So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

This week, Farnoosh dedicates Ask Farnoosh to one of the most pressing money topics in America right now: debt relief. Visit SoMoneyLinks for resources.With household debt topping $17.7 trillion and credit card balances at record highs, Farnoosh answers real listener questions about tackling debt, from when to pause investing to whether it ever makes sense to use home equity or refinance student loans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve been shopping lately, you’ve probably noticed — clothes cost a lot more than they used to. Inflation has hit fashion hard, but the quality? Not so much. From fast fashion to high-end brands, shoppers are wondering: why are we paying more for pieces that don’t seem to last?To help us make sense of it all — and learn how to shop smarter — I’m joined by stylist Amy Salinger, founder of StyleMethod®. (Catch me on her podcast!)Self-taught and style-obsessed, Amy built her career on the belief that great style isn’t innate — it’s intentional. Her signature method has helped hundreds of clients align how they look with who they truly are, across all body types, lifestyles, and life stages. After more than a decade working one-on-one with clients in New York City, she took her business fully online, bringing expert styling support to high-achieving people everywhere.Through StyleMethod®, Amy helps clients reclaim their reflection — with shoulders back, chin up, and confidence fully activated. Because as she

New York Times bestselling author of Take Back Your Brain, Kara Loewentheil, unveils her proven strategies for closing the “brain gap,” and how women can reclaim their financial confidence in a patriarchal society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's questions: Should I move my money overseas if I'm worried about immigrant rights? Should I divide my dad’s $100,000 (currently in a basic bank account) among savings, high-yield savings, and investments, and should I remarry my current boyfriend, knowing I would lose my ex-husband’s Social Security benefits? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this: you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. It’s true, but for many of us — especially women — negotiating can feel loaded, intimidating, even risky. The fear of backlash is real.My guest today knows this better than anyone. In fact, a failed negotiation early in her career — one that ended with her being escorted out of the building — changed the course of her life and career. Since then, she’s made it her mission to equip women with the strategies to negotiate successfully without the penalties.Joining me is Kathryn Valentine, CEO of Worthmore Strategies, whose work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company. Today, she shares the research-backed tools and scripts that can help all of us — whether we’re asking for a raise, a promotion, or even more flexibility at work — get to “yes” while sidestepping the backlash.More resources:Kathryn's 76 things you can negotiate - www.76things.comHer n

My guest today is one of the most vibrant and necessary voices in personal finance today. Katie Gatti Tassin is the founder of the wildly popular Money with Katie platform and host of the podcast by the same name. She's back on the show with a brand-new book that is as bold as it is brilliant: Rich Girl Nation.This isn't your average money guide. Katie weaves sharp analysis, real-world context, and her signature wit into a manifesto for financial independence — especially for women navigating the beauty tax, the motherhood penalty, workplace politics, and a world where financial systems weren’t exactly built with us in mind.We discuss why the first chapter is called “The Hot Girl Hamster Wheel,” how investing in yourself early can pay off big, and why financial independence isn’t just about retiring early—it’s about having options. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Farnoosh kicks things off with life updates—juggling the whirlwind of September as a parent, launching The Montclair Pod (now a finalist for a prestigious Signal Award (vote here)), and coping with a double hit of bank fraud that forced her to shut down an account and rebuild her banking setup.Sign up for her investing workshop on Tuesday, Sept 30 at SoMoneyWorkshop.comFarnoosh also shares important personal finance headlines:Doctors vs. Insurance Companies: New prior-authorization rules delaying basic care.Amazon’s $2.5 billion FTC settlement: Millions of Prime subscribers may be eligible for refunds.Iron Hill Brewery closures: A beloved East Coast restaurant chain, tied to her own family memories, shutters permanently.In the mailbag, she tackles listener questions on:Whether to open multiple high-yield savings accounts for different goals like emergencies, annual expenses, and travel.The best ways to start saving for a child’s college education—including 529 plans, gifting platforms, and Roth IRAs.How to ac

