So Money With Farnoosh Torabi

Sophia Bera is in her early 30s and has already started her own company, GenY Planning, which delivers comprehensive financial planning to people in their 20s and 30s across the country.Most financial planners require an asset minimum of $1 million, making it an unattainable resource for most people, particularly millennials seeking advice with how to start building their finances. With Gen Y Planning, Sophia, a certified financial planner, is determined to shake up the financial planning industry, and work with clients today so that they can reach $1,000,000 in the future.But interestingly Sophia actually never planned to be in finance. She was actually a Theater Performance and Women’s Studies major in college at Minnesota State University-Mankato. While in college, she set the impressive goal for herself of buying a house after graduation, and she became obsessed. She spent her time between classes at Barnes and Noble reading everything she could about money, personal finance, real estate and building weal

My guest today is a woman with similar drive and ambition to the So Money Millennials you've already heard from earlier this week. Today's guest is Raya Schwartz, and she is just 25 and has already opened up her own waxing boutique in Tampa, FL!She became an esthetician at 18 in New Mexico, and when she turned 20 got a job at a waxing salon. She made a good salary of over $60k per year, but was unhappy with the way the owners treated the employees. So, she decided go out on her own and start a small spray tan business. In her first year she was able to match her salary from her previous salon!She then moved to Tampa and opened the successful Flirt Wax Bar. Her goal is to be financially and physically free to travel and spend time with her family – and she is well on her way.For more information, visit www.somoneypodcast.com. 

My So Money Millennial today wasn’t a top student or star athlete, but Kristina Ellis, 28, managed to earn half a million dollars in college scholarships by the time she graduated high school in 2005.  . The most recent graduating class finished college with an average $35,000 in student loans – the highest on record.  And of course we’ve heard of students saddled with six figures in student loans. It’s a crisis.For Kristina, after her mother sat her down in the 9th grade and told her she wouldn’t be able to financially support her daughter once she graduated high school, she became empowered to find a way to afford her own future without skipping college or going into massive debt.Instead, she immediately began researching the best ways to qualify for top scholarships. She spearheaded community service missions, coached and grew her gymnastics team and even managed to get crowned Miss Indiana Teen USA. From there Kristina cast a very wide application net and managed to earn $500,000 spread across 20 scholars

When you think of retiring early…you might think 55..50…Mr. Money Mustache retired when he was 30 – which WAS the youngest age I’d heard of retiring at…until I got an email from my guest today Travis Hornsby. He is 25 years old and claims that he is retired! My first reaction was – WHAT? And then I laughed…and then I thought I really need to talk to him.A little more about Travis: Up until this year he was working as a bond trader at Vanguard. He had passed the CFA exams, and was on track to become a Portfolio Manager, but he realized that he wasn't fulfilled…reminds me of a tony robbins saying that success without fulfillment is FAILURE. Travis had always been a big saver since college, so he decided to take the plunge and start saving two-thirds of his income and live like a pauper with the goal to retire at 25, which he has just achieved. As of right now he is enjoying his retirement by traveling the world. He’s already been all over Europe, and plans to travel to South America and Asia next. Today he’s co

In this episode of Ask Farnoosh on So Money podcast, I answer your questions about how to go about firing your financial advisor, online resources to check your resume, the best ways to calculate how much you're saving, and more.  For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com.

In this episode of Ask Farnoosh I answer your biggest questions about renegotiating a job offer, the best financial resources for a So Money fan that's looking for intermediate level literature, what other types of savings accounts you can use if you're planning to retire before 55, how to save for a downpayment on a house, how to grow a business while facing some debt, playing catchup with retirement savings and more.  For more information check out www.somoneypodcast.com.

