The Financial Gym takes a fitness-inspired approach to coaching clients toward their financial goals. Members pay a monthly membership fee to work with a personal financial trainer, known as their “B.F.F.,” who helps them set goals and create a plan for accomplishing them.
Shannon, who also hosts the award-winning business and investing podcast Martinis and Your Money, founded the gym after noticing a gap in the industry while working at Merrill Lynch. She now runs both the physical and online offerings.
Shannon McLay
The Financial Gym takes a fitness-inspired approach to finances, teaching its clients to make smarter money choices that add up over time. Its trainers aren’t certified financial planners (CFPs) and don’t manage client assets, but they help their clients set goals and support them along the way. This model makes the company accessible to people of all backgrounds, Shannon McLay explains.
McLay says she was inspired to start the Financial Gym after leaving a traditional financial services firm. She realized that these companies didn’t have the tools to help the everyday Jack and Jill working to build assets while also managing debt. Her goal is to put the personal back in personal finance. Through her blog, Financially Blonde, her book, Train Your Way to Financial Fitness, and her podcast, Martinis and Your Money, she is committed to making financial fitness fun and attainable for everyone.
The gym is in a second-story suite overlooking a bustling Midtown Manhattan enclave. Inside, staff dress less like financial advisors and more like gym trainers. They’re encouraging clients to come in often – just like going to the gym – to work on their financial fitness. The plan is to get them “in shape” before they are ready for the big day – their retirement.
While McLay’s clients come from a wide range of backgrounds, she believes they all share one common struggle: a lack of money, education, and poor decision-making. Her clients pay a flat monthly fee of $85 to have an on-call financial planner and a customized financial fitness plan suited to their life goals.
In addition to the financial planning process, members receive access to an online community to talk about their finances with others. They also receive regular workouts, including core training, that help them improve their finances. In addition, the company offers a 20-minute warmup call for potential clients to see if the program is right for them. The warmup calls are free and are not incentivized based on how many people sign up.
Founder
Shannon McLay is the founder and CEO of The Financial Gym, a personal financial services company that takes a fitness-inspired approach to helping people get into shape financially. Her mission is to give people the skills they need to reach their goals and to make finance fun and accessible for everyone. She has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Shape’s “Women Changing the World” issue in 2019.
The Financial Gym’s founder Shannon McLay knows that it can be hard for people to talk about money. But she wants to change that, and she thinks her company is the best place to do it. She started the company because she saw how many people were frustrated by the jargon-heavy, intimidating nature of traditional financial advice. She wanted to create a more personalized experience for people, where they could work directly with their financial trainer for a monthly fee.
She says her goal is to make finances feel as natural and friendly as working out at the gym, where you have a personal trainer and a support system to help you reach your goals. She also wants to eliminate the stigma surrounding financial planning and help people understand that it is not something that only rich people can afford.
McLay has been in the financial industry for 17 years and spent 13 at Merrill Lynch. She’s authored the book “Train Your Way to Financial Fitness,” hosts an award-winning podcast called Martinis and Your Money, and writes for many publications, including AOL, US News & World Reports, Budgets Are Sexy, and Frugal Rules.
She has built The Financial Gym to be an inclusive, women-focused, and empowering environment, and she hopes to expand the physical locations beyond New York. She’s also working to offer more educational courses and programs for businesses and an online offering for those who prefer to do their own workouts.
The Financial Gym offers a variety of coaching packages, from an eight-week apprenticeship to a full-on financial transformation. The program is designed to teach clients to become self-sufficient in managing their own money and is a great option for people who don’t have access to a traditional financial advisor.
CEO
The Financial Gym is a personal finance company on a mission to help women become more comfortable with their finances. The business takes a fitness-inspired approach, and members pay a monthly fee to work with a personal financial trainer (B.F.F) who helps them set and reach their financial goals. AlleyWatch recently spoke with founder and CEO Shannon McLay to learn more about the company.
The company offers online and in-person services for individuals, including financial coaching, budgeting workshops, and a list of B.F.F-approved financial products and services, including credit cards, loans, investment accounts, and high-yield savings accounts. The Financial Gym also partners with businesses to provide financial literacy training to their employees.
McLay founded the Financial Gym four years ago after recognizing that many people struggle with the same fundamental financial challenges. She had worked as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, but she was unhappy that she only got to work with clients who were at a certain stage in their financial journey and had a substantial amount of assets.
She founded the Financial Gym to change that. She teaches financial confidence, self-reliance, and empowerment through practical techniques and real-life examples. Her goal is to eliminate the fear and shame that many people feel when it comes to their finances. She has written several books, including “Train Your Way to Financial Fitness,” and she is the host of the popular business and investing podcast Martinis and Your Money.
The information on this page is based on sources that we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their employment status at The Financial Gym and may include estimates based on those submissions, company filings, and other public datasets. The company is headquartered in New York City and has a number of physical locations throughout the city. Its competitors include Trinity Financial Coaching LLC, Financial Finesse, and Empower.
Advisory Services
The Financial Gym, founded by Shannon McLay, offers a personal financial service with a fitness-inspired approach. It aims to help people get comfortable talking about their finances and feel empowered to reach their goals. The monthly fee for membership includes a meeting with a trainer and a plan for reaching those goals. The gym also provides a list of approved products and services, which can make the process more manageable.
The company works with clients from all walks of life and income brackets. Its founder, who has a cum laude degree in Business and over 17 years of experience in the finance industry, aims to change the way Americans think about their money. She hosts the Martinis and Your Money podcast and has written for many popular websites, including AOL, Budgets Are Sexy, US News and World Report, and Frugal Rules. She has also written a book called Train Your Way To Financial Fitness.
She founded the gym in 2013 after she noticed a gap in the financial services industry. As a former Merrill Lynch advisor, she was only allowed to work with clients with investing assets of $250,000. Those clients made up just a small fraction of the population seeking guidance. The Financial Gym fills this need with a service that costs roughly the same as going to the gym for a workout.
Whether you’re paying off debt, saving for retirement, or preparing to combine your finances as a married couple, the Financial Gym can help you achieve your goals. Their trainers offer a range of plans tailored to your individual needs and budget. The first session is called the “financially naked” session, and it’s designed to get you honest about your situation. They then provide a plan for working toward your goals and check in on you periodically to keep you on track.
Financial Gym’s services aren’t for everyone, but it’s worth trying if you have a goal in mind and need support getting there. They offer free 20-minute consultation calls, which are a good way to determine if the program fits your budget.
