and I have been part of a mini-mastermind group each encouraging and helping the other navigate the crazy world of running a business. Melanie joins me today to talk about her latest business endeavor, Mental Health and Wealth dot com and the Mental Health and Wealth Show. She is literally tackling two of the most taboo subjects out there and doing it in my opinion, amazingly. She joins me today to share more about this important business she is building and why two topics that seem very scary can actually be fun and empowering to dive into.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/mental-health-and-wealth-with-melanie-lockhart

Before I get into the introduction for this show, I want to address some views that have come up since I’ve shared more diverse topics and conversations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Something that has become clear to me in the multitude of conversations I’m having on and offline is that racial sensitivity is not exclusive to the black community, and microaggressions can happen no matter what you look like or how you identify. As these arise, I think it’s really important for us to have honest conversations across the board and to have them from a place of compassion and empathy, with the goal of education and enlightenment. We’re all walking in completely different shoes on different journeys and the more we can share our truth and receive other people’s truths, the better we’ll all be. I won’t always get it right and neither will my guests, but like I tell my team, all we can do is get better every day, and growing in compassion and empathy, I believe, is a way for us to get better every day.  

Now onto one of my favorite podcasts I record every year. Three years ago, when we were actively trying to expand The Gym for the first time, we thought it would be a good idea to record a show about our clients’ experiences with The Financial Gym and how it fits into their lives. We gathered three clients to share their stories, and if you haven’t heard them, links to their shows are below. Every year since we’ve checked in with these same three clients to see where they are in their financial journeys.  

Joining me today for the third time are Kelly, Maria, and Jenn, to share where they are personally and financially and why three years later they still think being a Financial Gym member makes all the sense in the world.  

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/client-happy-hour-three-year-review-with-maria-jen-and-kelly

To say that the last four months have been a challenge for me as an entrepreneur is truly an understatement. The degree of immensity of the problems I’ve had to address and the speed at which I’ve had to address them have left me with a lot of battle wounds. When you’re in the bunker, though, it’s always nice to have other people to inspire and help you see through it and Cate Luzio is one of those founders. 

Cate is founder and CEO of Luminary, a premier collaboration hub in New York City for women and women-identified who are passionate about professional development and expanding their networks. Cate joins me today to talk about what the last four months have looked like for her and how she plans to lead her business to an even stronger place, despite all of the challenges.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/collaboration-with-cate-luzio

I sent out a message from the CEO on June 2, where I promised to utilize my platforms to bring light to, and make positive changes for, the black community, specifically where wealth is concerned. Today, in the first of what will be many future episodes specifically utilizing my platform to amplify black voices, I’m speaking to Ornella and London, two trainers here at the Financial Gym, about the racial wealth gap, some of the challenges they see in the black community as far as narrowing that gap, and how we can work to decrease the gap and make changes for this and future generations.  

For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/black-wealth-with-ornella-and-london