So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

We’re doing something a little different this week. My guest is my friend and financial planner Georgia Lee Hussey, founder and CEO of Modernist Financial, and together we’re unpacking the Big Beautiful Bill and what it means for your taxes in 2025 and beyond.We explore how this new legislation could impact everyday taxpayers, what it reveals about our national priorities, and how we can each align our financial decisions with our values. It’s a thoughtful and, yes, sometimes political conversation—because as Georgia reminds us, taxes are political.

How can you harness your curiosity to grow your career? What are the most important questions to ask yourself when attempting to manage your money well?Guest Danielle Robay is a TV host, journalist, and content creator known for her open-hearted questions + compelling interview style. Noted by Forbes as a “game changer,” she is recognized for creating the podcast “PRETTYSMART,” the bestselling card game Question Everything, and hosting E!’s “While You Were Streaming.” She’s chatted with everyone from Taylor Swift + Michael B. Jordan, to Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Alexis Ohanian, +Tom Hanks. Even Larry King has commented on her compelling interview style: “Danielle is the millennial Barbara Walter’s. She has the ability to make people feel seen.” With a loyal social media following of over 400,000 followers across platforms, Danielle’s goal is that we learn to live better through each other’s stories.This episode is a reply from Jan 10, 2024

This is episode 1900, friends! Ten years of conversations about our money, our fears, our growth, and the power that comes when we take control of our financial lives. I can’t think of a better guest to mark this milestone than my longtime friend and former colleague, Tracy Byrnes.Tracy and I go way back to our early days in broadcast journalism, when we reported from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and hustled to make our voices heard in a male-dominated industry. These days, Tracy is using her voice and expertise as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) to help women, especially those in midlife, regain control of their finances and their futures after divorce.In this episode, we talk about:Why so many smart, capable women feel ashamed about not knowing enough about money — and how to change that.The biggest financial mistakes women make during and after divorce, from clinging to the family home to rushing big money decisions.How to rebuild your financial confidence post-divorce — and why sometimes the best move is to pause, breathe, and rent before you buy.And how women can safeguard themselves in marriage — even the happiest ones — by asking the right questions and making sure both partners know where the money is.To reach Tracy, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or email her tbyrnes@lebenthal.com

Financial fear is common and quite frankly, normal. In this episode, Farnoosh breaks down some of the pivotal financial moments in her life where the underpinning emotion was fear. Starting all the way back in her early childhood. Then we hit the mail bag and answer questions about life insurance for kids, using a Roth IRA as an emergency account and where to allocate charitable giving this year.

Imagine a world where you were no longer expected to compete. That’s the world today’s guest, Ruchika T. Malhotra, invites us to imagine—and to start building.You may remember Ruchika from her last appearance on So Money, when she turned our understanding of imposter syndrome upside down, revealing it not as a personal flaw, but as a systemic one. Her new book, UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success, does something equally radical: it questions the very belief that competition is healthy—or even necessary—for success.Ruchika argues that our obsession with rivalry and scarcity thinking has made us anxious, exhausted, and disconnected. She calls for a new framework built on collaboration, abundance, radical generosity, inclusion, and solidarity—principles that might sound soft, until you realize how much they fuel innovation, well-being, and long-term wealth.

As the year winds down, many of us are asking, "What should I take care of financially before December 31st? What can wait until the new year? And how can I build a spending plan that actually reflects the life I want to live?"We're going to explore all of this, including how to think about emergency funds, the current economic cycle, and how that might affect our plans, as well as the myths around working with a financial planner. To help answer these questions, I've got a great guest, Adrianna Adams, CFP, and Head of Financial Planning at Domain Money, which is a modern financial planning platform on a mission to make expert guidance more accessible, personalized, and transparent.Adriana has worked everywhere from Wall Street to startups and now leads a team helping clients align their money with their goals and their values.**I am not a client of Domain Money. I am paid by the Firm to promote its services, which means they I have a financial incentive to say positive things. This should not be taken as investment advice, and results for clients may differ.**To learn more about Domain Money visit www.domainmoney.com/somoney

This episode is a replay from April 11, 2025.Joining me today for a very special Ask Farnoosh episode is Maggie Johndrow, a seasoned wealth advisor and partner with Johndrow Wealth Management. Maggie brings her signature calm, clear-headed guidance to our turbulent financial times — and let's be honest, we could all use a little Maggie in our wallets right now.In this episode, we tackle some of the most pressing money questions on your mind as headlines swirl with talk of tariffs, market volatility, and a possible recession. Maggie walks us through: • The behavioral traps investors are falling into right now (hello, regret aversion and herd mentality) — and how to avoid them. • Her smart and simple "three-bucket strategy" for managing your investments during uncertain times, especially if you're nearing retirement or need access to cash soon. • How tariffs might hit our wallets — from rising consumer prices to the potential ripple effects on jobs, inflation, and the Fed's next move. • What to prioritize financially if you're worried about a layoff or loss of income, including how to protect your emergency fund, health insurance, and long-term goals like retirement and college savings. • And perhaps most reassuring of all — why making small, consistent investing moves still matters more than trying to time the market perfectly.

Farnoosh sits down with beauty icon Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills and author of the new memoir Raising Brows. Known as the “Eyebrow Queen,” Anastasia shares how she built a billion-dollar brand from scratch after immigrating from communist Romania with nothing but determination. She opens up about learning the “alphabet of finance” in America, the early days shaping brows in a rented salon room, and the business risks that changed her life. Anastasia also reveals how she convinced Nordstrom to take a chance on her products, her unforgettable live TV moment shaping Oprah’s brows, and the negotiation lessons that still guide her today. She talks candidly about working alongside her daughter Claudia, what keeps her motivated decades into her career, and how she continues to innovate while staying grounded. This is a story about beauty, grit, and building an empire one brow—and one bold move—at a time.

Feminist dating coach and Date Brazen founder Lily Womble shares how to invest in your love life the same way you invest in your financial future with intention, clarity, and confidence. Drawing from her new book Thank You, More Please, Lily explains how to move beyond the algorithm-driven dating grind and cultivate what she calls Essence-Based Preferences—a framework for attracting the relationships that truly align with your values. We explore the parallels between financial and emotional abundance, why self-worth is the ultimate currency, and how to stop “settling for less” in both money and love.