So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

Imagine having $650,000 in debt? What would be your game plan? Amber Masters joins to talk about how she and her husband plan to squash their massive student loan debt (mostly from his schooling) and how, along the way, she's building an app to help others become debt free.More about Amber: She is an attorney turned entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of the app, Paidback, which makes debt payoff simple and fun. While practicing as an attorney, Amber created the website deeplyindebt.com to document her journey paying off $650,000 in student loans. She's been featured on CNBC, ABC, and Yahoo Finance.

Sunny Israni, better-known as The Money Gay on TikTok, is committed to making personal finance accessible and interesting for groups traditionally left out of the personal finance conversation. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and spent six years on Wall Street as an Analyst at Merrill Lynch. Additionally, Sunny is a serial entrepreneur who founded two companies prior to his current venture, Clasp, a financial wellness coaching platform, with his co-founding partner, Katherine. He's a software engineer, previously at Bloomberg.

'Ask Farnoosh' is back with a fresh episode highlighting some of the top questions posed by viewers. This week: How to apply for a mortgage when one spouse is out of work; Risks to closing old credit cards; the best investing books and whether or not to go in on a home purchase with an unmarried partner. Farnoosh selects TWO show reviewers to each receive a free 15-minute money session.

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. 

Might it be time to rethink some aspects of fatherhood? What does it mean to be a feminist father? Author Jordan Shapiro writes about it in his new book, Father Figure, a book that Adam Grant describes as a "thoughtful and long-overdue exploration of fatherhood and masculinity in the 21st century that redefines what it means to be a good father."Drawing on research in sociology, economics, philosophy, gender studies, and the author's own experiences, Father Figure explores the psychology of fatherhood from an archetypal perspective, as well as a cultural history that challenges familiar assumptions about the origins of so-called traditional parenting roles. What paradoxes and contradictions are inherent in our common understanding of dads?More about Jordan: He has a PhD, is father to two children and step-father to two more. He lives in Philadelphia with his partner Amanda Steinberg. He teaches in Temple University’s Intellectual Heritage Program. He’s senior fellow for the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame

This episode is a replay and originally aired on Friday, June 19, 2021.On this Friday's Ask Farnoosh listeners ask: Are investing courses worth it? How to anticipate and budget for home maintenance costs? How to ask for a raise after learning a colleague makes more? How to set financial boundaries with family members you are supporting? Plus, Farnoosh selects her reviewer of the week for a free 15-minute money session!

This episode originally aired on January 27, 2021.It is “the most complex and emotionally fraught financial decision that many families will ever make,” says my guest Ron Lieber about college. This high-stakes money move is a source of anxiety, stress and confusion. Too often, it leads us down the wrong path of over-borrowing for a school that under-delivers.In his latest book, The Price You Pay for College, Ron help readers make the most financially and emotionally-intelligent decision possible in selecting a school. We’ll discuss why the cost of college is SO high (over $300,000 for a private four-year college, on average), some secrets to paying for college (ever hear of merit aid?) and how to properly “value” the college experience, especially in the post-Covid world.Ron’s book is available here.

This episode originally aired on May 19, 2021.While the ultra-rich don’t ever have to worry about affording their needs (or wants), they may suffer from some big problems related to being wealthy. As guest Jennifer Risher explains, it can be hard to maintain close relationships and come to terms with your financial reality when you’re rich. In her book, We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth, Risher shares her own personal journey of coming into extraordinary wealth, as well as the voices of others in her demographic and the hidden impact of wealth on identity, relationships and sense of place in the world.

Today's Ask Farnoosh focuses entirely on investing, answering your hottest questions about 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, and how to save for your future if you're self-employed. Also, what to make of the meme stock craze?This is a special episode produced in partnership with our friends at SoFi, the all-in-one platform where you can save, you can spend, earn, borrow, invest. Now at SoFi you can buy stocks and ETFs and open an automated portfolio all with no account minimums and zero commission on trades. Plus, members now have access to upcoming IPOs before they begin trading on an exchange. Through SoFi social investing, you can also follow other members and see what they're investing in.You can visit SoFI.com/somoney to sign up for a SoFi active invest account and enter to win $5 to $1,000.Helping me answer your questions today is Liz Young, SoFi’s head of investment strategy where she is responsible for providing economic and market insights to a variety of audiences. Liz is passionate about educating other

Nerissa Holder Hall is the founder of Mirror Mirror Books, a direct-to-consumer publishing company that creates picture books that help little kids handle life's big moments. Mirror Mirror's books come in 14 versions so the child in the book can look a bit like the child in your life. Their first book, The Day I Beat the Germs, tackles the COVID-19 pandemic.Nerissa is an award-winning producer of games, television, podcasts and social networks for kids. She has almost two decades of experience in children's media including with Nickelodeon, PBS/WNET, Pinna and Callaway Digital Arts where she led product development for a Ready to Learn project funded by the U.S. Department of Education.Nerissa has a degree in English from Wellesley College and a Masters degree in communication and education from Columbia University’s Teachers College.Nerissa was born and raised in New York. She founded Mirror Mirror Books with her husband with whom she lives, works and raises their 5-year old twins.

