So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

Tracy Litt is a certified mindset coach, best selling author, rapid transformational therapist, and awe-inspiring speaker. She is the founder of The Litt Factor, a personal growth and coaching company, and Worthy Human, an inspirational and empowering merchandise line.Learn more about Tracy on her website, TheLittFactor.com and connect with her on Instagram @TheLittFactor and Facebook @TheLittFactor

My guest today is on a mission to make finance fun. Paco de Leon realized that she had a knack for understanding and explaining money in a way that was exciting and made people actually want to learn. After varied career experiences in banking, consulting, and the marijuana industry, she realized that what she was really good at was helping creative people understand their money. That realization led her to create The Hell Yeah Group and become the co-host of Refinery 29’s Money Diaries Podcast. Learn more about Paco by visiting TheHellYeahGroup.com. Connect with The Hell Yeah Group on Instagram @thehellyeahgroup, Facebook @thehellyeahgroup and Twitter @hellyeahgroup

This week, Farnoosh answers questions related to retirement savings, freezing credit reports and term life insurance.Plus, she selects a new reviewer to receive a free 15 minute money session.

Sallie Holder is the author of the forthcoming book Hitting Rock Middle, a step-by-step plan to help you start creating the path to your greatest potential – a place that includes true fulfillment and success.

The actress Busy Philipps is known for hit shows like NBC’s “Freaks and Geeks,” the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek,” and ABC’s “Cougar Town.” She is also a writer and a social media personality with 2 million followers on Instagram.I caught up with Philipps on her media tour with brand partner HotelTonight. (Philipps and HotelTonight ran a contest to give five “planners” last-minute spontaneous getaways.) And during our conversation, she mentioned yet another role. It’s one that isn’t as public-facing, but it is just as notable: fierce negotiator.In our quick convo, she opens up about her financial upbringing, the financial freedoms that come with having a popular social media platform, and the time she walked away from what would become a successful TV series … with no regrets.

Cleo Stiller has always liked to have conversations that other people don’t feel comfortable having. She hosted a show called “Sex Right Now with Cleo Stiller” and when the #MeToo movement started gaining mainstream attention, she was inundated from questions from male viewers. Questions like, “I’m a single guy and I don’t know how to approach women” and “I’m a new parent to a son and I don’t know how to raise a good man.” With these questions, she saw an opportunity: we as a society needed to have an open conversation where people could come together and feel safe asking these questions and getting answers. That didn’t exist, so she created it. Her new book, Modern Manhood dives into the complicated world of trying to be a good man today.Connect with Cleo Stiller on Twitter and Instagram @cleomsf. 

This week on Ask Farnoosh, how a health savings account can also be a retirement savings supplement, reasons why employers should offer maternity leave, the financial benefits of moving to a more affordable location and forming an investing club. Plus, Farnoosh selects a new reviewer for a free money consult.

Our guest today served in the military, then became a teenage mom, then went to Yale, got her law degree and now runs a multiple six figure business, Tasha Cochran is the founder of the website and YouTube channel, One Big Happy Life with her partner Joseph. Together, they share a ton of educational resources and the most personal details of their financial life, including how much they make and how they budget.Learn more about Tasha on her website, OneBigHappyLife.com. And connect with her on Youtube and on Instagram @onebighappylife

Nneka Faison has an impressive history of career achievements: Ivy league graduate, Anchor and Reporter, named "40 Under 40" Leader by Boston Business Journal, and most recently, becoming the Managing Editor of WCVB-TV's Award Winning News Magazine show, "Chronicle."From 2017 to 2018, Faison was a fellow at Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism where she completed course work and research on youth media consumption and journalism business models. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and received her BA degree from Princeton University.Connect with Nneka on Twitter @newsneka and at www.wcvb.com/chronicle

Got questions about real estate? Today’s episode has lots of answers!We have a very special themed episode and it’s all going to be about real estate. Many of you are in market or interested in buying. We’ve got you covered, and I couldn’t think of a better, more experienced person to co-host than Ilyce Glink, author of the real estate bible: 100 Questions Every First Time Homebuyer Should Ask.We’re also addressing questions from our audience, including:Trevor: I’m looking at getting a rental property. What’s a good base rate of return?Jonathon: Manhattan is oversaturated. Do you think it is better to buy rental properties over a property to live in?Natalie: What’s the lowest down payment a first time home buyer can put down?More about Ilyce Glink: She is an award-winning television and radio personality, a communications and media strategist, an innovator in content marketing and the founder of three Chicago-based companies.Her latest project, Best Money Moves, is a mobile-first employee benefit designed to

Julie Hansen knows how to build companies. She’s helped launch well-known websites like NCAA.com, NewYorker.com, TeenVogue.com, and the number one website for golfers at Time Inc. And she took Silicon Valley Insider and turned it into Business Insider — one of the most well-known business sites around.Now Julie has embarked on a different challenge: take a thriving European company and help it find success in the US. For the past two years Julie has been the US CEO for Babbel, a language learning startup.Learn more about Babbel by visiting their website Babbel.com.

