Financial Wellness for Women: Money, Marriage & Building Wealth with Hayley Dickson, CFP®
What if financial freedom has less to do with hitting a magic number—and more about finally feeling clear and confident about your money?
This week on The Running Wine Mom, Samantha Cieslinski sits down with Hayley Dickson, CFP, CEO and Founder of RIPPL Wealth Management, for a refreshingly honest conversation about money, financial wellness, marriage, motherhood, and building a life you actually want to live.
Hayley shares how she walked away from a successful six-figure career in entertainment, trusted her intuition, and ultimately became the fastest-growing advisor in Northwestern Mutual’s history before launching RIPPL Wealth Management.
But this isn't your typical conversation about cutting lattes and sticking to a monthly budget. In fact, Hayley hates monthly budgets.
Instead, she introduces her concept of a “planning budget”—deciding how much of your annual income will go toward growing your net worth and achieving your goals first, then giving yourself permission to enjoy what’s left.
Samantha and Hayley also get into the emotional side of money: why successful women can still feel embarrassed about what they don't know, why financial wellness belongs in the same conversation as physical and mental health, and why women—especially stay-at-home moms—need to understand their household finances even when their partner traditionally handles the money.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Why Hayley left a successful entertainment career to completely reinvent herself in finance
- Why money remains one of our biggest cultural taboos
- The shame and comparison that keep women from asking financial questions
- What being a “financial life designer” actually means
- Why financial wellness can affect our mental health, relationships, and overall well-being
- Financial independence for women and stay-at-home parents
- Why Hayley prefers the idea of becoming “work optional” instead of simply retiring
- Estate planning, life insurance, 529 plans, and preparing financially for your family
- Tax diversification and the difference between pre-tax and Roth retirement savings
- How sophisticated investment strategies are becoming more accessible to everyday wealth builders
- Prenups, postnups, marriage, and protecting yourself financially
- Whether couples should combine finances or use a “yours, mine, and ours” system
- Why having a shared financial vision matters more than exactly how your bank accounts are structured
- The “middle bucket” Hayley often sees missing from people's financial lives
- Why Hayley hates traditional monthly budgets
- Her planning budget approach to saving, investing, and spending without guilt
- Why travel is the money splurge Hayley will never regret
Hayley defines financial freedom as having clarity, confidence, and peace in your money choices. And perhaps the biggest takeaway from this conversation is that you don't need to wait until you're wealthy to start feeling financially empowered.
You just have to start.
Hayley is offering listeners a complimentary 30-minute one-on-one Life Design & Wealth Strategy Session (a $500 value). Simply mention this episode when you reach out to rippl@nm.com to reserve your spot. Learn more about Hayley and how she can help elevate your finances on rippl.nm.com.
Connect with Hayley Dickson
RIPPL Wealth Management: https://rippl.nm.com/
Hayley Dickson on Instagram: @hayleywdickson
Hayley Dickson on LinkedIn: Search Hayley Dickson, CFP®
Connect with The Running Wine Mom
Follow Samantha on Instagram: @therunningwinemom_
Subscribe to The Running Wine Mom wherever you listen to podcasts, and if this episode made you think differently about money, send it to a friend who needs to hear it.
This episode is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered individualized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
