Episode 356 – Abby Davisson: How to Make Decisions About Money and Love

How do we make the most important decisions in life with intention rather than impulse? In this episode, we are joined by Abby Davisson to unpack her practical framework for better decision-making. Abby is a Yale and Stanford alumnus, a former executive at Gap Inc., and the co-author of Money and Love. She is also the founder of the Money and Love Institute, which is dedicated to helping individuals and professionals navigate life's most significant decisions. In today's conversation, Abby unpacks her practical, research-backed "5Cs Framework" for decision-making and demonstrates how it can guide all the decisions couples need to make through life. We explore the idea of financial transparency, progressive pooling of finances, equitable division of housework, deciding when to outsource help, and navigating career pauses or transitions. Abby also shares how she applied the framework in her own life and offers an honest perspective for individuals navigating change. Join us to learn how to approach choices and the "life stuff" that doesn't always show up in spreadsheets with Abby Davisson. Tune in now! Key Points From This Episode: (0:04:16) Myra Strober's Work and Family course and how it led to writing Money and Love. (0:07:21) The drivers of poor decisions and the five Cs in Abby's decision-making framework. (0:11:15) Discover the four big topics every couple should discuss and how to approach them. (0:15:09) Learn the fundamentals of how couples should handle and combine money. (0:17:49) Why division of housework is vital, how to approach it, and the role of gender norms. (0:21:49) Outsourcing tasks and the impacts of not taking the division of housework seriously. (0:24:27) How to decide where to live as a couple, and whether to rent or buy a house. (0:29:08) A real-life example of how to apply to 5C Framework for decision-making. (0:33:34) Navigating career ambitions, division of childcare, and stay-at-home parenting. (0:37:16) Hear how the 5C Framework helps deal with separation and family dynamics. (0:40:31) Ways the concept of retirement has changed and why families should discuss it. (0:44:12) Find out how involved adult children should be in their parents' retirement planning. (0:47:02) Advice for finding the right life partner and how to stress-test a relationship. (0:52:05) What to consider before getting married and having children, and why. (0:55:37) Abby's biggest lessons from writing the book and her definition of success. Links From Today's Episode: Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582 . Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/ Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/ Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemind Rational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.ca Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/ Cameron Passmore — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Cameron on X — https://x.com/CameronPassmore Cameron on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronpassmore/ Abby Davisson — https://www.abbydavisson.com/ Abby Davisson — https://linkedin.com/in/abbydavisson/ Money and Love Institute — https://moneyloveinstitute.com/ Practically Deliberate Newsletter — https://abbydavisson.substack.com/ Gap Inc. — https://www.gapinc.com Myra Strober on LinkedIn — https://linkedin.com/in/myra-strober-a8b2846a/ Eve Rodsky — https://www.everodsky.com/ Carefull — https://getcarefull.com/ Baba Shiv — https://linkedin.com/in/baba-shiv-a859882/ Books From Today's Episode: Money and Love — https://www.moneylovebook.com/ Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant ( https://thepodcastconsultant.com )