April 4, 2025 • 12 mins
On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Farnoosh Torabi, Author and Podcaster about changing the way we think about money and taxes,
Key Takeaways:
- Know that you don't have to go it alone.
- See fear as a signal to get moving.
- Asking for help is an act of intelligence.
- Taxes don’t need to be complicated.
- We all have the ability to handle our taxes.
- How does do it yourself tax software work?
Connect with Farnoosh Torabi:
Books:
- A Healthy State of Panic: Follow Your Fears to Build Wealth, Crush Your Career, and Win at Life (Amazon)
- Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life (Amazon)
- When She Makes More: The Truth About Navigating Love and Life for a New Generation of Women (Amazon)
- You're So Money: Live Rich, Even When You're Not (Amazon)
Podcast:
- So Money Podcast (here)
Resources mentioned:
- TaxAct (here)
Bio:
Farnoosh Torabi is one of America’s leading personal finance experts. She is the host of the award-winning podcast So Money, which has earned over 30 million downloads. She is a sought-after speaker and author of multiple books.
Her newest is entitled A Healthy State of Panic, part-memoir, part-guidebook on how fear can be a superpower to achieve true wealth and career success. Along with being featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine, Farnoosh has appeared frequently on Today, Good Morning America, and more.
She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in finance and international business and holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Farnoosh lives on the East Coast with her husband and two children.
The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and
transform your financial future?
Then you've come to the rightplace.
This is the Get Ready MoneyPodcast with Tony Stewart, where
Tony has insightfulconversations with financial
experts who are changing the waywe think about money.
Catch up on the latestfinancial trends and hear
(00:27):
practical advice from Tony andhis expert guests so you can
build healthy habits that work,Be empowered with tips for
implementing small changes thatcan have a big impact on your
financial future.
So sit back and get ready tohear from today's guest.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast, changing
the way we think about money.
I'm pleased to be joined todayby Farnoosh Tarabi.
Farnoosh is the host of the soMoney podcast and author of A
Healthy State of Panic.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
In this episode, we'll be discussing Farnoosh's
insights on how we change theway we think about money and
taxes.
Varnusha, welcome to the Get.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Ready Money podcast.
Thanks for joining us today.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, so real quickly.
Can you give us just a quickoverview of your origin story?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Sure, well, I've been working in personal finance for
about 20 years, started out asa journalist in personal finance
, worked at all the major placesMoney Magazine, cnbc, et cetera
and then, like a lot of, likeyou know, origin stories, I got
laid off in the Great Recessionand had to kind of figure out my
(01:41):
next move and at the time Idecided to go independent and
start to build on the momentumthat I'd built in my career as a
financial journalist andeducator, and that soon after
that I wrote some more books.
I started a podcast called soMoney, and I've been.
(02:01):
I never looked back.
It's been great.
I've had the opportunity towork with a lot of cool people,
meet a lot of interesting people, travel and, most importantly,
help people with their money.
The podcast, primarily, hasbeen the tool to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
That's awesome.
I'm glad to have you here today.
As I mentioned pre-show, I'm abig fan of your work, so excited
to talk a little bit more aboutthat, of course, and to get
into the taxes.
So what tax concept do you wishpeople knew?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I wish people knew that they don't have to be so
complicated.
I think that we, like a lot offacets of our financial life, we
turn it into like this hairymonster.
We don't give ourselves thebenefit of the doubt to say you
know what, maybe I do have thechops to actually learn this, at
least the basics, and that Idon't have to allow fear to get
(02:54):
in the way of me beingsuccessful, whether it's in
another realm of my financiallife or here with my taxes.
So I think that's anoverarching message.
I think a lot of us can relateto that, no matter where we come
from or what our backgroundsare.
You know taxes, they get a badrap.
You know nobody likes to dothem, and so we conflate that
with I'm not good at doing mytaxes, and I think that's a
(03:16):
mistake.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Well, that's awesome and I love that.
I think with most things in themoney world is that it is.
