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. 

I have been a financial planner for over 10 years now, and if there is one important message I can communicate about financial planning for your life is that the unexpected is guaranteed. No matter how much we can plan and plot out life, we are bound to be confronted with the unexpected and frequently when we are, it’s at a surprisingly large expense to our finances. We’ve all had a front row seat to the unexpected during the pandemic, but I’ve witnessed anything from a lost job, to a surprise baby, to a house fire and everything in between. Joining me today are my friends to share how they plan for the unexpected and share some best practices for you to implement on your own. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode426

At the Financial Gym, one of the most important questions we ask clients during their financially naked meeting is “What’s Important to You?” In other words, what are your non-negotiables. What are the areas of your budget that you would protect over all others? Because other than 1% of the population, 99% of us have to make choices when getting financially healthy. We can’t have everything we want, but we can certainly get everything we need. Of the thousands of clients we work with, the large majority will say that travel is their primary non-negotiable, but a very close second for people are fur babies. Especially since the pandemic, we have seen a rise in fur babies in our client’s homes and while they bring us so much joy in life, they also come with their fair share of expenses. 

So joining me today is Financial Gym client, Anne to share her story about fur baby costs. How she manages them and the pros and cons of pet insurance that she invests in to help her offset those costs.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode425

You’ve heard me mention it during podcast commercials and in the Facebook group, but in 2022, Financial Gym, for the first time ever, launched a Financial Trainer Certification program. Before January 2022, the only way for you to earn a Financial Trainer Certification was to be a full-time employee of Financial Gym. In 2021, when we were looking at how we could reach our goal of getting to 1 million Gym clients sooner than later, we realized one of the solutions was to have more trainers out there doing the important work that we do. So we launched the program in January and the interest in it is exploding. To answer many questions people have about the process, the costs and the results, I’m talking to three CFT Certification graduates about their experiences. Joining me today are Gyasi, Annette and Melissa to share why they invested in the program, what it was like and their experience throughout the entire process. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode423