Ramit asserts that couples must address the underlying causes of their financial anxieties rather than just micromanaging day-to-day spending decisions.

“you can play whacka your entire life fighting about your KFC order and Starbucks and Target or you can get to the root cause and build a healthy relationship with money that starts with yourself and then with your partner”

Maddie believes her internal anxiety regarding money stems from a mix of generational trauma and deep-seated fears about losing her financial stability.

“I think I have more of a scarcity mindset which is it feels like anything can be taken away from us at any point and we need to be like almost like hoarding money”