Bruce Ross, University of Kentucky Department of Family Sciences assistant professor in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, believes financial wellness is a primary happiness area for everyone, significantly increasing relationship satisfaction and mental strength. 

Ross, a financial well-being researcher, is co-host/founder of Modern Husbands — a weekly podcast with experts presenting relatable financial concepts, helping its diverse audience better manage their finances and families. The podcast seeks to inspire happier and more positive relationships by strengthening listeners’ financial confidence. 

“We want couples and families to be more financially literate, improving their well-being and overall financial security,” Ross said. “If you can have healthy conversations about money, your relationships and overall psychological well-being will improve.” 

Modern Husbands interviews relationship and financial experts to provide resources, relevant information and tips for their listeners. The 50th episode, how couples can agree about how they spend money, recently launched, culminating a suite of podcast themes: 

• Money, marriage and prenups 
• Money and partnership lessons every couple should learn 
• Splitting finances in marriage 
• Managing a blended family household 
• Arguing less about money 
• Planning affordable, healthy meals for busy people 
• Overcoming financial trauma 
• And more 

The podcast, which started a year ago, stemmed from a lack of positive, supportive and educational information for men about the changing marital landscape pertaining to gender roles related to finances. 

“The vast majority of podcasts for men promote either sports betting, high-risk investments or toxic masculinity,” Ross said. “There was not a place for those men wanting to build a community around healthy relationships and strong, consistent financial practices.” 

“Over the last several decades modern society has developed a new norm of dual-income households, with both partners working full time, negotiating couple dynamics, raising families and managing their finances,” Ross added. 

Ross affirms that the podcast’s original concept was intended for married men (including the LGBTQ+ community). However, the content has expanded for all types of partnerships and couples transitioning into marriage.  

“Our podcast is for everyone, especially devoted partners that want to support their partner’s career and financial success, and find an equal balance in managing the home,” Ross said. 

“Most individuals do not have any formal training in financial literacy and Kentucky unfortunately ranks near the bottom of this type of education,” Ross said. “We encourage Kentuckians, and beyond, to allow Modern Husbands to help strengthen their relationships and reduce financial stressors. Financial goals are your life’s goals, and you deserve to be happy.” 

Bruce Ross is the UK program director for the Consumer Economics and Family Financial Counseling undergraduate program. He is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and a Certified Financial Therapist-I™. Ross' professional and research interests primarily focus on personal and family financial well-being.

Ross joins Brian Page, who spent 15 years as a personal finance and economics educator, and Christian Sherrill, director of growth and advocacy at Next Gen Personal Finance, as podcast hosts.  

Listen and download episodes of the Modern Husbands Podcast at https://modernhusbandspodcast.buzzsprout.com. 

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