Happy WifeStyle, Petaluma, CA (2026)

My name is Shannon Taatjes and I am often asked about how I stay young, what I eat, how I stay fit and about my overall style…so I decided to start Happy WifeStyle to share information that I've learned over the years and help others make HEALTHY LIFESTYLE changes to become happier, healthier and more confident! Share this with people you care about…Enjoy! Topics are food & recipes, health & fitness, fashion & style...and my Frenchie sidekick:)

06/02/2026

I kept my savings in a regular bank account for years. I thought that’s just what you did... money goes in the bank, it sits there, end of story.

Nobody told me it could be doing so much more.

A regular savings account pays you almost nothing. A high-yield one (HYSA)... same safety, same easy access to your money... can pay you significantly more, just for sitting in a smarter spot.

It’s not complicated. It’s not risky. And it’s not just for “money people.”

And this isn’t your investing money or your retirement... it’s your emergency fund, your rainy day cushion, the what-if money you want to keep safe AND easy to reach. It should just be earning while it waits.

I’m not a financial advisor... I’m just a woman who figured this out a little late and doesn’t want you to.

Save this for when you’re ready to look into it... and send it to a girlfriend who’s been meaning to “deal with her money” for a while now. 💛

So tell me below... have you made the switch to a high-yield savings account yet, or is this your nudge?

05/28/2026

I used to get dressed wondering what other people would think. These days I get dressed wondering how I want to feel.

Big difference.

xo

LTK outfit link in bio 🤍

GenX Style Midlife GenX Women

05/26/2026

I grew up with zero financial guidance. My parents spent every dollar they had and then some. No savings, no plan, living in fear around money. I was terrified of ending up the same way.

But nobody taught me differently until I was in my 30s.

When I finally figured it out, I didn’t keep it to myself. I took everything I learned and simplified it. The budget. The debt payoff plan. The automated savings system. All of it - made simple for the woman who feels like I felt.

Overwhelmed. Behind. Like everyone else got a financial guidebook she never received.

I wrote that guidebook. It’s in my bio. 💛

Have you ever waited to save money because you thought you had to be debt-free first? Tell me below.

05/19/2026

Last week I asked if money was ever talked about in your house growing up.

So many of you said no. Me neither.

I’ve been sitting with that. Because that silence - the one we inherited from parents who inherited it from theirs - is exactly why so many of us hand over that part of our lives without even realizing it.

I was watching a clip of sharing her experience about marriage and finances recently and something she said resonated hard. The idea that giving someone else full control of your financial life - even someone you love completely - means their choices become your fate. And then she said something I haven’t been able to shake:

“You always keep your job. Your job is your life insurance.”

Now I don’t think that means every woman needs a traditional job — because raising children is one of the hardest jobs there is. But what it means to me is this: never lose your ability to make money. Keep that skill alive. Keep that door open. Whatever that looks like for you.
That’s the life insurance nobody talks about.

Financial awareness isn’t a threat to your relationship. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give it.

Stop being scared. Start being prepared. 💛

What’s one thing you wish someone had taught you about money growing up?

HappyWifestyle GenXWomen WomenAndMoney FinancialFreedom MidlifeWomen Over50 MoneyMindset FinancialEmpowerment WomenWhoInvest EmptyNester

05/12/2026

For most of my life, money made me feel anxious. Scared. Like it was someone else’s department.

I grew up watching it cause stress, silence, and fights. Nobody talked about it. My parents never saved a dime for the future — they didn’t have a budget, didn’t teach me about money, because honestly nobody had ever taught them either. So I became an adult who inherited that same avoidance.

But somewhere along the way I made a quiet decision. I was going to do it differently.

Since 2014 I’ve been building from scratch — and much of what I earned, I saved and invested intentionally. I am so grateful for my husband who is our provider and makes our life possible. He takes care of us. But this money — what I earned from my brand — that was mine to build something with.

Last week I showed him the account.

He had no idea.

Not because I was hiding it — but because I wanted to surprise him. I wanted to show him that the girl he lovingly called a spender had been quietly building something for our future.

He was shocked. And then so proud. And in that moment I realized — this isn’t just mine. It’s ours. And that felt even better.

$98K and growing. Built little by little from ~$55K in deposits over 11 years. The rest? Compound interest.

I’m sharing this because I know so many women — smart, capable, incredible women — who are scared of their own finances. Who don’t know what’s in their accounts. Who have been blindsided. Who feel like it’s too late or too complicated or just not their thing.

It’s not too late. It’s not too complicated. And it is absolutely your thing.

I’m 54. I’m not a financial advisor. I’m just a woman who decided to stop being scared and start being prepared.

And I’m finally ready to talk about it openly.

Follow along. 💛

Was money talked about openly in your house growing up? Tell me in the comments — I genuinely want to know.

📷 of me by Joel. He captured me on a rainy day in Brooklyn on one of our beloved trips to NYC.
GenX Women, Women And Money, Midlife Women, Compound Interest, Women Who Invest, Empty Nester, How To Budget

Address

Petaluma, CA
94952, 94954, 94953

Website

https://linktr.ee/happywifestyle

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