Financially Naked with Fran
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 Fran, who is a podcast listener and Financial Gym client who has just learned many important lessons where salary negotiation is concerned and why it’s important to share your financial journey with your significant other.
What are we drinking?
Fran - Iced Americano with two shots of espresso
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Fran has taken the Great Resignation to the next level! She has switched jobs twice in 2021 and is here to tell the story. She was looking to leave her original job in late 2019, but in early 2020, everyone stopped hiring.
Around summer time 2020, companies started hiring again. Since she was already looking for new work earlier that year, she decided to start searching again. She hopped on LinkedIn and started talking with recruiters, but it ultimately didn’t lead anywhere.
In late November, she received two offers and accepted one of those. She started that job in February 2021 but the reality was not the pretty picture painted during the interview process. She only stayed there for 10 months.
In the past, people have recommended against leaving a job 10 months in because of the way it looks on the resume, but with the Great Resignation, it’s less important to folks hiring.
This job was 100% virtual, which presents unique challenges, and the work she was doing was quite challenging. There wasn’t a clear chain of people to ping with questions. With virtual teams, the connections can feel forced and it can be hard to know who to look for to ask on a coffee date and navigate the system with.
It can be hard to build trusting relationships with people when you only know them virtually. Running a virtual company is a huge cultural shift and some companies have transitioned better than others.
After leaving the job where she worked for 10 months, she went back to the original job. There are benefits to quitting, getting some time away, and then returning to an employer.
She had a great track record from her two years working at the company, plus word of mouth from colleagues in the industry. When she returned to her employer, she was able to negotiate a much better package. Without leaving and working that other job, this type of compensation and position would not have been possible.
It’s totally okay to jump around jobs, but it’s important to try to leave on the best terms and keep connections. You never know when your paths will cross with folks again and positive connections are so valuable for finding work and negotiating your salary.
Fran talks about how she used offers from other jobs to negotiate a salary and compensation package she was really happy with, doing the work she wants.
She works as a CPA, but not the kind that does personal taxes. She focuses on corporations, partnerships, and huge businesses. She helps with audit support, focusing on the income tax portion of tax statements.
She went to business school at Wake Forest in 2018, when they had a 100% placement record for their graduates.
Fran is back at the original job in a different role, and it’s going great. When she first started with this company, it was before working with the Gym and her salary was $58k while living in Washington DC.
When she started with The Gym over two years ago, there was $33,000 in credit card debt that her boyfriend did not know about. Her credit card debt started in college and by the time she started her first job, her cash flow could only satisfy the minimum payments. It was difficult to get ahead.
On paper, she makes more money than her boyfriend, and there was some tension in the relationship because he didn’t know the scope of her debt. Having a conversation about it resolved a lot of the frustration in the relationship.
In less than three years, she’s doubled her income. Sometimes you have to leave your job to make more money, and Fran’s story is a perfect example of that.
She recently used some money from her emergency fund to pay down a chunk of her credit card debt.
Shannon tells Fran she’s incredibly proud of all of the work she’s done. Both in the salary negotiation game and in cleaning up her finances. Fran has a clean slate and is now in a time of rebuilding. Some dramatic changes are about to start happening for her. As a Trainer, this is the most exciting part to watch.
Let’s get to the digits:
Birthday: November 29
Job: CPA
Salary: $101k yearly
Take-home pay: $2,786 twice monthly
Assets
Checking 1: $400
Savings 1: $500
Checking 2: $750
Savings 2: $750
Marcus: $1,013
401k: $7,558 - contributes 6% and employer matches 1%
Employer Pension: $7,900
Liabilities
Had $33,000 in debt in March 2021 when she started with The Financial Gym
Apple Card: $350
American Express: $968
Chase Slate: $0
Chase Amazon: $11
Chase Freedom: $0
United Airlines: $0 ($95 annual fee)
Discover: $4,204 (0% balance transfer for $3,500)
PayPal Credit: $0
Auto Loan: $28,000 - $545 per month.
Credit Score:
751 - was 650 when started with her Trainer
Expenses:
Rent: $1,200 per month
Average monthly expenses: $2,700
1-3 Goals:
Buy a house and get married.
What is important:
Hobbies and the ability to be spontaneous
Takeaway:
My biggest takeaway is if a larger salary is something that is a high priority to you right now, you may have to leave your company to find it, and you never know, like me and Fran, you may just end up back at that very company, but with a bigger paycheck coming your way.
Random Three Questions
Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?
What is something you are binging?
If this was your last meal on earth, what would it be?
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me at Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
We have a lot of exciting things happening at Financial Gym in 2022, but the most exciting has to be our Certified Financial Trainer Licensing program. If you are a personal finance nerd with a passion for helping others, this is the course for you. It’s based on my 10 years plus of helping people get financially healthy and led by my amazing team at The Financial Gym. We’re about to start raising the pricing, so if you’ve ever thought about doing something like this don’t waste any more time, head over to financialgym.com and under our services, you’ll find more on the Certification Program.