Rob Phelan is the author of the children's book M is for Money, which aims to introduce 3-8 year old children to age-appropriate money words and normalize conversations about money between family and friends.He is a high school personal finance teacher in Maryland, where he lives with his wife and son who is almost two years old. He is part of the ChooseFI Foundation team, a non-profit with the mission of bringing high quality and free personal finance education to underserved communities, and the owner of The Simple StartUp, a digital camp for kids to help them start their first business.For more check out:M is for Money - www.misformoneybook.comKickstarter campaign for M is for Money

On this week's Ask Farnoosh, listeners ask about ways to reduce their student debt burden, how to afford housing in a high-cost of living area like New York or San Francisco, whether to invest in REITs and how often to check one's investment portfolio? Plus Farnoosh shares big news related to a personal project. And a new reviewer is selected to receive a free 15-minute money session.

Hitha Palepu is a multi-hypenate - an entrepreneur, investor, author and creator of #5SmartReads. She's the CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals and an investor in over 15 women-led and women-focused companies. Her second book We're Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris will be published this fall. On the show, we discuss the topic of privilege. Why, even if you have a lot of it, it is OK to be proud of your success.Hitha is the single daughter of immigrant parents. She shares what drives her to keep so many projects and tasks going on at the same time, how she manages her time, and advice for those of us who want to invest in other companies. Hitha is an avid angel investor and she’ll also walk us through some ways to get involved without a lot of money.Hitha lives in New York City with her husband and sons.

On today's show, a conversation about the financial and career-related costs of being a working parent - and how to design a more fulfilling, dignified (and affordable) life for you and your family, especially as we emerge from the pandemic. Guest Daisy Dowling is a 20-year Wall St. veteran who now coaches working parents, helping them get to the top of their game (she’s also a mom to two young kids). Her new book is WORKPARENT: The Complete Guide to Succeeding on the Job, Staying True to Yourself, and Raising Happy Kids. She offers great advice for aspiring parents, as well.

On this Friday's Ask Farnoosh listeners ask: Are investing courses worth it? How to anticipate and budget for home maintenance costs? How to ask for a raise after learning a colleague makes more? How to set financial boundaries with family members you are supporting? Plus, Farnoosh selects her reviewer of the week for a free 15-minute money session!

In celebration of Pride Month, NextAdvisor Editor-in-Chief Adam Auriemma stops by the show to share some of the site's latest coverage related to LGBTQ+ financial rights. He also provides the behind-the-scenes of his new interview with Suze Orman on how being gay has been the foundation to her success. We also highlight some LGBTQ+ personal finance experts to follow.To sign up for Adam's June 24th Livestream with Suze Orman click here.  

This episode is brought to us in partnership with the Allstate Foundation.[Trigger Warning] Today’s show focuses on a very serious issue, domestic violence and specifically, financial abuse, described as the invisible weapon of domestic violence. It is something that happens in nearly all cases of domestic violence - 96 percent of domestic violence victims experience financial abuse.We will hear from one very brave survivor, Mercii Thomas, who recently left her abusive partner, a man that made her financially and geographically reliant on him. We’ll discuss the importance of understanding financial abuse and how that can prevent a victim from breaking free. We’ll explore the prevalence of domestic violence and financial abuse and the importance of financial empowerment....and share important resources for victims, survivors and their allies.If you or someone you know wants to learn more about these issues, you can visit allstatefoundation.org. If someone needs immediate help, please reach out to the National

Financial 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.

We are capping Crypto Week with guest Hilary Hendershott, CFP and Founder of Hendershott Wealth Management, in a discussion about whether or not it is wise to invest in the crypto space. Will we regret ignoring the craze in, say, 30. years? How to buy a cryptocurrency? How to invest in blockchain technology? What do you do if you want to sell your stake?

Our conversation picks up where we left off in the previous episode about the impact that the blockchain and cryptocurrency may have on the world, with a deeper look at what it can mean for the racial and gender wealth gaps. Our guest is Cleve Mesidor, founder of the National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain. A Washington insider, she served as an Obama Presidential Appointee, a senior staffer in Congress, and in the leadership of national political campaigns. She is also the author of the book THE CLEVOLUTION, A gritty and honest memoir where she chronicles her nomadic journey that begins during the tumultuous 70s in Haiti and later migrating to NYC and then into Washington politics.