So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

Ten years ago kids when our guest Ana Homayoun would ask her students for their biggest distractions they’d list friends, sports and their pets. Now, the top distraction is the internet, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram.As a parent how do we enforce healthy rules around the internet and social media for our kids? How do we, ourselves, leverage the internet to enhance productivity, as opposed to just turning it into one big distraction? Ana Homayoun knows all. She is the author of the very new book Social Media Wellness and comes to this discussion with over fifteen years of experience working with students, educators and administrators. Ana is also the founder Green Ivy Education Consulting, a firm that specializes in promoting time management and wellness issues in the classroom and school communities.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Today's guest became a millionaire in just five years and all by the age of 30. Grant Sabatier is the founder of Millennial Money and he’ll be sharing how he went from having just two dollars in his pocket to crossing the million-dollar threshold.Indeed, it was a fateful day at Chipotle in his early 20s when he experienced his financial wake-up call. All Grant wanted to buy was a burrito. But he couldn’t. He checked his bank balance and realized he had just $2.26 to his name. A recent, unemployed college grad living at home like so many Millennials, Grant decided it was time to grow up, make a living and take a stab at this whole adulting thing.You’ll have to listen to the episode to learn the rest!For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

In this week’s episode of Ask Farnoosh, special guest Sophia Bera and I answer your biggest questions about financial advice for single women, trust funds and beneficiaries, investing in target date funds and more.Sophia Bera is the founder of GenY Planning and was featured on So Moneypreviously. If you’d like to learn more about Sophia, visit her website genyplanning.com or follow her on Twitter @sophiabera. You can also sign up for her newsletter here or enroll in the waitlist for her Millennials and Money class here.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Today’s interview is an experience I will never forget. I’m actually surprised that it took me this long to bring my parents onto the show. They have been one of my biggest supporters since day one but particularly with this podcast. They knew how much it meant to me. They listen every day and give me feedback. They’re my biggest fans.We talk about it on the show so often that who we are as people, especially when it comes to our values, perspectives and emotions around money, stem from childhood and often how our parents communicated over money and interacted with money. I talk about all of that with Adam and Sheila Torabi. In Farsi or in Persian, they’re known as [Farrokh] and [Sheida], but they changed their names. I finally get to the bottom of this in our official podcast interview today and it was a blast going all “Barbara Walters” on them. I didn’t let them off the hook.I asked them why they fought about money when I was a kid because that’s the sort of stuff that really sticks with you for life, righ

Today’s guest is one of my favorite authors on the planet. He’s provided me with so much invaluable insight throughout the years, as I’ve been working in the field of personal finances. Dan Ariely is our special guest. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationalityand The Honest Truth About Dishonesty.I actually tapped Dan for his expertise just recently for my Oprah column about ways to combat money myths and save better.  Dan and I were two of the keynote speakers at the Northern California Financial Planners Association gathering. Such an honor to be in his company.A little more about Dan: He is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight and a Chief Behavioral Economist with a new savings app, Qapital. He’s a multiple-time TED talker, whose speeches have been viewed millions of times. He is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Should I keep multiple 529 plans with the same provider? Is it best to keep joint or separate investment accounts with your spouse? Answering these questions of yours and ore with special guest Brittney Castro, Founder and CEO of Financially Wise Women.Brittney joined me on So Money before. To catch her interview, click here.  And if you’d like to keep up with Brittney, follow her on Twitter @BrittneyCastro.For more information or to leave your own question for an upcoming Ask Farnoosh episode visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Fasten your seatbelt, today’s guest is about to take us on a superhighway fast lane to success, as she shares her rise to mogul status in the health and fitness world. You know her well:  Jillian Michaels, the foremost fitness expert in the world and a renowned life coach is our SO MONEY guest today.Jillian has built an international fitness community on countless platforms from her popular fitness DVDs and exercise streaming platform, fitfusion.com, to her 8 New York Times best-selling books, to her award-winning podcast The Jillian Michaels Show.And she’s not slowing down. Jillian recently released her own iPhone app which allows users to train with her with pre-set workouts. Jillian’s company Empowered Media, which she launched with business partner Giancarlo Chersich, has fast become a monumental wellness empire that’s dedicated to provide people with accessible and affordable solutions for all of their wellness needs.In the interview we discuss how Jillian’s not super conventional when it comes to execut

Ladies and gentleman, this episode will forever be an absolute dream come true for me. The day that we had the Emmy Award-winning co-host of Lifetime’s mega-hit show Project Runway Tim Gunn.Tim is fashion royalty and he’s had a long lasting career as a mentor and educator with roles like  Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons School of Design, Fashion Dean at Fifth & Pacific and Chief Creative Director at Liz Claiborne Inc. He’s also a New York Times best-selling author.Takeaways from our time together:How Tim didn’t get paid when Project Runway first launched (season 1 AND 2). Nada. Zilch.His So Money moment after years of living paycheck to paycheck as a “pauper educator,” he describes.Receiving a $50,000 inheritance in the 1990s and how he used it strategically.Fun Fact: Tim and I actually used to live in the same apartment building together (though I was always too shy to say Hello. I blame my yoga pants.)For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

My fiancé has student loan and credit card debt. I'm willing to help him pay it off but what should we prioritize? And what do you think of prenuptial agreements?Is it okay to tell a hiring manager that you don't have a degree because doesn't make sense for you financially?Are CFP professionals really worth the investment? What should I look for when finding one to work with?Answering these questions of yours and more on this week's Ask Farnoosh. Also, have a question of your own you’d like me to answer? Visit www.somoneypodcast.com and click on “Ask Farnoosh” in the righthand corner and record or write-in your question.