You know, we can all do it, butyou know, as we have to just
understand, it's a little morecomplex and that you know, you
just have to put some energyinto it.
So what should people keep inmind if they're feeling fear
(03:39):
about filing taxes?
You talk about fear a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I do, and I like to talk about fear as a tool,
especially in our financiallives.
If you're feeling fear thistime of year around your taxes,
consider this feeling a signalthat you need to address some
things.
Maybe it's that you have to geta little bit more educated
about the tax filing process.
Maybe it's that you need towork with some experts, get some
(04:05):
help and realizing that thereare many people that feel the
same way that you do.
The difference is that somepeople will do something about
it and others will choose tostay stuck, and I want everyone
to see their fear as a signal togo out there and get moving and
get their taxes done, because Imean, maybe you're getting a
(04:27):
refund and that's not a badthing, right?
So the earlier you get that,you can start reinvesting that
into your life.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, well, that's awesome and I think you know
with fear is that you know, asyou point out, you need to
address it and see about how youcan overcome it.
So that's wonderful advice.
So you know, what is the mostimportant thing for people to
keep in mind when they'regetting ready to file their
(04:55):
taxes.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I think organization goes a very, very long way.
So there is this fear of likeshowing up to do your taxes and
not having all the necessaryrequired paperwork.
So I would say go do that.
That's step number one is tocompile that documentation,
whether that's income statements, bank statements, expense
reports, credit card statements.
(05:18):
We know the drill and I wouldalso say it's important to get
help.
So right, it's a complex returnor a simple return.
They have a team of certified,credentialed experts who are
(05:51):
living in America, theyunderstand our tax codes and
they have a 100 percentguarantee that your return is
going to be done accurately andthat you're going to get the
best possible refund, if you arein fact entitled to a refund.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So get the help that you might need.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, people often think you know it's so close to
the tax filing deadline I haveno option but to just sort of
figure this out on my own.
Everyone's too busy to help meand I think that's again get us
getting our kind of in our ownways and know that there are
these DIY tax prep softwaresthat can help you, and it's not
(06:31):
just a digital solution.
There's people there, to reallife people to help.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, well, that is an awesome solution, and you
know a tax act, you know.
So, you know.
I think the thing, though, youknow and this gets back to what
we were talking about a minuteago is, you know, what would you
say to those people who arelike, you know, they're really
stuck, you know, is I mean,everybody has this fear of the
IRS, you know, and they'rethey're not feeling like, you
(06:59):
know, I can do this, as you know, how do they get started with
something like tax act?
I mean, how do they, you know,conquer that thing that's going
on in their head?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, sometimes, when we're grappling with a current
fear in this case, you know, thefear of filing our taxes I
would challenge that fear withan even bigger, you know, sort
of scarier predicament.
Is that if you don't dosomething right, what's the
what's the result of that?
I would, I would bet it'ssomething scarier right, because
(07:31):
right now you can actually dosomething about it with this
fear, you can make a move, youcan get some help.
If you do nothing and then thedeadline passes and now you're
behind, and now you're if youowe money, that's not good,
right.
You're going to have to dealwith that.
And I think there's somethingscarier waiting for you at the
end of that stagnancy and at theend of that road of choosing to
(07:55):
do nothing.
That if fear is really amotivator for you, let that
motivate you, that visualizationof you being kind of in this
future, stuck place and nowpenalized, and now really
scrambling to catapult you todayto do the right thing, which is
to face your financial life andyour tax reality.
(08:16):
And you know we have time stillto get this done.
I want to encourage people thatyou know we're not talking the
day before the tax deadline.
We still have some time andsome good time to get this done.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That's fantastic.
That's all great tips.
So what tax that I'm trying tobreak?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
is that taxes are unsolvable.
You know, the average personcan't tackle their taxes.
I think that that is a myth,frankly.
You know and again, going backto personal finance in general,
there's so many myths like that,right?
Well, we're raised with thisnarrative that, like it's too
(09:00):
complicated, it's not for me.
I never learned this.
Therefore, I'll never be goodat it.
