Hey all, Joe here and you are listening to Under the Influence.

When I talk about tradwives, and yeah, no, I know, I talk about trad wives a lot.

When I talk about trad wives, one of the things that really gets me, one of the things that really pisses me

off is the message that you should be financially dependent on a man, that you should be financially

dependent on anyone. I truly, truly cannot stand this fantasy of telling women to completely

check out, to give up their agency, to give up

their financial independence, and telling women that that is going to make them happier and that

it is going to make their life more idyllic. I'm constantly served reels and TikToks of a certain

kind of woman saying that financial dependency is aspirational. And you know what? It's not. It's not just not

aspirational, but financial dependency on anyone, including a man, could actually ruin your life.

Because here's the real math. 80% of women will end up managing their money on their own at some point in their life.

Divorce happens.

Widowhood happens.

A partner's bad decisions happen.

And also, the job market is freaking weird right now.

And when those things happen, the fantasy isn't going to pay your mortgage. And that's

why I want to talk to Steph Wagner. Steph is the national director of women and wealth at Northern

Trust. And her new book, Fly, a woman's guide to financial freedom and building a life you love,

is a manifesto against shrinking yourself financially. But Steph also knows firsthand what

it's like to lose control of her money. She was completely blindsided when her own marriage

fell apart. But instead of going under, she built herself back up. And now she's teaching women

everywhere how they can do the same. Today we're talking about why budgeting doesn't always work, why a weekly money date with yourself could change your life,

...