Women are told to ask for more, negotiate harder and lean in. But what happens when the system responds differently to ambition depending on identity? On The Wallet, Emilie Bellet speaks with journalist and author Stefanie O’Connell about her new book The Ambition Penalty and the hidden costs women still face when expressing ambition at work and at home.

Money and neurodivergence: how to build a system that actually works. What if the problem isn’t your discipline, but the system you’ve been told to follow?

In this episode of The Wallet, Emilie Bellet (Vestpod) is joined by Krystle McGilvery, behavioural finance expert and Chartered Accountant, to unpack why so many people feel stuck with money, especially when they don’t fit the “default” model.

We explore financial avoidance, time blindness and impulse spending, not as failures, but as responses, and what to do instead: reframing your relationship with money, reducing friction, and building systems that actually fit how you think.

Building financial independence often starts with earning more, and learning how to negotiate your salary.

In this episode of The Wallet, Emilie Bellet speaks with Nicole Michler, founder of Phase 20, a career strategy and negotiation platform that helps women navigate competitive corporate environments.

Nicole shares how she went from earning around £27,000 a year to building financial independence, and explains how salary negotiation, career strategy, and mindset shifts can help women ask for a pay rise and grow their income over time.

I recently asked for a pay rise - having been on a junior wage for a year and achieving a lot such as winning clients, leading projects etc. I was told I had no capacity and company was not 'money driven' in that sense.