Hope King is an anchor with Cheddar, where she leads the company's business, markets, technology, transportation, and telecom coverage. She began her journalism career five years ago after graduating from Columbia Journalism School with a Master of Science degree. She has previously worked for Business Insider and CNN. Hope is currently in the second act of her professional career -- the first being finance. Hope is a former Merrill Lynch executive who helped lead a $200 billion product group. 

This week's questions concern feeling pressure to spend like well-off friends, ways to teach kids about money and affording 6 months of planned unemployment. Special co-host Alexandra Stockwell joins. Alexandra is a Relationship and Intimacy Expert, known as The Relationship Catalyst. She is the creator of the Conscious Partnership Program and the author of the forthcoming book “Uncompromising Intimacy”.

Karen Cahn is the Founder and CEO of iFundWomen, and has dedicated her career to closing the funding and the confidence gap for women entrepreneurs.Named on NASDAQ’s “10 Best Sources of Funding for Women Entrepreneurs”, iFundWomen is a startup funding platform providing female entrepreneurs access to capital, coaching, and connections critical to launching and growing their businesses.Karen is a pioneer in tech and media. She was an early Google Intrapreneur where she spent 10 years leading various monetization teams in search, display, and video. Most notably, Karen started the Branded Entertainment business at YouTube, when, back in the olden times of YouTube 2006, she and a rogue group of sales and product managers, made the connection between big consumer brands and video creators, thus creating the first native video ad experiences monetized on YouTube.Most recently, Karen spent three years as General Manager of AOL Original Video, and was responsible for business strategy and strategic partnerships. In

This episode is brought to us thanks to So Money sponsor Chase.Have you begun your holiday shopping yet? To control the spend over the past few years, as our family has grown, my relatives and I like to participate in a Secret Santa. I have just two people to shop for, as opposed to twenty! And those gifts can be extra special. It's just one way I recommend making your own traditions around the holidays to both enjoy the festivities but also be mindful of your finances.Today’s episode has some advice for all of us, as we embark on the spending frenzy. As part of So Money’s partnership with Chase and as the financial education ambassador for Chase, we welcome BJ Mahoney, General Manager Chase Freedom to the show today. He shares some interesting research related to holiday spending, as well as seasonal savings tips.For more, check out www.chase.com

Have you ever hesitated to lean in and play and think big with money? My guest today knows why. Dr. Valerie Rein has spent years working with high achieving women, women who want to have it all and thrive. But what she found in these clients, and eventually in herself, is that often when we’re getting ready to soar, our nervous system will hold us back, signaling to ourselves that we’re not safe. She’s named this response PSD: Patriarchy Stress Disorder. And through her research and over 20,000 hours as a therapist and coach, she’s created a process and new book to help break through it.Learn more about Valerie by visiting her website, https://www.drvalerie.com/, downloading a free chapter of her book, or listening to her podcast, Her Success Radio. Connect with her on Instagram @drvalerierein.

On this week's Ask Farnoosh, one listener wants to know how to get back in the workforce after taking one year off. What is the best way to do that? Also, when is it smart to take some of your savings and invest it in the market...and when is it OK to tap your emergency fund?

For many of us, the day we get cut off from our parents is a "money moment," right? Some of us may have had experience with this. For others, it’s completely foreign. Wherever you are in your financial life, I think you’re going to appreciate today’s interview with Amanda Miller Littlejohn, a top nationally recognized expert on personal branding. Amanda is also a podcast host and author of the book Package Your Genius. Amanda is an idea oven, a brand problem solver and creative power house who works at the intersection of public relations, journalism, marketing and social media. How and why she built her business is a very personal journey. And we connect all of the dots on today’s episode - from her experiences with money and her parents, to later in her marriage and the financial complexities that inspired her to finally take the reins in her financial life.Learn more about Amanda on her website: http://www.amandamillerlittlejohn.com. Check out her podcast, too, at Package Your Genius.

Cathy Heller is a fire hose of inspiration. She’s the host of the popular podcast Don’t Keep Your Day Job, which was given the #1 spot on iTunes recommend list of shows for the New Year in 2018 and 2019. Cathy’s new book shares the title of her podcast [Don’t Keep Your Day job] and it's filled with inspirational stories from people within her own tribe who have decided to take control of their life’s journey. Her book goes into detail about how to find the work you were meant to do, how to grow your business, and level up your quality of life all around. Learn more about Cathy at CathyHeller.com and DontKeepYourDayJob.com. And connect with her on Instagram @cathy.heller and on Facebook @dontkeepyourdayjob

From tax deductions to starting your own retirement plan when you're self-employed, Farnoosh and co-host Crystal Lewis answer your biggest money questions of late.Co-host Crystal Lewis is a So Money listener and a Texas Certified Public Accountant with 20+ years of accounting experience. She is currently the Corporate Controller at International Risk Management Institute. She is also a John Maxwell certified speaker, trainer and coach.  She also has great information for parents and young adults seeking financial education at www.lifepreponline.com.