So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about whether to apply for a new credit card vs. increasing your credit line, rewards credit cards, prenuptial agreements and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Courtney Daniel is bringing back the lost art of a hand-written note. She went from fulfilling the needs of celebrities as a personal assistant to the stars to now running her own business making beautifully handcrafted stationary. [So there is life after fetching lattes and booking appointments for the rich and famous!] Her business is called Courtney Daniel Designs and Courtney has been nationally recognized as an American Small Business Champion and United States Postal Service Postmark winner. In our conversation we learn the best - and worst - part of being a celebrity assistant. We also talk about how the business was born out of an act of catharsis, as she was dealing with a big health scare in her family. And why she's yet to achieve a So Money moment. Is she just being too hard on herself? For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Do you watch Super Soul Sunday on OWN? It’s one of the things I miss since cutting cable. But I can catch some of it online (thankfully!) Our guest today is a Super Souler, Oprah’s go-to parenting expert and a household name in our home since Tim and I became parents. Dr. Shefali Tsabary (or just Dr. Shefali for short) is gracing our show today. She is an acclaimed author, international speaker and clinical psychologist. Her award-winning book, The Conscious Parent has become my parenting bible and Oprah calls it “one of the most profound books on parenting.” Most recently Dr. Shefali came out with a new book entitled, The Awakened Family: A Revolution in Parenting. In it she gives parents the daily skills and tools to help raise children without fear and anxiety so you can truly cultivate relationships with them. In our interview we talk about how to raise money-conscious children who grow up to appreciate the value of money. And Dr. Shefali shares more about her own battles and success with money. Plus, why

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about leaving your financial advisor and managing your Roth IRA on your own, investing money vs. paying off your student loans and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Matt Mayberry had his dreams crushed at the young age of 22. Imagine dedicating your whole life to becoming an NFL player, actually making it to the big leagues playing for your home town team the Chicago Bears and then having it all go away after one game. Matt is a former linebacker for the NFL Chicago Bears. He had planned on being on the team for about a decade but lasted one game after suffering a life-changing injury. So what he did he do? He got really depressed. But then decided to take back control of his life and start his own company, Matt Mayberry Enterprises. It's a training and consulting company that specializes in maximizing the performance of individuals and organizations all over the world. His list of clients include major corporations including Fortune 500 companies, both NFL and NBA teams, government and nonprofit organizations, professional associations, hospitals, and universities. He's also one of the most read columnists in Entrepreneur Magazine. Matt's out with a new book Winning Pla

Fasten your seatbelt, Jillian Michaels 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. She's the foremost fitness expert in the world and a renowned life coach. 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 executing her vision for the business. Hear how she strategi

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about how early retiree's afford health insurance, negotiating your salary when an employer wants to know your wage requirements early in the interview process, putting one spouse's paycheck into savings while living on the other spouse's paycheck and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Election Day is right around the corner and for parents out there, have your kids started to express interest in the upcoming election? Mine is only two so we’ve yet to have those conversations with him but for many parents, kids are starting to ask, “Who is Donald Trump?” Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent voter, I think it’s fair to say that Donald Trump has a unique personality that’s not so easy to explain to a child. Especially if you’re the sort of parent that’s advocating for tolerance and kindness. Today’s guest is the one and only Michael Ian Black and he is taking on politics, poking at Donald Trump with his new book, A Child’s First Book of Trump. The premise is “how do you explain Donald Trump to a child?” Michael, as you may know, is a famous comedian, actor and writer. He stared in MTV’s The State, which is where I had first discovered him many, many, many years ago. Most recently, he’s been on the Jim Gaffigan Show. He’s also a New York Times bestselling author. In the inte

Catherine Alford, a friend of So Money, is back to talk about protecting one of the most high-anxiety investments - college tuition. She was on So Money last summer (EP 113) sharing details of her life as a personal finance blogger and aspiring entrepreneur. She's the breadwinner and mom to two-year-old twins. How does she do it? That was the scope of our conversation. Fast forward over a year, Cat is increasingly getting her work and message out there by collaborating with brands and doing tons more press. (Check her out on Good Morning America here!) She's become a major voice and influencer in the world of mom bosses.  She's on the program today to discuss her latest initiative - working with Allianz Tuition Insurance - to share advice around protecting your college investment in the event that you or your child needs to take a break due to an illness or injury. Not all tuition reimbursements work alike and insurance can come to the rescue. Plus Catherine has some exciting personal financial developments t

