So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

This episode aired originally on Sept 19, 2025.

In this episode, Farnoosh opens with a personal story about a $5,000 fraud attempt on her business checking account—and what she learned about staying vigilant. She then breaks down today’s biggest money headlines: the Fed’s recent interest rate cut, why U.S. credit scores just saw their sharpest drop since 2008, shifts in the housing market, and why groceries and rent are still st...

In this Best of So Money 2025 episode, we revisit standout conversations on new ways to build wealth and protect retirement. From crypto and private equity creeping into 401(k)s, to smarter “rules of thumb” for spending and career decisions, to how to speculate without blowing up your plan, these clips help you stay curious, diversified, and clear-eyed as money trends evolve.

Featured Guest Excerpts

• Tess Waresmith (Episod...

In this Best of So Money 2025 episode, we revisit some of the most powerful conversations about managing money through midlife — a stage where financial decisions collide with health changes, caregiving responsibilities, relationship transitions, and neurodiversity. From menopause and medical advocacy, to rebuilding after divorce, to rethinking money with ADHD, to caring for aging parents, these excerpts offer practical guidance an...

Ask Farnoosh tackles three timeless money crossroads: getting out from under high-interest credit card debt, taking a career break without losing financial footing, and deciding whether an early retirement package is a smart (and safe) next move.

Questions Include:

How to manage credit card debt at 30% interest? Consolidation options, reputable nonprofit credit counseling, negotiating APR, and a realistic payoff plan

Burnt ...

In this Best of So Money 2025 episode, we revisit the conversations that best captured how AI is reshaping our careers, how we learn, and how we protect our money. Workplace expert Dan Schawbel breaks down what employers really think about degrees in the age of automation, Pat Flynn shares a smarter way to build skills without overwhelm, cybersecurity founder Martha Underwood explains how AI is supercharging scams—and how to defend...

In this special Best of So Money 2025 episode, we revisit four of the year’s most powerful conversations at the intersection of money, feminism, and choice. From caregiving and career pauses to beauty standards, ambition, and the myth of “having it all,” these excerpts explore how women navigate systems that shape our financial lives—and how we reclaim power, agency, and options along the way.

Featured Guest Excerpts

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In this Ask Farnoosh episode, Farnoosh answers listener questions on the tax implications of receiving Bitcoin as a gift, including how cost basis and capital gains work when you sell, plus smart ways to negotiate benefits beyond salary at a small business, from retirement matches to bonuses and potential equity alternatives. She ...

For decades, women were told that if they wanted equality, they needed to lean in harder. Work more. Organize better. Choose better partners. Be more efficient.

And yet, here we are. More educated than ever. More present in the workforce than ever. And somehow… more exhausted.

My guest today says this isn’t a contradiction. It’s a data point. Dr. Corinne Low is a Wharton professor and an economist. She is the author of the new bo...

What if doing everything “right” still left you broke, burned out, and quietly panicking about money?

Today’s guest followed the script perfectly. Elite degree. Wall Street job. Big bonus. The kind of career that looks wildly successful from the outside. But behind the scenes, she was carrying nearly $100,000 in student loan debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and realizing that the life she worked so hard for wasn’t giving her f...

Markets feel jittery, interest rates are in flux, and many listeners are wondering how to plan for 2026 with confidence. In this Ask Farnoosh episode, Farnoosh Torabi breaks down the biggest financial headlines of the week and tackles real listener questions about investing, saving, and navigating major life decisions during uncertain economic times.

Farnoosh starts with a clear, no-nonsense explanation of the Federal Reserve’s ...

What happens to a society when people decide to have fewer children—or none at all? And what does that mean for our economy, our housing market, the workforce, and even our financial futures?

Today we’re looking at one of the most consequential demographic shifts of our time: the global decline in birth rates. And we’re doing it with someone who has spent the last year leading an extraordinary international reporting project on ...

What if the real threat to your financial future isn’t the next market crash… but the AI-fueled bubble we may already be living through? Today’s So Money is part liberation, part investing reality check, and part clapback at the financial pressure women face to “get it perfect” when the system itself is unpredictable.

I’m joined by Amanda Holden, author of How to Be a Rich Old Lady, who breaks down how to build real, long-term w...

What does it mean to build wealth when the world hasn’t always made space for your identity? That’s the question at the heart of today’s conversation, and the driving force behind a powerful new book reshaping how LGBTQ+ people think about money, belonging, and the future. On this episode of So Money, I’m joined by Nick Wolny, a longtime personal finance journalist, columnist for OUT Magazine, and now the author of Money Proud: The...

Today’s conversation digs deep into one of the most important and misunderstood stages of financial development: the tween years. Research shows our money habits are formed as early as age seven, yet most people don’t start investing seriously until their 30s or 40s. So what happens if we bridge that gap? What if kids as young as 10 begin learning how money works, how investing grows wealth, and how to make smart decisions with the...

This week, Farnoosh dedicates Ask Farnoosh to one of the most pressing money topics in America right now: debt relief. Visit SoMoneyLinks for resources.

With household debt topping $17.7 trillion and credit card balances at record highs, Farnoosh answers real listener questions about tackling debt, from when to pause investing to whether it ever makes sense to use home equity or refinance student loans.

As Treasury Secretary, former Federal Reserve Chairwoman and Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Janet Yellen is one the most powerful woman in American economic history. Award-winning economics writer and author Jon Hilsenrath joins with insights about her life and work from his book, Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval. He shares how she navigated the sexism in her industry and ...

New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill joins Farnoosh for a candid conversation about the rising cost of living, the future of public schools, health care, taxes, and why politics and personal finance are inseparable.

Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor, and three-term congresswoman, recently won the governor’s race in a decisive victory that coincided with significant Democratic gains nationwide. In t...