It's a choice at the end of theday.
Do you want to be good at it ordon't you?
We all have the ability toconquer this and be good at it,
and I would also say thatthere's a myth that you have to
do it by yourself, that if youinvite help into your life
around this, that it suggestsweakness or that you don't know
(09:22):
what you're doing.
No, it means you know exactlywhat you're doing, which is that
you are going to lean on thesupport of those who know a
little bit more than you thatprovide a structure so that you
can get this done, because youknow it's important, right, and
I think there's no shame in that.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Well, that's awesome and I love that you said that
this is for everybody, becausethere's people in different
cultures and demographics whosometimes feel like, hey, the
whole financial world is not forme.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Right, right, they do .
And again, these are narrativesthat we hold on to.
We don't know when exactly theystarted, when they were crafted
, but here we are, as adults,still holding onto them, still
buying into that myth, and Ithink at some point, you have to
ask yourself is this helping meout?
You know, holding onto thisbelief, is it helping me or is
(10:13):
it hurting me?
And I think you answer that andyou know what your next move
has to be.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I love it.
That's great stuff.
So, to wrap up, what is yournumber one tip on changing the
way we think about money andtaxes?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Know that you don't have to go it alone.
I think that's really important.
Again, this might be a culturalbias that some people have Is
that sort of like I have to doeverything on my own.
That there is honor and valorin sort of doing your own taxes
and doing your own.
You know financial, you knowcalculations, but that asking
(10:51):
for help is an act ofintelligence.
You know it's saying that thisis an area where it's complex
and my life is very busy and Iknow this is important.
So I'm going to invite theexperts in to help me and I'm
going to do it myself to theextent that I can, and then also
arm myself with resources andsupport.
And if you'd like moreinformation on Tax Act, the
(11:14):
website is very simple, it'staxactcom.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Fantastic and for everybody watching and listening
, there will be a link to theTax Act website so you can check
it out.
But I love what you said isthat asking for help is okay,
that it's always okay to ask forhelp if you don't know
something.
So real quickly.
You already mentioned Tax Act,but where can people find out
(11:39):
more about you and tune into theso Money podcast?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Thanks for asking so.
So Money Podcast is availablewherever you love to listen to
podcasts and it has a website, ahome online at
somoneypodcastcom, and you canalso learn more about me at
farnooshtarabicom.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Fantastic.
Well, Farnoosh, thanks forjoining us today on the Get
Ready Money Podcast.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
It's been a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, and thank you everyone, as always, for tuning
in to this episode of the GetReady Money podcast.
If you learned something todayto change the way you think
about money, please be sure tosubscribe and to tell a friend.
Until next time, let's changethe way we think about money.
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and
transform your financial future?
Then you've come to the rightplace.
This is the Get Ready MoneyPodcast with Tony Stewart, where
Tony has insightfulconversations with financial
experts who are changing the waywe think about money.
Catch up on the latestfinancial trends and hear
(00:27):
practical advice from Tony andhis expert guests so you can
build healthy habits that work,Be empowered with tips for
implementing small changes thatcan have a big impact on your
financial future.
So sit back and get ready tohear from today's guest.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast, changing
the way we think about money.
I'm pleased to be joined todayby Farnoosh Tarabi.
Farnoosh is the host of the soMoney podcast and author of A
Healthy State of Panic.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
In this episode, we'll be discussing Farnoosh's
insights on how we change theway we think about money and
taxes.
Varnusha, welcome to the Get.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Ready Money podcast.
Thanks for joining us today.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, so real quickly.
Can you give us just a quickoverview of your origin story?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Sure, well, I've been working in personal finance for
about 20 years, started out asa journalist in personal finance
, worked at all the major placesMoney Magazine, cnbc, et cetera
and then, like a lot of, likeyou know, origin stories, I got
laid off in the Great Recessionand had to kind of figure out my
(01:41):
next move and at the time Idecided to go independent and
start to build on the momentumthat I'd built in my career as a
financial journalist andeducator, and that soon after
that I wrote some more books.