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about helping your siblings get out of debt, insuring prized possessions in your home, index funds and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Luvvie Ajayi is a blogging veteran, author, speaker, comedian and pop culture enthusiast. She's out with a brand new book, I'm Judging You: The Do Better Manual. It's her first book and I'm very excited for it. The book has humorous essays that dissect our cultural obsessions and calls out bad behavior in our increasingly digital, connected lives. A little bit more about Luvvie... she's the voice behind the very popular blog, AwesomelyLuvvie.com where she covers all things pop culture. Luvvie also has a passion for social justice and shoes so in 2009 she co-founded The Red Pump Project to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. She serves as the nonprofit's Executive Director. Luvvie also is a sought-after speaker speaking at conferences like TEDxColumbiaCollegeChicago, SXSW and numerous others. She's also contributes to TheGrio.com and Vulture. In the interview we discuss is there such a thing as having too much money? Luvvie and I debate this. She also shares why she thinks giving b

How do you save for retirement if you don't have a lot of money and your employer doesn't offer a retirement plan like a 401(k)? Today's guest, Richard Ludlow, is the Executive Director of the myRA program within the U.S. Department of Treasury and he's here to share more about the program and how it can serve millions of Americans. myRA is a relatively new retirement savings account from the U.S. Department of Treasury that has no fees, no minimum contributions and aims to lower barriers to saving for workers with no access to a workplace retirement plan. Richard has experience as a founder and executive in Silicon Valley where he managed the launch and growth of new initiatives in both the education and healthcare sectors. He's a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard Business School.   For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.   

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about prioritizing your personal finances when trying to save for your first home and pay down student loans, calculating equity shares between members of the family fairly and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Mary Beth Storjohann is a CFP® who founded Workable Wealth. She's shaking up the traditional views of financial planning by leveraging technology to help people make smart, educated choices with their money. She recently was named among the "Top 40 Under 40" by Investment News and "10 Young Advisors to Watch" by Financial Advisor Magazine. She's a sought after speaker, author and financial coach. She may sound familiar to you because she frequently appears on NBC as a financial expert and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes among other major news outlets. In this interview, we’re going to learn how Mary Beth is specifically helping millennials with their financial challenges, especially those who are strapped with a lot of student loan debt. We talk about her own personal relationship with money and the financial challenges she face as a kid. Mary Beth, on top of being an entrepreneur, mom and a wife, she is a military spouse. We talk about that because I think that does add another layer of fi

Sarah Kaler is an executive leadership coach and business mentor. For over 17 years she's worked with business leaders across various industries. In particular, she works with female CEO's who are building high-growth companies, international brands and Fortune 100 and 500 companies like Facebook, Lululemon Athletica, Intel, Cisco and many others. She's been featured in Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Fox News and countless other major news outlets. Sarah dedicates her business now to helping primarily female entrepreneurs drive their business with PURPOSE. Not just passion. PURPOSE. What does that mean? Plus, how to know when what you're earning is ENOUGH? And we talk about the importance of setting clear boundaries for yourself and business. You can't - and shouldn't - say yes to everything. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about looking for a new job when helping your family during a rough patch, student loan forgiveness programs, filing for bankruptcy and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Hilary Hendershott is a a fellow podcaster and host of the Profit Boss Radio Podcast. The weekly podcast is a fantastic resource for women who want to create success in their financial lives. Hilary's also a Certified Financial Planner and the founder of Hilary Hendershott Wealth Management, which is a leading financial advisory firm for women. She's also given a TEDx talk and was recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 Entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Hilary is known as "The Investor's Voice of Reason" and regularly contributes to the NBC evening news in Silicon Valley. But before Hilary was so successful, she was tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt and behind on our mortgage. Hear about the wake-up call that saved her and helped her climb out of the hole. Some of us may be familiar with having a fear of scarcity. Hilary can relate to that and she talks about the implications that has had on her financial life. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

Dan Ariely 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. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality and 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. We discuss the pros and cons to technology and the digital age we live in when it comes to personal fi

In this week's episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about saving for your child's college education, purchasing a car while avoiding loans, asking for a raise and more. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

So many of you have written in suggesting today's guest for the show. Excited to say the Mad FIentist aka Brandon is here. He's a personal finance blogger writing about everything from tax avoidance to investing and on all topics related to achieving financial independence and early retirement. Over at his blog, madfientist.com, he shares tactics for how to become financially independent early on in life so readers can "break away" from full time jobs. He's even got his own podcast, the Financial Independence Podcast, so go check it out after this episode. But first, take a listen... For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.