Today's guest is a a 32-year old certified financial planner who deeply knows the financial struggles of his generation. Douglas Boneparth and his wife Heather grappled with $300,000 in combined student loan debt. They somehow managed to overcome it and now want to support their generation to teach them how to take better control of their money. They've co-authored a new book called The Millennial Money Fix, which dives into the challenges they faced and offers a step-by-step guide on how to take control of your finances.Douglas and I talk about how his financial practice caters to the Millennials, a generation that doesn't have a lot of money to invest. He shares the key strategies that helped him and his wife conquer their six-figure debt and his best advice for young adults seeking financial independence.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Our guest today is a love and relationship coach who dedicates her life to helping women truly know and feel their worth so they can go out there and find their match. Nicole Moore, founder of Love Works, joins us today. She teaches her clients how to be love because she believes a woman that truly loves herself and her life is unstoppable.And on a money note...Nicole earned $100,000 in one month recently. She shares the behind-the-scenes of her business and how to build your audience online and cash in on your expertise.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Should I relocate my family for a job that pays more even though my husband would have to find work? A major retailer is interested in buying a product I've designed... what's the best way to finance an initial production run? I currently use transportation for wok but I'll need to get a car... should I buy or lease? Answering your questions and more on this week's Ask Farnoosh with special co-host and my dear friend Kafi Drexel.To share a question for an upcoming Friday episode visit www.somoneypodcast.com and click on "Ask Farnoosh" in the righthand corner.

Do you dream of having your own TV talk show or be on reality TV? Come on, you know you want to be a star! My guest today has a played a leading role running popular daytime TV programs including Hoda and Kathie Lee on the Today Show and The View.\Brian Balthazar is here with advice on how to strike out on television, as well as his own personal journey of rising the ranks in television as a programming developer and executive producer.  Brian take us back to the days he was working in retail, then living in his car...not sure what his future would hold.  Today, he is the Vice President of Programming and Development for Scripps Networks where he creates and directs a variety of shows for HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country. You may also recognize Brian as the fun and funny personality who appears on numerous shows discussing pop culture and media headlines.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

After two decades editing and publishing best-selling books, our guest today is out with her first novel, a book entitled The End of Men. Karen Rinaldi is the publisher of Harper Wave, an imprint she founded in 2012, and a senior vice president at HarperCollins Publishers. She also writes non-fiction essays and has been published by the New York Times, Time and Oprah Magazine.Karen and I discuss the challenges of writing, publishing and promoting a book. Her insistence that we must all suck greatly at something and the unassailable truths her previous marriages taught her about moneyFor more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

My husband just inherited $100K and we're not sure where to invest the money... any suggestions? Would love your opinion on target date funds... thoughts? How much of a six-figure income should be allocated toward investing in stocks, real estate, savings and so forth? Answering these questions of yours and more on this week's #AskFarnoosh.For more information or to submit your own question for an upcoming episode visit www.somoneypodcast.com and click on "Ask Farnoosh."

She hated writing as a student, and now has an award-winning blog that's en route to generating $1.5 million this year.  And she's 27 with a goal to retire by 30. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog that she launched when she was $40,000, in debt. It was a creative outlet for her while working as a financial analyst.The success of the blog has allowed her to become a solopreneur. She and her husband now travel the country in their RV. On the podcast Michelle shares how she managed to build a 7-figure blog, how she saves 90% of her income, the dynamics of being the breadwinner in her marriage and plans to retire in a few years.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Would you walk away from a job that paid $500,000 a year? And we're talking about a job that isn't terrible. It's not your passion, but come on, it's half a million dollars per year! Our bold guest Susie Moore did just that.Susie is the creator of the Side Hustle Academy, a program she created for those who want to follow in her footsteps. Want to start a side revenue stream but not sure how to start or where to find time? Susie to the rescue!More about Susie: She is a life coach and bestselling author of "What If It Does Work Out". She stopped schooling after age 18 and went on to climb the corporate ladder making her way to Sales Director at a Fortune 500 company. She helped build three startups where the most recent one sold for $405M. And now she runs a 6-figure coaching business.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

A family member wants to buy their first home but they have bad credit... any suggestions? I'm paying off my credit card three to 5 times a month in order to keep my utilization at 30%.... am I doing this right to help improve my credit? How do I approach someone I don't work directly with to be my mentor? Answering these questions of yours and more on this week's Ask Farnoosh with special co-host Leah Gervais, founder of Urban 20 Something blog.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

How do you go from being a C-student to c-suite at a company? Chief Marketing Officer Joanne Bradford of SoFi is on So Money sharing her journey of how she climbed the ranks of corporate America despite her challenges as a student. SoFi is an online personal finance company that provides people with student loan refinancing, mortgages and personal loans. Co-founder Dan Macklin has been a guest on the show before (EP 261).Joanne's role at SoFi is to oversee its consumer-facing functions including marketing, business development, partnerships and member services. Prior to SoFi, she worked at Pinterest where she led global commercial and content partnerships, platform adoption and monetization efforts. Joanne also held executive leadership positions at Yahoo!, The San Francisco Chronicle and BusinessWeek. She's also on the board of CARE, which provides aid to the poor around the world and a founding advisor to Lean In.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

Organization is not a destination but a journey. Our guest today says you are never going to be "completely organized" ... and that's ok! She is Lisa Woodruff, founder of Organize 365 and author of the book The Mindset of Organization: Take Back Your House One Phase at a TimeShe's become a professional organizer through her own life's challenges.  At age 40, she found herself totally unorganized, unproductive and unplanned, and her family life was suffering. She decided to quit her job and create a 40-day plan to get her home in better shape and began blogging about it. It was then she realized her calling to be a professional organizer. Lisa has helped thousands of people find sanity in their lives.  For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.