So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

This episode originally aired earlier this summer.It’s a jam-packed Ask Farnoosh with numerous questions answered. Learn how to find an estate planning attorney, break up with a financial advisor, start a 529 plan, talk about money with your partner for the first time and when is the best time to ask for a raise. Farnoosh also selects her reviewer of the week to receive a free 15-minute money session.

This episode originally aired on June 14, 2021Financial expert Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez discusses her latest work exploring what she calls the “ambition penalty” — the social, professional and financial costs women face when asking for more. Understanding it is critical for tackling gender inequality when it comes to money, she says. Because nothing will change if we keep telling women to step up, only for them to be pushed down when they do. You can read her full article at Bloomberg.

This episode originally aired July 15, 2021.For generations, we’ve been taught there are two ways to succeed—either from talent or practice. But in his new book, Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman shares a powerful third path—one that has quietly launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors, and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering. Farnoosh and Ron discuss the technique behind reverse-engineering, ways to apply it to your financial and career success and why humans are so fascinated – and obsessed with – success.

This week's Ask Farnoosh covers money advice for couples, whether or not you need to buy life insurance, how to plan for long-term health costs and whether car insurance will pay for your disability costs in an accident.

Guest Dan Weissmann is the host of the podcast An Arm and a Leg, where he takes one of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing aspects of American life—the cost of health care— and produce a show that's entertaining, empowering and useful. Topics discussed on today's show: How to negotiate your medical costs, securing health care when you leave a job, and the importance of shopping around for health care.More about Dan: Before creating An Arm and a Leg in 2018, partly as a response to his own family's quest for affordable health care, Dan worked in public radio. He's been a staff reporter for Marketplace and Chicago’s WBEZ, and has done stories for outlets like 99 Percent Invisible, Planet Money, Reveal, Code Switch, Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Dasha Kennedy is the creator of the award-winning financial advocacy group The Broke Black Girl. As a digital community leader and financial activist, she provides culturally competent and relevant financial literacy resources to over 70,000 African-American women to combat economic inequality. You can follow Dasha on Instagram and Twitter. 

Rounding out our weeklong discussion about how to quit, Farnoosh and guest expert Dan Schawbel, answer your questions related to resigning, searching for new work and affording a career transition. Dan is a New York Times bestselling author, Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence and career expert whose conducted dozens of workplace studies in the past 10 years. His latest book is called Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation.

Our discussion around quitting and how to leave an unhappy job continues with our guest Tim Herrera, a freelance writer and editor who recently quit his post at The New York Times where he edited the service journalism section, Smarter Living for five years. There, he wrote and edited stories on personal finance, office culture and job satisfaction, mental health, digital privacy and more. Tim shares the moments that led up to his departure, how he's rethinking the concept of quitting and his recommendations for others that may want to follow in his footsteps.More about Tim: He is a co-editor of the Smarter Living book, and is currently writing a book about self-awareness. Before coming to The Times, he worked at The Washington Post, where was on the digital strategy team and wrote about online culture. He lives in Manhattan with his two cats, Strudel and Streets, and his platonic life partner. 

We are dedicating the week to discussing all-things QUITTING, as an increasing number of Americans seek new career beginnings. A Microsoft survey of more than 30,000 global workers showed that 41% of workers were thinking about quitting or switching professions this year. In April more than four million people quit their jobs, according to the Department of Labor – the biggest jump on record.Economists and journalists dub this trend the ‘Great Resignation’. Guest Jessica Carney is the host of the podcast And Then I Quit, where she invites guests to share funny and absurd stories about jobs they’ve quit.We discuss when quitting makes sense, the importance of changing the narrative around quitting from one of cowardice to courage, and how to afford the transition if you don't have savings.

This week's Ask Farnoosh touches on the realities of a high-cost of living city and how to make ends meet. Also, how to come up with a mortgage to buy a second home (if you don't want to yet sell your first home and use the equity towards the down payment?) Plus: Is it wise to pay of high-interest credit card debt with a 401(k)?

