Suzanne discusses 9 topics couples should address before they get engaged. They are:

1. View of marriage as an institution

2. View on God/religion

3. Geography

4. Work/family plan

5. Money

6. Willingness to address conflict

7. Ability to set boundaries

8. Relationship history

9. Vacations

Suzanne highlights a new survey that shows smartphones are undermining marriages and suggests ways in which couples can keep this from being their fate.

https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/research/final-2ifstechmarriageresearchbrief.pdf

Suzanne talks with Liz Durham of Being Different about the position employers are in when it comes to investing in young women who have not had children yet, and the likelihood that they will leave once that happens.

"My soon-to-be-husband is a software engineer and works from home. I can forsee potential challenges. What are your thoughts on both spouses working from home together?"

"I have a one-year-old and a two-year-old, and they are going to daycare two days a week from 7 to 4. Home with mom or dad the rest of the days. We have no family or friends to help. Can this arrangement flourish for healthy marriage and children?"

"Help! I want to stay home with her children, but my husband doesn't agree."

"What are your thoughts about the cry it out method?"

"Is it possible for some men to have a lower sex drive than women? My husband rarely wants sex."

Suzanne is back and talks about the response to her recent interview and video on daycare—and shares the politically incorrect data on this subject that she unearthed twenty years ago when she wrote her first book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDPFu9-SqFk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJFfU2OxPg

I'll be back soon.

Suzanne is taking the month of July off and will be back in August.

If you're struggling with modern motherhood, you do not want to miss this episode. I brought back Liz Durham (host of the podcast Being Different), who has transitioned from being a full-time working mom to a full-time SAHM. She and I offer a countercultural guide for younger women who've been raised at a time in which motherhood has been sidelined or even rejected altogether.

We discuss (among other things):

Money remains the #1 cause of marital conflict and divorce. But money conflict is never about money itself. It’s about power and control vs. trust, and often it’s about mismatched values.

In this episode, Suzanne discusses three major money mistakes modern couples make and the conversations married couples need to have about money if they want a less roommate-like and more intimate relationship with their spouse.

In this episode, Suzanne offers six powerful ways to divorce proof your marriage. They include: