Martinis and Your Money Podcast

Memory Lane: Episode 400 with Melanie

7 years ago, I attended a financial bloggers conference and it was while I was at this conference that I was dared by friends of mine to start a podcast of my own. At this point, I had only been a guest on one podcast, Stacking Benjamins, to talk about my book, Train Your Way to Financial Fitness, and other than listening to myself on that show, I had never even listened to another podcast. At the time, I had no idea what I would talk about on a show, but I knew I liked to drink and I knew I loved talking about money, and a few months later, Martinis and Your Money the podcast debuted. And today’s episode represents my 400th episode.  What started as a dare, has turned into a 7-year and 400 episode adventure that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. To take this trip down memory lane with me, I invited my good friend, and the person who’s appeared on the podcast the most, after me, Melanie Lockert, from the Mental Health and Wealth show and previously from Dear Debt. I had such a great time sharing some of my favorite memories of these first 400 episodes and I hope you enjoy hearing them as well. And now here’s my dear friend Melanie.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode400

To Roth or Not with Michael Kitces

I have been working as a financial planner for over 10 years now and while my clients are all unique with different life goals, a common question that comes up repeatedly is how to best save for retirement, specifically, should you utilize a traditional IRA or 401k plan, otherwise known and the pre-tax options or utilize a Roth IRA or Roth 401k plan or the post-tax options. This question has become increasingly important given that the Roth options have appeared in recent legislative bills, so I thought I would bring on the show a good friend of mine and an expert in helping plan for retirement, Michael Kitces. Michael is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd of Kitces.com, which teaches and trains financial advisors, he’s Head of Planning Strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, which provides wealth management to retirees. And Co-Founder of XY Planning Network, a network of 1,500+ fee-only financial planners who provide advice to consumers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Michael joins me today to help answer the question, to Roth or not to Roth.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode399

Legacy Binders with Chelsea of Smart Money Mamas

For over 10 years now, I’ve been helping people plan for the life they want to live and frequently, part of my job involves planning for the life events that we hope never happen. It’s a very difficult but essential part of the planning process and at Financial Gym, we’re always looking for the best tools and resources to help our clients with this. Joining me on the show today is Chelsea, founder of Smart Money Mamas to talk about why she left a successful six-figure career at a hedge fund to help people develop a better relationship with money and to talk about how she created the Family Emergency Binder which is a resource at the Gym we love.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode398

Case Impact Network with Jean Case

No matter what financial state you start in with us at The Financial Gym, at some point, we like to see all of our clients graduate to investing. To give a Gym analogy to investing, I like to think of investing as taking your money off the sofa and putting it on the treadmill to make it work harder for you. I always say that we work hard for every dollar that we make and when we invest our money, we’re asking our money to work hard for us in return. A common theme that we see with a number of our clients is a desire to invest in companies that are socially impactful, whether it’s the way they manage employees to the way they navigate the environment, there’s a number of ways that companies can be considered impact companies; however, it’s often hard to truly decipher the right companies and the best ways to invest in them.  So joining me today is Jean Case, CEO of Case Impact Network to share with us why she thinks impact investing makes sense, how you can participate and what her company is doing to make it easier for us to get involved with impact investing. For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode397

GRATITUDE WITH THE HAPPY HOUR LADIES

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! 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. For the month of November on the podcast, we’ve been talking about something we call Gym Magic at Financial Gym. Gym Magic happens when a client experiences a positive financial health result after joining the Gym and focusing on their finances. Helping clients find Gym Magic is probably one of the biggest reasons why I’ve committed everything I own to building Financial Gym. I love hearing success stories, especially with all of the crazy stories going on in the world right now, I thought we could all use a month of hearing about Magic and it continues to Happy Hour. The ladies share some of their stories of finding financial success and the surprising ways in which they found it. For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode396

Trainers Witnessing Gym Magic

At the Financial Gym, when a client experiences a positive financial health result after joining the Gym and focusing on their finances, we call it “Gym Magic.” Gym Magic and helping our clients find it and believe in it is so important to us that it’s a core value of the Gym. For over eight years now, I’ve witnessed the magic firsthand and every single one of my teammates has seen it as well. And I’m so excited to share with you that for the month of November, we’re going to share some of that Magic with you. This month I’m talking to clients and teammates who have truly experienced and witnessed results that are nothing short of magic and their stories and journeys are just what we need for this crazy time in life.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode395

Gym Magic with Jill

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! At the Financial Gym, when a client experiences a positive financial health result after joining the Gym and focusing on their finances, we call it “Gym Magic.” Gym Magic and helping our clients find it and believe in it is so important to us that it’s a core value of the Gym. For over eight years now, I’ve witnessed the magic firsthand and every single one of my teammates has seen it as well. And I’m so excited to share with you that for the month of November, we’re going to share some of that Magic with you. This month I’m talking to clients and teammates who have truly experienced and witnessed results that are nothing short of magic and their stories and journeys are just what we need for this crazy time in life. Joining me today is Jill, we’ve changed her name for you because she’s going to share some very sensitive details about her family members and a warning for you that some of the subject matter may be triggering. Jill joins me today to share how not only she, but her sister and her brother found Gym Magic. It’s a family affair and you’re not going to want to miss their journeys.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode394

Gym Magic With Kathy

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! At the Financial Gym, when a client experiences a positive financial health result after joining the Gym like maybe getting a raise or an unexpected bonus, we call it “Gym Magic.” Gym Magic and helping our clients find it and believe in it is so important to us that it’s a core value of the Gym. For over eight years now, I’ve witnessed the magic firsthand and every single one of my teammates has seen it as well. And I’m so excited to share with you that for the month of November, we’re going to share some of that Magic with you. This month I’m talking to clients and teammates who have truly experienced and witnessed results that are nothing short of magic and their stories and journeys are just what we need for this crazy time in life. Kicking off the month with me today is Kathy. Kathy started as a client who literally left dozens of negative comments about the Gym after a horrible first impression on our part. Thankfully, we worked through the challenges and you’ll hear how far she’s come in almost two years. For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode393

Being Business Owners with the Happy Hour Ladies

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! 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. For most of this month on the podcast, we’ve been talking to business owners or talking about business ownership and determining if it’s the right path for you. The Happy Hour ladies join me today to discuss their journeys into entrepreneurship or in the case of Joy, her journey into entrepreneurship through the lens of her clients. We discuss lessons learned, the pros and cons and some things to think through before making the leap.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode392

Getting Financially Naked with Megan

Hello Martinis and Your Money Listeners! 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 hot seat today is Megan. She’s been a long time podcast listener who felt like she hadn’t heard her particular financial situation, which is one filled with the challenges of two working parents who’ve struggled to make much in the way of income with two children and one surprise baby on the way. For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/episode391