If you’ve been following along, you know that I recently experienced fraud in my own business checking account — a gut-wrenching ordeal where thousands of dollars disappeared overnight because someone got hold of my routing number. The bank caught it, but the disruption and stress were very real. And I’ll be honest: even as someone who spends her life thinking and talking about money, I almost missed the warning signs.Which is why today’s conversation is so important. We’re heading into the fall and holiday season — peak time for identity theft and online scams. Fraudsters know we’re distracted, busy, spending more, and often less vigilant.To help us all stay one step ahead, I’ve invited back Martha Underwood, founder of Prismm. Martha and her team are on the frontlines of protecting our financial identity and legacy. She’s here to share the latest scams to watch out for — from PayPal “micro-deposits,” to spoofed IRS texts, to sophisticated AI voice fraud — and, most importantly, the concrete steps we can tak

Money is never just about money. It’s identity, history, and how we see ourselves in the mirror. Today, we’re joined by psychotherapist Holli Rubin, whose work sits at the intersection of mental health, body image, and financial wellbeing. She specializes in life transitions and women’s mental health, and she’s advised organizations from Deloitte to wealth management firms on the psychology of money and confidence. In our conversation, Holli unpacks why so many women carry shame and doubt around money, how early messages about worth, care work, and “who earns” shape our financial confidence and why self-worth gets tangled up with net worth. We also explore her nuanced link between body image and money: the ways appearance and status cues can mask (or magnify) our inner stories about value, security, and belonging. And crucially, she offers practical ways to move from awareness to action, especially in midlife when careers, relationships, and health are all in flux.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva

In this week’s Ask Farnoosh, Farnoosh opens with a personal story about a $5,000 fraud attempt on her business checking account—and what she learned about staying vigilant. She then breaks down today’s biggest money headlines: the Fed’s recent interest rate cut, why U.S. credit scores just saw their sharpest drop since 2008, shifts in the housing market, and why groceries and rent are still stubbornly high despite easing inflation elsewhere. Farnoosh also answers a wide range of listener questions from investing to estate planning.Register for Farnoosh's investing workshop on Sept 30th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when ambition—the very quality that’s supposed to fuel our success—ends up making us sick?My guest today, Amina AlTai, knows this firsthand. On a sweltering July morning in New York City, she got a call from her doctor that changed everything: if she didn’t head to the hospital immediately, she was just days away from multiple organ failure. The cause? Years of overwork and overstriving, rooted in her experience as the child of immigrants, navigating a post-9/11 workplace with an Arab name, and feeling she had to be the hardest working person in the room to matter.That wake-up call set Amina on a journey of healing and reinvention, eventually becoming an executive coach to senior leaders and women around the world. From her work and her own life, she’s come to see that ambition isn’t the enemy—but the way we relate to it can be. In her new book The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living, she introduces us to two kinds of ambition: the painful kind, driven by wounds like rejection or

Blended families don’t just merge households—they merge bank accounts, bills, and very different money expectations. And while stepfamilies are becoming more and more common, the financial playbook for them is far from simple. Every dollar spent can feel loaded: is it going to your kids, your spouse’s kids, or the kids you’re now raising together?My guest today, Cameron Normand, is one of the country’s leading stepfamily experts and the founder of Stepfamily Solutions. She knows firsthand how money and emotional labor intersect in blended families, and she’s built a career helping stepparents navigate the financial and emotional landmines that come with the role.In our conversation, Cameron breaks down why finances in stepfamilies are about so much more than dollars and cents, the “insider-outsider” syndrome that many stepparents face, and what it really takes to create a household where everyone feels seen, supported, and financially secure.Learn more about Cameron at stepfamilysolutions.com. And check

