Hey Waves listeners, this week we're bringing you something special. It's an episode of one of our favorite

podcasts, Love Letters. Love Letters tells stories about romance, marriage, partnership,

sex, loss, and the human heart, served with a side of advice.

On the new season, host Meredith Goldstein explores all the ways money plays into love, dating,

and relationships.

Like, what happens when two partners come from different wealth backgrounds,

or who should pay for drinks on a first date?

In this episode, Meredith asks, how do couples decide whose turn it is to pursue a career dream.

She talks to two women about how they balance their goals and desires with those of their partners.

I think you're going to like this one.

Here comes the episode. You can find love letters wherever you get your podcast. You know how some couples have that one thing that when it comes up it always

seems to spark a little fight? My colleague Kara Baskin and her husband Brian

have one of those things. It goes something like this. You

see, Cara is a very in-demand freelance writer and makes a good living doing it. She writes

about a lot of stuff for the Boston Globe and other

outlets, mostly stories about food and parenting and culture. But she would love

to prioritize a book she's writing about women and middle age. Brian encourages her to do exactly that.

Brian was, you need to do this, think of this as a long-term investment in your career, Like you might have to take a pay cut for nine months or whatever,

but think of it as something that will benefit you in the long term.

To Kara, this is pure fantasy. She's looking at the mortgage payments, the summer camp tuition,

the college savings, and she's thinking, how can I possibly give up any income at all?

When Brian says that to you you I want to ask the uncomfortable question are you like

...