So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

By now you’ve heard of the expression #GirlBoss. It’s the title of Sophia Amoruso’s NYT bestselling book and soon to be Netflix series. (By the way, catch us gabbing on her podcast about money, life and earning millions your 20s.)Well, increasingly you might be hearing about the Mom Boss movement led by Nicole Feliciano, the CEO of Momtrends and author of the new book, "Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids and Success."Nicole’s got the inside intel on how moms can launch businesses while spearheading a household. How to structure your life so you don’t go NUTS and advice from some of the top female entrepreneurs in this country for how to be a proper Mom Boss. Full disclosure: She interviewed me for the book and my experiences and deep thoughts are sprinkled throughout it!For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Does the thought of money make you sick? Does it make you sad? Happy? Overconfident? Indifferent? Our emotions can run rampant when it comes to the top of personal finance and helping us today get to the root of those emotions is financial therapist Bari Tessler. Bari is also the founder of The Art of Money,a global year-long money school with three stages Money Healing, Money Practices and Money Maps. She has a brand new book The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness. We discuss the teaching from her new book and how she, herself, struggled with money on her way to becoming the teacher and mentor she is today. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about lifestyle changes that come with taking a pay cut, securing a private loan for your college education, travel hacking and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

I stumbled upon Rachel Mansfield on Instagram. She tagged me in a picture…Not what I was expecting to see when I saw the photo…I was tagged in a photo of a a grain-free salmon burger topped with avocado…the caption described the burger’s ingredients and then said, “Now back to binge listening to Farnoosh Torabi’s So Money podcast. I am obsessed! Guys, this photo got over 5,000 likes. Curious, I then clicked on her profile and almost fell off my chair. I saw she had over 100,000 followers and was... well is... a BIG deal. From there we struck up a friendly conversation, only to learn that less than a year ago she’d been fired from her job because her employer thought her social media presence was a conflict of interest. At that time she had only a small fraction of the followers she has today….And rather than scurry to find another job she decided, at the ripe age of 26, to venture out on her own. She turned her side-gig of food blogging into a full time job and since then, she's worked with top brands in the

As you know I’m working with one of my favorite financial tools – Mint.com – writing weekly for the blog. As part of our partnership I had the awesome chance to sit down with Intuit’s Senior Vice President and General Manager Al Ko when he was visiting in NYC a few weeks ago. The site’s come a very long way since 2006 when it first launched. Al and I discuss some of the changes Mint’s experienced over the decade, the challenges consumers continue to face when it comes to money management and the $400 purchase in college he calls his So Money moment! More about Al: He joined Intuit in 2006, working in a number of product management, corporate development and leadership positions throughout the company. During his tenure, Ko has cultivated his knowledge of the global financial services ecosystem, and is keenly aware of the financial challenges facing individuals and businesses. Prior to Intuit, Ko worked as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, advising clients on strategy, organizational ef

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about strategizing to save money for grad school, maximizing your savings, my thoughts on the best budgeting apps and online safety and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Many of the questions I get for Ask Farnoosh are about student loans and student loan debt. It's a problem that's plaguing our country and with the rise of inflation, looks like it might get worse before it gets better. Today's guest has an incredible story of her own where she got out of $81,000 in student loan debt - both undergrad and graduate loans. Her story was, in fact, named one of the top five most inspiring personal finance stories of 2015 by Yahoo! Finance. She chronicled her journey on her award-winning blog Dear Debt and now inspires readers to break up with their own debt in a pretty fun way... by writing their own breakup letter to debt and sharing it on her website. Melanie also turned her story into a book, Dear Debt: A Story about Breaking Up with Debt. Melanie frequently contributes to news outlets and publications including Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Oprah and more. When she's not running her blog, she works as a freelance writer and event planner. For more information visit ww

Are you one of those people who relies on technology to help track your spending and pay your bills in a timely manner? Perhaps you're using the software Quicken? Well today the company's CEO, Eric Dunn is joining me on So Money. He's been an avid user since 1985 and was with the company since it's early days - even writing some of Quicken's early code! He joined Intuit, Quicken's previous owner, back in 1986 as employee #4. Over the course of his 20 years at Intuit he served as CFO through the 1993 IPO and merger with ChipSoft, was the first general manager of the Quicken business and was Intuit's first CTO. In 2000,Eric retired from Intuit to pursue a second career in technology investing. He was first an angel investor and then a General Partner at Cardinal Venture Capital. Eric has expertise serving on the board of directors at dozens of companies, including 5 public companies. Earlier this year, he became the CEO of Quicken Inc, the standalone private company, after teaming up with H.I.G. Capital which b

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about which debt you should tackle first, breaking your lease in favor of a more affordable rental, refinancing your mortgage and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Kute Blackson is a charismatic visionary and transformational teacher. He was born in Ghana, the son of a Japanese mother and Ghanaian father, who was a spiritual leader and healer. Kute began speaking to his father's congregation at just eight years old and by 14 was ordained to his father's ministry. But he knew that wasn't his life's calling. Instead of staying with the church, he went on to pursue his dream in the spiritual and self-help space. He's created his own method called "Liberated Living." He has a trademark transformation experience where he offers clients a one-on-one trip to India for 14-days and a group process called "Boundless Bliss - The Bali Breakthrough Experience." He takes clients on an intense journey to face their deepest fears and emerge reborn. Earlier this year he came out with a book, YOU.ARE.THE.ONE, which is a reflection of his thoughts, teachings and stories to help individuals access their true power. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Want to learn how to get pretty much anything you want? Negotiating well is one of the tenets of being SO MONEY so to that end I’ve invited one of the world’s TOP persuasion strategists Bushra Azhar. She's going to give us her secrets to how she's been able to persuade even the most stubborn people and companies. Bushra consults with top companies like Pepsi, Unilever and Ernst & Young, as well as smaller firms to help executives persuade their bosses and to get companies to persuade their customers. And it all comes down to psychology. We’re get a PSYCH 400 level crash course today, so grab you’re your pen and paper! Some fun factoids about Bushra: She was the youngest Vice President of a bank at just 24 years old and was the only women "at the table." She began working in consulting when she moved to Saudi Arabia where they have very strict laws pertaining to women. She's not allowed to drive, open a bank account or leave the country without the permission of a guardian. Yet, she managed to build her busine