In this episode, Farnoosh shares advice on managing finances between partners with unequal incomes and offers guidance on common financial queries such as selling a home to live mortgage-free and building credit without a credit card. Register for Farnoosh's live investing workshop here. Listen to Farnoosh on WNYC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be well-mannered with your money?Today, we’re getting a masterclass in modern etiquette from Daniel Post Senning, the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and co-president of the Emily Post Institute. Daniel joins us to talk about the sticky situations we all face—splitting the bill, tipping in the era of digital checkout screens, handling salary conversations with friends, and navigating the financial asks that come with weddings, parties, and work culture.With AI reshaping our communication, remote work blurring social lines, and generational traditions clashing with modern norms, it’s never been harder—or more important—to be mindful of how we show up for each other.For more information, check out The Emily Post Institute, the podcast Awesome Etiquette, and the book Emily Post’s Business Etiquette.This episode aired originally on June 9, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While most of us wait until January to make financial resolutions, fall is actually one of the smartest times to review your finances, especially your 401(k). Deadlines are coming up, new legislation is on the horizon, and for many of us, this is when employers open enrollment and nudge us to re-evaluate our benefits. I’m joined by Tess Waresmith, accredited financial counselor, investing educator, and founder of Wealth with Tess. Tess has a gift for breaking down the intimidating world of investing into simple, actionable steps that help everyday people build long-term wealth. She’s here to walk us through what the recent headlines about crypto and alternative assets in 401(k)s really mean, how to make sure your account is working for you, and the strategies she believes are most important as we close out the year.Learn more about Tess:WealthWithTess.comFollow on InstagramOn Tuesday, September 30th, I’ll be teaching my Investing Workshop—a live class where I’ll pull back the curtain on exactly how I invest a

In this episode of So Money, host Farnoosh Torabi dedicates the conversation to college savings in recognition of College Savings Month. Returning guest Patricia Roberts, author of Route 529 and a leading expert on college savings, breaks down the latest updates to 529 plans, including expanded uses under the newly signed HR1 bill.Together, they explore whether college is still worth the investment, the growing benefits of 529s for both K–12 and post-secondary credentials, and practical strategies for realistic saving. Listener questions are also answered—covering how to save for multiple children, the differences between federal and private loans, and when families might choose a 529 over alternative accounts like brokerage or custodial accounts.Farnoosh and Patricia share practical tips for families at every stage of the college savings journey, emphasizing planning, flexibility, and smart use of resources, including employer contributions. This episode is a must-listen for parents and caregivers looking to

Financial journalist Beth Pinsker joins with a sneak preview of her forthcoming book My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving (out this November). We dive into the realities of stepping in to manage a parent’s finances—what to do first, the documents you must have in place, the pitfalls of long-term care, and how to navigate banks, insurers, and even cable companies when they put up barriers. Essential listening for anyone with aging parents—or kids of their own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest needs little introduction if you’ve spent any time in the world of online entrepreneurship. Pat Flynn is one of the most respected thought leaders in digital business and passive income. He’s the creator of Smart Passive Income, host of multiple top-ranked podcasts, a sought-after speaker, and the author of several bestselling books including Will It Fly? and Superfans.Now, Pat is back with a timely and much-needed new book: Lean Learning: How to Achieve More by Learning Less. In an age when we’re drowning in information and pulled in a dozen directions by the algorithm, Lean Learning is a practical framework for mastering new skills efficiently—without burning out or going broke in the process.This episode aired originally on June 11, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Ask Farnoosh episode, we tackle three major financial dilemmas from listeners: Setting Boundaries as a Daughter of Immigrants, Avoiding Financial Dependence on a Partner and Knowing When to Walk Away from a Business. Plus, a behind-the-scenes update on The Montclair Pod, and reflections on launching a new show 10 years after So Money.Resources & Links:Listen to The Montclair PodJoin the So Money Members Club.Download Farnoosh’s free investing blueprint.Hang out with Farnoosh on Instagram.This episode aired originally on February 21, 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Amy Morin is a psychotherapist, mental strength trainer and the host of Mentally Stronger. She joins to share her 5 lifestyle mistakes that keep you from growing mentally stronger — and financially better off.More about Amy: She is an international bestselling author. Her books, including 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 1 million copies. The Guardian dubbed her “the self-help guru of the moment.” Forbes calls her a “thought leadership star” and People says her book is one of the top 20 must read books of all time.She lives on a sailboat in the Florida Keys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.