Financial expert and bestselling author Ramit Sethi joins Farnoosh to share insights from his latest endeavor: the I Will Teach You To Be Rich podcast, where he unveils real stories about love & money from behind closed doors.  We discuss the unbelievable financial perils from real guests on his new show, how to find common ground with a partner who's on a different financial wave length and why defining your Rich Life can help you grow a stronger relationship.More about Ramit: He is the author of the New York Times bestseller “I Will Teach You To Be Rich,” has helped tens of millions of people live a Rich Life with their money, careers, businesses, and psychology. He hosts over a million readers on his site, iwillteachyoutoberich.com, newsletter, and social media. His new podcast, I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, reveals real stories about love & money from behind closed doors. Learn more about his podcast at iwt.com/podcast 

Best-selling author Kabir Sehgal joins to share insights from the new book he co-authored with family friend, the late Congressman John Lewis called “Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation." In the book, we learn about Lewis' final reflections on topics including courage, activism and money, which can help guide the next generation.

Dedicating today's episode to answering some of your questions about the podcast's recent licensing partnership with CNET and what it may mean for the show and our coverage. Also, we welcome Sharon Profis, CNET's Executive Editor & Senior Director of Content, who will work closely with our team there to drive the personal finance division. She'll discuss what's on tap and what we can look forward to at CNET Personal Finance.

News alert: I’m licensing SO MONEY to CNET, the world’s biggest platform dedicated to tech and consumer news and advice. Also as part of our partnership, I’ll be joining CNET”s team as Editor-at-Large of Personal Finance. It’s a dream collaboration and we have BIG plans.

Stephanie Kibler came onto the online personal finance scene in 2007 (when it was still called a "blogosphere") and was one of its first voices for low-income millennials and young women with her blog, Poorer Than You.Stephanie started her personal finance journey as a film school dropout in a rust belt city heading into the Great Recession. Her uphill money journey has played out like a comedy of errors, but she's overcome every curveball thrown so far, and is now committed to only doing work she loves and never being forced to wear a suit to a job interview again.Through the years, she has worked to help build up online communities focused on financial literacy for women and other underrepresented groups, especially those with low or moderate incomes. She lives in the pricey Washington, DC-area suburbs (for some reason) with her husband and two young children, and can usually be found snarking on Twitter.Learn more at poorerthanyou.com/making-do

We are exploring love and money on the show today with the leading international dating and relationship coach Sami Wunder. We’ll talk about some of the power dynamics that come into play in modern day, hetero relationships. Why it’s important to strive for equality in your partnership but the rules are different when dating…Sami has interesting perspective about who should pay, who should be more the pursuer…and why.Sami has helped more than 237 single clients to get married and more than 300 partnered clients to bring their marriages back from divorce in the past five years. She lives in Germany with her adoring husband, Chris, and their two boys. I know we all have really different opinions when it comes to men, women and relationships…so I encourage you to listen to this show with an open mind.You can learn more about Sami's offers for So Money listeners here.

This week’s Ask Farnoosh includes questions about the 4% withdrawal rule of thumb many retirement planning experts promote and whether it still applies if you’re considering on retiring early. Also: how much to invest in my company’s stock? Farnoosh also shares her some of her all-time fave podcasts.

Guest Janine Firpo brings advice on how to create a values-driven investment strategy. She is a seasoned values-aligned investor and social innovator, with a long history of working at the intersection of women and their money. Her book, Activate Your Money: Invest to Grow Your Wealth and Build a Better World, was a collaborative effort with almost 150 women. Topics discussed include how to identify your values as they pertain to your investments, how to begin making socially-driven changes to your portfolio and how to measure your impact? Does socially-conscious investing come at a financial cost?More about Janine: From the early years of Apple Computer to senior positions with Hewlett-Packard, the World Bank, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Janine has always found herself making an impact. In 2017 she left a successful 35-year career in technology and international development to focus on how women can create a more just and equitable society through their financial investments. She is a lead i

Actor, activist and author Annabelle Gurwitch joins to discuss her latest bestselling book, You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility. The book is a collection of raw and honest essays that capture the issues Gurwitch grapples with in midlife, from divorce to financial fragility.As the Library Journal says, "Gurwitch’s perspective on both the major and the mundane will be relatable to anyone who understands how the American Dream has devolved into a fever dream. Her stories are as personal as they are universal...The latest from Gurwitch will have readers rolling with laughter one minute and picking up the phone to commiserate with friends or family the next."You can learn more about Annabelle and her work here.

On this week's Ask Farnoosh: a listener is considering remarrying, however, it would mean losing out on her ex husband's social security benefits. What's the right move? Also: rules around inherited IRAs and benefits to 457b plans.