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. Since the beginning of this podcast, which now dates back over 8 years, we always had a set group of people who joined me for Happy Hour. Starting in 2023, we’re going to test out a rotating one or two seats for Happy Hour. This decision has come because of a few reasons, first of all, the monthly commitment required to co-host the happy hour is difficult for people to make when they have other businesses and interests as these seats are voluntary and there is no financial upside for the happy hour guests. Secondly, I’ve heard for years many of you wanting to join a happy hour and share your thoughts and honestly, I’d love to hear them because I have shared drinks with many of you in person and would love to also do it virtually and finally, this is a great way for us to amplify many of the voices in this community and discuss topics that you’re passionate about. 

Joining us for this month’s happy hour is long time listener, Financial Gym client and multi-time guest, Jennifer Dane. She joined initially wanting to talk about the military and LGBTQ+ protections and benefits for its current staff as well as veterans and we did discuss this, but first we addressed the big and surprising life change that happened to Jenn only a few weeks before we were set to record. Jenn has always been brave and honest on this show and she shares more about that today. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode461

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! I don’t usually air replays, except during the summer months; however, we are in the beginning of tax season prep, and I wanted to replay the conversation that I had last year with Tony, the founder of CPA Dude. 

I’ve had multiple tax conversations on this show in the past, and Tony’s has always stood out to me. I think he not only gives great and practical advice, but we have referred a number of FinGym clients to him and we’ve gotten nothing but rave reviews about his work. So I hope you enjoy learning more about taxes and realize that maybe you need to work with someone like Tony, or you’re like me and you just need Turbo Tax and a bottle of wine. Either way, we can’t avoid our taxes, so let’s shoot to get them done as soon as possible this year. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode460

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! Today’s podcast episode was inspired straight out of my own experience of transitioning my 17-year-old son, Will, from a car passenger to a licensed driver. Bill and I have been talking about this in theory for over a year now as Will has been practicing driving and taking classes, etc. but I’m not sure anything really prepares you for it until it hits you straight in the face. 

Over the years, I have witnessed clients' expectations of kid costs to decrease over time, only to realize that some of the early large expenses like nannies or daycare just wash over into camps and sports as they age and then ultimately car insurance and college costs as they continue to age. 

Joining me today is my great friend and work wife for life, Alicia Lazarto, to talk about how to prepare and manage your family’s finances with a teen and also how you can set your teen up for success once they leave the home. 

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode459

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 that 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 2 years ago now on this podcast, I shared my financially naked session and it led to a request for more and now this is a regular series on this podcast. 

Getting in the hotseat today is not one, but two people, Liz and Aron. Liz was a long time Financial Gym client who ultimately brought her boyfriend, fiancé and now husband into the Financial Gym experience. They join me today to not only share their digits but also share what it was like to get financially naked for the first time and how breaking down money topics made their relationship stronger.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode458