Hello FinGym Friends and Family,
Quite a bit has happened in the last week, and I felt compelled to share a few thoughts. Last week’s election made it clear what was most important to many voters—financial health. There were other issues of importance to voters; however, it’s clear that the lasting effects of inflation from 2022 are front and center for many Americans.
Inflation has slowed since its peak in June 2022, but consumer credit card debt rose from $.89 trillion in 2022 to $1.14 trillion in 2024 as people tackled inflationary prices by putting more expenses on credit cards. In addition, many people also needed to buy and finance cars in the last two years at high interest rates, which led to auto loans growing from $1.5 trillion in 2022 to $1.63 trillion now. When you compound all of that with higher mortgage rates, the return of student loan debt and stagnant wages for many lower-income earners, you have a perfect storm of financial issues.
All of this is to say, American consumers are struggling and they took their struggles to the polls. No one understands the consumer struggle more than me and my team here at Financial Gym. For over 11 years now, we have helped our clients navigate inflation, changing interest rate environments, 14.8% unemployment, volatile investment markets and so much more. We know the challenges our clients have faced, and the clients who are capable of weathering all of these financial storms are the ones who are focused on their financial health.
Financial health, now more than ever, needs to be a priority for all Americans.
Seventy-five percent of Financial Gym clients come from a diverse group, whether they’re women, Black, Latino, Asian, or LGBTQIA+, and we witness the systemic challenges facing our clients in addition to the global financial challenges facing all Americans. I spent most of last week working with clients who are concerned about how this shift in political power is going to hinder their financial health even more, and my message to them is going to be my message to everyone reading this—the only secret to weathering the changes in government policy is financial health.
Financial health is the gift of freedom you can give yourself. Freedom from stressing over loss of health insurance or higher student loan payments. Freedom to move to other states or countries to feel more safe. Freedom to provide for your family and not have to rely on government assistance that may not be there in the future. At the end of the day, our clients who are financially healthy are not nearly as stressed about their futures right now because they have the freedom to make choices and the funds to pay for those choices.
Many of our clients are concerned about what the implementation of Project 2025 will look like for their bottom lines, and the truth is, no one knows. We’ll start to get more details about this, and as a team, we will be keeping our clients informed about changes in policy and the impacts on their finances; however, it will take months, if not years, until we will truly see some of these policies trickle down and start impacting people financially. So my message to everyone reading this is to start fighting for your financial health now.
If you are one of those people feeling existential dread about what your future is going to look like, channel that energy into changing your financial picture because your financial health will lead to better mental health over time. We see it every single day here at Financial Gym. Once clients start getting the pieces of their financial puzzle together, they experience significantly less stress. They know when a financial storm hits (and they always do), they will be prepared for it.
For 11 years now, we have been getting clients of all financial shapes and backgrounds financially healthy, but it’s not an overnight process. Most of our clients will take a year or more to start seeing significant results, but with focus and energy, we’ve seen even the most dire of financial circumstances turn around. I believe in our ability to change our financial futures. It’s why I’ve dedicated over a decade of my life to this pursuit.
On Friday, I was back on the TODAY Show to talk about financial honesty and give people some tips to help them not only get financially honest with themselves and their partners but also how they can change their current financial state. I’m including a link to this video below if you’re ready to start your financial health journey right now.
