Martinis and Your Money Podcast

April is Financial Literacy month. Today the Happy Hour ladies and I are talking about financial literacy — when we gained it, the reason it’s a problem in our country, and ways we can get more comfortable with it. As always, this was a fun and informative conversation that I hope you enjoy. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/financial-literacy-with-the-happy-hour-ladies  

Shannon shares thoughts, updates and lessons learned over the past year as she approaches her 41st birthday. ____________ If you have any topics you would like for me to cover on this podcast, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@finblonde.com or tweet to me @blonde_finance or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group and let me know what you want to hear. And if you want to work with my team at the Financial Gym to help you achieve your goals, head over to - or send friends to - https://financialgym.com to lock in your low rates today. Until next time, take care!!

I was fortunate and privileged to have my college education funded by my parents and, 23 years ago when I started college, I knew that was a big thing. I remember watching my college roommate go off to work-study and feeling thankful that wasn’t me. Then we graduated, got similar jobs at Bank of America, and shared an apartment, and she had an extra $500 a month in student loan payments that I didn’t have. Fast forward to me starting the Financial Gym and I feel like all we see, day in and day out, are people trying to figure out student loans and live their best lives possible while doing so. I’m thankful to have my friend David Carlson back on the show to chat more about student loans and the book he’s written to help with them, Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of Your Student Loans and Financial Life. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/student-loan-solution-with-david-carlson/ 

I always say that without physical, mental, or financial health, what are we doing this for. I view all three as equally critical to allow us to live our best lives. Even though May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to kick off my discussion in April and speak to a mental health practitioner to answer all of the questions I’ve had around my own mental health, like how do I find the right therapist? How much should I pay? Can I negotiate? and more. Joining me to answer my questions, and hopefully yours, is Jenny Maenpaa, Psychotherapist and Women’s Leadership Coach and Founder of Forward in Heels. Jenny is a long-time friend of the Gym and I love her perspective on all things mental health. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/forward-in-heels-with-jenny-maenpaa/ 

Today we’re talking about what has been a hot topic lately, especially in the personal finance writing space: privilege. At least we started with privilege, and then the conversation progressed to the ups and downs of being a public voice in the very sensitive days we are living in. I hope you enjoy this conversation and, as always, receive it in the positive manner in which we intend to communicate. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/privilege-with-the-happy-hour-ladies 

I always love talking to guests about how we can live a better life. After all, it is part of the slogan on my podcast. Today I am excited to have back on the show Shanah Bell, founder of Adaptive Nourishment and author of the book The Art of Being a PITA, to discuss how her career of working over 50 jobs informed how she can help other people navigate the ins and outs of getting what they want and living the life they want. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/the-art-of-becoming-a-pita-with-shanah-bell 

Getting in the hot seat today is another dude who’s a long time podcast listener and also a long-time financial gym client. I’m excited to have Paul join me today to share his digits and his journey to a financially healthier lifestyle For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/getting-naked-with-paul/

When I last had this guest on the podcast, she was still an anonymous blogger who was just on the verge of making the leap to a public outing and declaring financial independence with her husband. Fast forward over a year and now she has written a book to discuss her experience leading up to financial independence and why she’s not a typical FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) persona. I’m excited to have back on the show, and for the first time publicly, Tanja Hester, author of Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny Pinching Way, founder of Our Next Life Blog, and co-host of The Fairer Cents podcast. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/work-optional-with-tanja-hester/ 

All four of the Happy Hour ladies took the leap to self employment in different ways and for different reasons. Today we share why we made those leaps, the lessons we learned after taking them, and some really important tips we want you to know so you can make the best decisions around self employment. If you have any topics you would like for me to cover on this podcast, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@finblonde.com or tweet to me @blonde_finance or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group and let me know what you want to hear. And if you want to work with my team at the Financial Gym to help you achieve your 2019 goals, you only have a few more days to lock in our 2018 rates as our rates for new clients are going up in 2019. Head over to or send friends to https://financialgym.com to lock in your low rates today. Until next time, take care!! For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/self-employment-with-the-happy-hour-ladies/ 

In a recent search of the top employers represented from Financial Gym clients, I discovered that the number one employer is “Self Employed.” We work with a lot of freelancing, entrepreneurial clients and it’s one of the many things I love about the Gym. Freelancer finances are difficult to understand and plan for and we love helping our clients build businesses in a financially healthy way. I also love all of the ways people can build a business, so today I’m talking to Diana Davis, a Health and Wellness photographer in New York City, about how and why she started her business and how she’s built a successful practice doing the two things she loves most, design and photography. For more information, visit the show notes at http://financially-blonde.com/building-a-freelance-business-with-diana-davis/