Co-Parenting with Shannon and Bill!
2024 is going to be filled with lots of excitement on my end, personally and professionally, but it will also mark the end of Martinis and your Money in October after 10 years of podcasting. The good news is that the year is just beginning, and I still have 9 months of amazing new content to share with you. Over the next 9 months, I’ll be delivering the best of the best to you. The best of what I’ve learned over the past 9 years of podcasting, the best guests, the best topics, and so much more. Each month will be a new theme and the theme of February is children.
People who already have children know this, but if becoming a parent is a life goal, you have to prepare for the financial challenges of having children. Managing those challenges is hard enough if you and your partner are living together; it becomes even more challenging if you’re divorced. Joining me today is my ex-husband, Bill, to share what the co-parenting journey has looked like for him, and we both talk about the ups and downs of when families transition into a new sort of family unit. And now here’s Bill.
What are we drinking?
Bill - Bubbles
Shannon - Bubbles
Podcast Notes
Welcome Back, Bill!
Martinis and Your Money and The Financial Gym would not exist without Bill. When the show first started, he did all of the editing because there wasn’t a budget to hire someone. When Shannon’s savings ran out, Bill offered his retirement, holding The Gym over until they found the first investor.
The early days of The Gym were uncertain. Shannon had changed jobs multiple times before landing on the idea for The Gym. She saw the idea so clearly and knew this was her calling.
Now, The Gym has worked with over 15,000 clients. There were bumps and mistakes along the way, but also many successes. They had to ensure their personal finances were taken care of, which was stressful at times, but a year and a half in, Bill could see how powerful this work was and the lives being changed.
Shannon and Bill are children of divorce, and they did not have a great experience. They wanted to do divorce differently. Bill and Shannon have done a great job at co-parenting, but that doesn’t mean it has always been easy. Right from the beginning, they decided to be 100% committed to being amazing parents for Will. Will was always the North Star.
The hardest part of co-parenting was the transition period from one family unit to a different family unit. After the first year, things become more natural. You have to make an effort to not drag your kid into it.
On Co-Parenting
After working through the transition period, they became friends again. That first year was the hardest for everyone. Every weekend, they both went to all of his games and made sure to stand together. Standing next to each other. It got more seamless as time went on.
Kids are impacted by divorce the most. You have to be willing to set aside any personal issues for the sake of your kids. They love both parents and don’t want to hear you talk badly about the other parent. They didn’t ask for a divorce.
When Shannon and Bill started dating other people, they were very protective of Will. They didn’t want to introduce him to any new partners until they knew they would be in their lives permanently.
Will did not like when Bill and Shannon’s partners were involved, but now that he has his own girlfriend, he’s become more understanding.
Always be respectful and talk with your kids. They’re going through a lot, experiencing the same hormones we do, but for the very first time. Your kids may be acting like jerks, but they are not coming from a bad place and will grow out of it.
There can be beauty in a crappy situation. For Shannon and Bill, the first year was the most challenging, but they’ve always been a united front when it comes to Will. Collaborative co-parenting is a lot of work, but it is worth doing.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is that it takes a village to raise children and even though your family’s village looks different than how it started, if you keep the kids as your north star, your new village can be just as beautiful as the original one.
Random Three Questions
What is your first goal as an empty nester?
What will you miss most when Will goes to college?
If this was your last meal on earth, what would it be?
Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
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 Page, and let me know what you want to hear.
In addition to hosting this show, I’m the founder and CEO of The Financial Gym. We are celebrating 10 years of this journey, and now, more than ever, I see the importance of the work we do every day. Rising inflation, the return of student loan debt, high interest rates on mortgages, and volatile stock markets make it a time when you need a best financial friend to help you make the best choices.
At Financial Gym, you get paired with a Certified Financial Trainer, who we call your BFF. Our team has coached clients through every financial season, whether they were living paycheck to paycheck or headed into Financial Independence and retirement. As a reminder, we work with individuals, couples or business owners.
And the exciting news of 2024 is that Financial Gym now has a sister company, FG Advisory Services that’s available for people who are looking for more traditional financial advisory services like asset management delivered by a team that looks and behaves nothing like a traditional financial advisory services company.
We literally have a solution for you no matter where you’re starting from. So what are you waiting for? Head over to financialgym.com to get started today. Our warm-up calls are free of cost and judgment.