Rebecca Jarvis is the ABC news chief business and economics correspondent and creator, host and managing editor of “Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis.” She reports for all ABC news programs and platforms… and conducted wide ranging interviews with the biggest names in business, including General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra, mega investor Warren Buffett, Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. Rebecca and I first met about six years ago at CBS News. And she’s one of the hardest working people in the industry.In the following interview I put her on the spot and asked her about something she failed to put in her bio… tsk-tsk. Rebecca’s got some fantastic insights to share about her financial journey and the lessons learned as a kid growing up in the Midwest…the big money mistake she made and the impact it had on not only her finances, but her parents’ finances, as well…and how she turned a 6-month trial job into a major 3 year contract.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com

So Money singletons, this episode’s for you.  If you’re looking for love and you like technology…our guest today is marrying the two with his new dating app called Hinge. You might have heard of it. I have to be honest, I’m really behind the times when it comes to matchmaking apps. When I was dating years ago, there was Match.com and it was still a little weird to say you met your boyfriend or wife ONLINE. People would make up all sorts of lies…and say “oh and we met at Barnes and Nobles or at a party…when really, you met at 2am online in your pajamas courtesy of match.com.Now the online dating industry is an estimated 2 billion dollar market with popular matchmaking apps like Tinder, Coffee Meets Bagels, Bumble, The League…and a relative new player in the field – Hinge. Our guest today is the founder and CEO of Hinge Justin Mcleod.Hinge is a relationship app that helps people meet through friends.  Unlike apps that show you random people in your area, Hinge shows only people in your social circles. Basically

Today I’m sharing a real rags to riches story. Several years ago my guest J. Massey encountered a series of life-altering events – his pregnant wife had a serious illness, he was in an accident that left him with a punctured lung that prevented him from being able to work, and their family home was foreclosed upon. J. quickly realized that he needed to make changes to be able to survive. So he immersed himself into intensive real estate investor training.He has since become a very, very successful real estate investor and has amassed an impressive portfolio of over 300 units of residential and commercial properties as well as private notes and mortgages.Today, in addition to his extensive real estate work, J. runs a training series that is available for others to learn how to turn their financial lives around, gives speeches and has authored the book Cash Flow Diary: 10 Steps to Creating Wealth in Any Economy.

Kids grow fast, which means a whole new set of clothes every few months, which means constantly having to spend money on items your kids will use and then outgrow before you can blink an eye. So how can you keep your kids clothed without throwing money out the window? Thankfully, my guest today, Shannon Wilburn, has an answer: consignment sales.It started in 1997, when Shannon and her friend, both young moms in Tulsa, OK, had the idea to hold a small kids clothes sale in Shannon’s living room with 17 consigners. They sold $2000 in merchandise and each walked away with $150. From there the business, which they named Just Between Friends, grew, and within a few years they were holding multiple day sales in an expo-center in Tulsa and helping other moms start their own sales. In 2004, Shannon franchised the company and now Just Between Friends sales are held all over the country. Some of them even gross over a million dollars each!

In my Ask Farnoosh episodes I received a number of questions from  you about financial advisors. How do I know I’m ready to work with one? How much do they cost? Is it worth it?I also receive a number of questions about the growing market of “robo advisers” or online advisors that offer more affordable financial planning. You don’t get to meet with an advisor one-on-one but you receive a virtual plan that addresses your goals…And many people are participating. ..Still many are not sure if this is right for them.That’s why I’ve invited today’s guest…co-founder and CEO of Betterment, Jon Stein.  Betterment launched in 2008 and is, as the company says, “a smarter automated investing service that provides optimized investment returns for individual, IRA, Roth IRA & rollover 401(k) accounts… Through diversification, automated rebalancing, better behavior, and lower fees, Betterment customers can expect 4.30% higher returns than a typical DIY investor.” The company also practices automation and passive investing. I

In today's episode of Ask Farnoosh, I answers your biggest questions about breaking down credit scores, prioritizing your expenses, helping family members with finances and saving to buy a house.

In today's episode of Ask Farnoosh, I answer your biggest questions about quitting your job, AmEx returns, starting investing, budgeting for young couples, my favorite guest financial habits and diversifying your investments.