I started a podcast called soMoney, and I've been.
(02:01):
I never looked back.
It's been great.
I've had the opportunity towork with a lot of cool people,
meet a lot of interesting people, travel and, most importantly,
help people with their money.
The podcast, primarily, hasbeen the tool to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
That's awesome.
I'm glad to have you here today.
As I mentioned pre-show, I'm abig fan of your work, so excited
to talk a little bit more aboutthat, of course, and to get
into the taxes.
So what tax concept do you wishpeople knew?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I wish people knew that they don't have to be so
complicated.
I think that we, like a lot offacets of our financial life, we
turn it into like this hairymonster.
We don't give ourselves thebenefit of the doubt to say you
know what, maybe I do have thechops to actually learn this, at
least the basics, and that Idon't have to allow fear to get
(02:54):
in the way of me beingsuccessful, whether it's in
another realm of my financiallife or here with my taxes.
So I think that's anoverarching message.
I think a lot of us can relateto that, no matter where we come
from or what our backgroundsare.
You know taxes, they get a badrap.
You know nobody likes to dothem, and so we conflate that
with I'm not good at doing mytaxes, and I think that's a
(03:16):
mistake.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Well, that's awesome and I love that.
I think with most things in themoney world is that it is.
You know, we can all do it, butyou know, as we have to just
understand, it's a little morecomplex and that you know, you
just have to put some energyinto it.
So what should people keep inmind if they're feeling fear
(03:39):
about filing taxes?
You talk about fear a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I do, and I like to talk about fear as a tool,
especially in our financiallives.
If you're feeling fear thistime of year around your taxes,
consider this feeling a signalthat you need to address some
things.
Maybe it's that you have to geta little bit more educated
about the tax filing process.
Maybe it's that you need towork with some experts, get some
(04:05):
help and realizing that thereare many people that feel the
same way that you do.
The difference is that somepeople will do something about
it and others will choose tostay stuck, and I want everyone
to see their fear as a signal togo out there and get moving and
get their taxes done, because Imean, maybe you're getting a
(04:27):
refund and that's not a badthing, right?
So the earlier you get that,you can start reinvesting that
into your life.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, well, that's awesome and I think you know
with fear is that you know, asyou point out, you need to
address it and see about how youcan overcome it.
So that's wonderful advice.
So you know, what is the mostimportant thing for people to
keep in mind when they'regetting ready to file their
(04:55):
taxes.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I think organization goes a very, very long way.
So there is this fear of likeshowing up to do your taxes and
not having all the necessaryrequired paperwork.
So I would say go do that.
That's step number one is tocompile that documentation,
whether that's income statements, bank statements, expense
reports, credit card statements.
(05:18):
We know the drill and I wouldalso say it's important to get
help.
So right, it's a complex returnor a simple return.
They have a team of certified,credentialed experts who are
(05:51):
living in America, theyunderstand our tax codes and
they have a 100 percentguarantee that your return is
going to be done accurately andthat you're going to get the
best possible refund, if you arein fact entitled to a refund.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So get the help that you might need.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, people often think you know it's so close to
the tax filing deadline I haveno option but to just sort of
figure this out on my own.
Everyone's too busy to help meand I think that's again get us
getting our kind of in our ownways and know that there are
these DIY tax prep softwaresthat can help you, and it's not
(06:31):
just a digital solution.
There's people there, to reallife people to help.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, well, that is an awesome solution, and you
know a tax act, you know.
So, you know.
I think the thing, though, youknow and this gets back to what
we were talking about a minuteago is, you know, what would you
say to those people who arelike, you know, they're really
stuck, you know, is I mean,everybody has this fear of the
IRS, you know, and they'rethey're not feeling like, you
(06:59):
know, I can do this, as you know, how do they get started with
something like tax act?
I mean, how do they, you know,conquer that thing that's going
on in their head?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, sometimes, when we're grappling with a current
fear in this case, you know, thefear of filing our taxes I
would challenge that fear withan even bigger, you know, sort
of scarier predicament.
