Ted McLyman Explains Why Money Feels Like a Battle (And What Your Birth Story Has to Do With It)

Money stress doesn't begin at the checkout. For many new and expectant parents, financial anxiety is one of the most invisible but powerful forces shaping the birth experience and early parenting journey. In this episode, Shannon O'Flaherty sits down with Ted McLyman, behavioral finance expert and former U.S. Marine Corps officer, to explore why so many people feel irrational, ashamed, or stuck when it comes to money.

Ted's central insight is bold and liberating: money is not a math problem, it's a behavior problem. Drawing on decades of experience, from the Naval Academy to Wall Street to his own reinvention as a behavioral finance coach, Ted reveals why conventional financial advice fails most people, and what actually works instead.

Together, Shannon and Ted explore how our money beliefs are rooted in childhood conditioning, cultural values, and emotional wiring, and how understanding your personal money temperament can unlock a completely new relationship with abundance. If financial stress has ever complicated a pregnancy, a new baby, or your sense of worth, this episode is for you.