I have a guilty pleasure. And that guilty pleasure is an entire channel… known as Bravo.  From the Real Housewives of Beverly Hilss to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. And today, we have one of my favorite Bravolebrities: Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger. She is the star and executive producer of the network’s hit series “The Millionaire Matchmaker” currently in its eighth season. If you’ve never watched the show Patti connects high net worth clients with women seeking love. The idea being that busy successful men don’t have time or the wherewithal to really make a meaningful connection on their own… And she flips it sometimes, too. I’ve watched her match millionaire women with men... and she’s also connecting same sex couples too, which is wonderful.What I admire most about Patti is her business savvy. She’s an experienced third-generation matchmaker. She founded her company, the Millionaire’s Club, in January 2000 and 15 years later it boasts more than 100,000 members available for its clients.

Imagine earning six figures…but being broke. Earning over $100,000…but facing the same amount in credit card debt.This is where the story of Brian Brandow begins. When trying to book a family vacation back in 2010, Brian says he hit a wall. All of his five credit cards were maxed out and he had no available cash. At the time he was making a great salary of $120,000 as an IT manager – more than enough to afford a vacation – and he quickly realized he and his wife needed to make a change. They were living far beyond their means, and had accumulated a whopping $109,000 in debt.So Brian and his wife set out to take control of their finances and their journey t tp financial freedom began. Brian educated himself on personal finance, his wife went back to work to bring in extra income, and they were able to clear the debt in just over 50 months or 4 years. Without having to worry about paying off debt, they now are able to contribute to an emergency fund, retirement savings and college funds for their three kids.Tod

A few weeks ago, my friend Kathy Braddock, the managing director of real estate company William Raveis, joined me for an interview. She had some great advice and insights on real estate and growing a successful business. Today, I am continuing that conversation with the founder of William Raveis, Mr. Bill Raveis himself.Bill founded William Raveis in one room over a grocery story in Fairfield, CT in 1974. He borrowed $2,000 to launch his firm – a firm which last year sold more than $8 billion worth of real estate. It is now the largest family-owned real estate company in the northeast with over 100 offices.Bill was the 1988 recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, among many others for his achievements in business. He also gives speeches across the country and has been published in numerous financial and real estate publications including Forbes Magazine and Real Estate Today.

Today’s guest proves that some people can transform a quirky hobby into a profitable business.Joe Brewer reached out to me with his story a few weeks ago.  His quirky hobby is arcade and pinball repairs and restoration. Salvaging an old, abadoned Ms. Pac Man arcade machine turned into a hobby of restoring vintage arcade and pinball machines which were found through Craigslist, online forums, or simply word of mouth.Joe has such a passion for this that he even has a full-blown arcade – Brewer's Arcade, it’s called -  in his home that you can actually visit. It’s open to the public a couple times per year.To date, he’s made a profit flipping games that he has restored and then sold and makes extra income running a YouTube channel, Brewers Arcade, which specializes in left handed guitars and you guessed it, arcade games!A little financial background on Joe - He and his wife live an anti-debt and fairly frugal lifestyle – their only debt is a mortgage where they make extra payments when possible.  They both live

Today I have the great honor of welcoming on the show my friend and design guru Nate Berkus. I've wanted to interview him since launching, but he’s had quite a busy year including celebrating the 20th anniversary of his design firm, and even more excitingly, becoming a father. He and husband Jeremiah are now the proud dads to Poppy Brent Berkus. Some background on Nate: In 2002 Nate was invited to make over a small space for “The Oprah Winfrey Show," after which he became a featured design expert for the show and continued to garner national press in publications such as Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Us Weekly, People, O Magazine, Lucky and InStyle, among others. Following the debut of his branded line of home products, Nate’s first book, "Home Rules" (Hyperion) was released in 2005 and went on to become a New York Times bestseller. “The Nate Berkus Show,” a daily syndicated first-run talk show hosted by Nate, launched in September 2010 and returned for a second season in the fall of 2011

In today's episode of Ask Farnoosh, I answer your biggest questions about selling collectibles, pre-tax and post-tax money decisions, finding side-hustles, multiple savings accounts and what to do with inheritance.

In today's episode of Ask Farnoosh, I answer your biggest questions about paying off medical bills, starting a 529 plan, building your online brand and buying vs. leasing a car.