Is that if you don't dosomething right, what's the
what's the result of that?
I would, I would bet it'ssomething scarier right, because
(07:31):
right now you can actually dosomething about it with this
fear, you can make a move, youcan get some help.
If you do nothing and then thedeadline passes and now you're
behind, and now you're if youowe money, that's not good,
right.
You're going to have to dealwith that.
And I think there's somethingscarier waiting for you at the
end of that stagnancy and at theend of that road of choosing to
(07:55):
do nothing.
That if fear is really amotivator for you, let that
motivate you, that visualizationof you being kind of in this
future, stuck place and nowpenalized, and now really
scrambling to catapult you todayto do the right thing, which is
to face your financial life andyour tax reality.
(08:16):
And you know we have time stillto get this done.
I want to encourage people thatyou know we're not talking the
day before the tax deadline.
We still have some time andsome good time to get this done.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That's fantastic.
That's all great tips.
So what tax that I'm trying tobreak?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
is that taxes are unsolvable.
You know, the average personcan't tackle their taxes.
I think that that is a myth,frankly.
You know and again, going backto personal finance in general,
there's so many myths like that,right?
Well, we're raised with thisnarrative that, like it's too
(09:00):
complicated, it's not for me.
I never learned this.
Therefore, I'll never be goodat it.
It's a choice at the end of theday.
Do you want to be good at it ordon't you?
We all have the ability toconquer this and be good at it,
and I would also say thatthere's a myth that you have to
do it by yourself, that if youinvite help into your life
around this, that it suggestsweakness or that you don't know
(09:22):
what you're doing.
No, it means you know exactlywhat you're doing, which is that
you are going to lean on thesupport of those who know a
little bit more than you thatprovide a structure so that you
can get this done, because youknow it's important, right, and
I think there's no shame in that.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Well, that's awesome and I love that you said that
this is for everybody, becausethere's people in different
cultures and demographics whosometimes feel like, hey, the
whole financial world is not forme.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Right, right, they do .
And again, these are narrativesthat we hold on to.
We don't know when exactly theystarted, when they were crafted
, but here we are, as adults,still holding onto them, still
buying into that myth, and Ithink at some point, you have to
ask yourself is this helping meout?
You know, holding onto thisbelief, is it helping me or is
(10:13):
it hurting me?
And I think you answer that andyou know what your next move
has to be.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I love it.
That's great stuff.
So, to wrap up, what is yournumber one tip on changing the
way we think about money andtaxes?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Know that you don't have to go it alone.
I think that's really important.
Again, this might be a culturalbias that some people have Is
that sort of like I have to doeverything on my own.
That there is honor and valorin sort of doing your own taxes
and doing your own.
You know financial, you knowcalculations, but that asking
(10:51):
for help is an act ofintelligence.
You know it's saying that thisis an area where it's complex
and my life is very busy and Iknow this is important.
So I'm going to invite theexperts in to help me and I'm
going to do it myself to theextent that I can, and then also
arm myself with resources andsupport.
And if you'd like moreinformation on Tax Act, the
(11:14):
website is very simple, it'staxactcom.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Fantastic and for everybody watching and listening
, there will be a link to theTax Act website so you can check
it out.
But I love what you said isthat asking for help is okay,
that it's always okay to ask forhelp if you don't know
something.
So real quickly.
You already mentioned Tax Act,but where can people find out
(11:39):
more about you and tune into theso Money podcast?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Thanks for asking so.
So Money Podcast is availablewherever you love to listen to
podcasts and it has a website, ahome online at
somoneypodcastcom, and you canalso learn more about me at
farnooshtarabicom.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Fantastic.
Well, Farnoosh, thanks forjoining us today on the Get
Ready Money Podcast.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
It's been a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, and thank you everyone, as always, for tuning
in to this episode of the GetReady Money podcast.
If you learned something todayto change the way you think
about money, please be sure tosubscribe and to tell a friend.
Until next time, let's changethe way we think about money.
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