Sharing money is a normal part of many relationships. A couple might open a joint account, put the household bills in one person’s name or decide that one partner will manage the finances.

These arrangements can seem practical at the time. But what happens if the relationship ends, someone becomes seriously ill or dies, or circumstances simply change?

A new podcast from Catherine Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Flequity Ventures, aims to help people have these conversations before a curveball makes them urgent.

What is financial consent?

Before you say yes explores the idea of financial consent: making sure people understand the financial arrangements they are entering into, have genuinely agreed to them and remain free to revisit those decisions.

Catherine says we have become much better at talking about sexual consent—what it means, how to ask for consent and how someone can change their mind. But we rarely apply the same thinking to money.

Financial consent begins with some straightforward questions:

What’s mine? What’s yours? What’s ours? And what happens if things change?

These questions can feel uncomfortable, particularly early in a relationship. But asking them can help both people understand their responsibilities, protect their financial independence and make informed decisions together.

When practical arrangements create unexpected problems

Through her work in banking and financial safety, Catherine has heard from many women who discovered, often during a separation or after their partner died, that important financial arrangements were not what they had assumed.

Some found that their phone, lease or household bills had never been in their name. Others discovered that the credit card they used was held solely in their partner’s name. This could leave them without access to money, no rental history or a poor credit history at the very time they needed it most.

Some of these women had experienced financial abuse. Many had not. They had simply agreed to arrangements that appeared sensible at one stage of the relationship and had never had a reason to reconsider them.

That distinction is important. Before you say yes is not primarily a podcast about financial abuse. It is a practical guide to sharing money and financial responsibilities more safely.

Practical conversations about money

The podcast features 13 guests with expertise in banking, insurance, technology, money management, financial counselling and consent education.

Episodes explore questions such as:

• How can you open a joint account without losing sight of your own money?
• What should you check before putting your name—or deciding not to put your name—on a lease, insurance policy or household bill?
• What access will each person have to accounts and important information?
• What would happen if one person became ill, died or left the relationship?
• How can couples revisit an arrangement that no longer works for both people?

The aim is not to discourage people from combining their finances. It is to help them understand what they are agreeing to and make choices that are informed, voluntary and open to change.

Financial safety is also a business responsibility

Catherine has spent the past decade working with businesses and governments to address the ways everyday products and services can be misused to cause financial harm.

Her work on “financial safety by design” encourages banks, insurers, telecommunications companies, utilities and other organisations to identify foreseeable risks and build greater safety into their products, systems and customer processes.

Personal conversations are important, but the responsibility should not fall entirely on individuals. Businesses also need to make financial arrangements easier to understand, give customers meaningful choices and close the loopholes that can be exploited by people using money as a form of control.

By helping consumers understand what to ask, Before you say yes may also encourage more people to expect safer and more transparent services from the companies they rely on.

Listen to the podcast

The trailer for Before you say yes is available now. The first three episodes will be released on Thursday 6 August 2026, with the podcast available through Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Follow the podcast, listen to the trailer and share it with someone who is beginning to combine their money, bills or financial responsibilities with a partner.

Sometimes the best time to talk about what could change is before anything does.

Launching with three episodes on Thursday, 6 August 2026,  Before You Say Yes is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.

Before You Say Yes, Spotify Trailer