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about maintaining a good credit score here in the U.S. if you live abroad but want to keep an active credit profile in the States, my best financial advice for people who make good income but through unstable jobs, how to prepare financially if you don't plan to get married and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

It's no secret that social media has been taking over our lives inn good ways and bad. For example, while social media can be a great way to share useful information, it can also be a huge TIME suck. According to recent research Americans are checking their Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts a whopping 17 times a day. That translates into at least once every waking hour, if not more. And one of the adverse affects of this, besides losing time, is that we can become ENVIOUS of other people’s lives. It’s hard not to scroll Instagram and once in a while think, "Wow that person lives a perfect life! I wish that were me!” And I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of buying a pair of shoes I saw on Instagram – immediately! All this to say that social media can be COSTLY. And our guest today wants to help. She is RACHEL CRUZE. She was on the podcast once before on Episode 29 and is BACK to talk about her new book, "Love Your Life, Not Theirs: 7 Money Habits for Living the Life You Want." In our conve

Imagine growing your income 10 times over in just a few short years? Maybe even working fewer hours along the way? Today's guest has done just that, as the founder of New York Book Editors. Natasa Lekic founded the company three years ago after working at a publishing house and wanting to break free from a firm she describes as a "sinking ship" and working overtime earning $50,000 a year. NY Book Editors caters to a sweet spot in the ever evolving publishing world. It's a company that provides editorial services and courses for authors and authors-to-be. The company's editors are veterans of the publishing industry and have worked with well-known authors from Stephen King to Paulo Cohelo to former So Money guests Arianna Huffington and James Altucher (he's been on So Money not one but two times!). In the interview we discuss Natasa's rise to success came with some insecurities around money. She shares how she overcame those fears and the strange connection to her great grandfather that gave her all her answer

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about having multiple accounts for different spending and savings purposes, opening an investment account for nieces, paying off debt vs. putting money into savings and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Kat Cole first caught my eye when she appeared on the TODAY Show not so long ago. She's the President of Cinnabon. At 19 years old Kat got her first job in the food industry as a hostess and waitress at Hooter's. Soon she was being sent all over the world to help the franchise open new eateries and quickly rose to a Vice President role at age 26, making her one of the youngest executives in chain restaurants. At Cinnabon, she has been President for the last 4 years, accountable for leading, evolving and building the brand and her team. After leading the company to billion dollar status, Kat was promoted to the role of Group President at FOCUS Brands Inc., the parent company to Cinnabon Inc. Kat is also a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Her story has been featured in major publications and news outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and now proud to say - So Money. In the interview we discuss what responsibility do employers have to support their workers with familie

Emme is a well-known supermodel. People Magazine has named her twice as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" and Ladies’ Home Journal chose her as one of the "Most Important Women in America" and one of the "Most Fascinating Women of the Year." But what I love MOST about her is that she's also an advocate for a positive body image and self-esteem. She wants men and women to know that beauty comes in ALL shapes and sizes. She's even created her own women's community, EmmeNation. It’s not every day I get to sit down with a super model so I had LOTS of questions including: As a leading plus size model what challenges did she face in the industry? How did she go about creating her brand while working as a model? Has it gotten easier these days with social media? What financial lessons has she learned along the way, as she builds out her business? Emme also has her own blog, Ask Emme where she answers questions from readers on everything from fashion to modeling to body image. She even has her own app so you can

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about whether or not you should hold onto your receipts, when it's okay to look for a new position within your current company, paying off debt vs. putting away money into savings and more.  

Are you confident with your investment strategy? Do you wish you knew more about how to invest? Today's guest is going to help us because he's an expert on investing.  New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Your Money: How to Invest Your Money During these Tumultuous Times, Ric Edelman is here with us today. The book was originally published back in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis but now he's updated it to reflect today's economy. Ric has been on the show with me before on episode 52 so definitely check that out if you missed it. More about Ric... he's the founder and executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services,. Ric has also been ranked the #1 Independent Financial Advisor by Barron's three times. He has eight other books and has sold over one million copies collectively. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Aaron Task is a friend and former colleague from TheStreet.com and Yahoo! Finance. Now, he's the Digital Editor of Fortune where he oversees editorial strategy and operations. Aaron is also a fellow podcaster, hosting the NEW weekly podcast Fortune Unfiltered, where he has in-depth conversations with top businesspeople including Gary Vaynerchuk, Blake Irving and Steve Case among others. He's an award-winning journalist with over 20 years of experience covering business and finance. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Finance and was an on-camera host of The Daily Ticker. Before joining Yahoo!, he spent 10 years at TheStreet.com. Aaron is also an author. He co-wrote Bailout Nation with Barry Ritholtz. In our conversation we talk about how Aaron has managed to be very entrepreneurial within the media companies he's worked for. How has he done and how does he continue to strengthen his personal brand within a corporate brand? We also take a trip down memory lane and discuss the lessons we bot