Inherited Money? Here’s What to Pay Off First

Love is beautiful. But love is not a financial plan.What happens when you're the breadwinner in your marriage? When your aging parents haven't saved enough for retirement? Or when protecting your financial future means having some pretty uncomfortable conversations with the people you love most?This week, I'm joined by Jannese Torres, creator and host of Yo Quiero Dinero, author of Financially Lit, entrepreneur, and one of my favorite voices on women's financial independence.Jannese is no stranger to challenging traditional expectations around money and relationships. She's the breadwinner in her marriage, runs a real estate business with her husband, and is a passionate advocate for prenups and financial boundaries. She's also navigating something many of us in midlife can relate to: the growing realization that our parents may be counting on us for financial support.We get into the messy intersection of love, money, marriage, and family obligations, including Jannese's remarkable experience of getting divorced for just $500, thanks in part to financial protections she put in place.And we explore what it really means to build generational wealth. Spoiler: Sometimes the greatest financial gift you can give your children is making sure they'll never have to support you.In this episode, we discuss:Why love isn't enough: The financial conversations every couple should have, especially when one partner earns significantly more.The case for prenups and postnups: How Jannese protected her investments and business during divorce, and why these agreements aren't just for the wealthy.Being the female breadwinner: How to navigate traditional gender expectations and build an equitable partnership.Working with your spouse: What Jannese learned about trust, money, and stepping back while investing in a house-flipping business with her husband.When your parents have no retirement plan: How to set financial boundaries without abandoning the people you love.Raising financially independent kids: Why funding your own retirement may be more important than paying for every dollar of your child's college education.Redefining generational wealth: The lessons, examples, and financial confidence we pass down matter just as much as the money.A powerful takeaway from Jannese:"The most generous form of wealth that you can give your kid is a financially independent parent."More about Jannese TorresJannese is the founder of Yo Quiero Dinero, a personal finance platform dedicated to helping women build wealth and achieve financial independence. She's the author of Financially Lit and is working to bring a new financial empowerment conference to Puerto Rico in 2027, creating space for women, especially first-generation wealth builders, to have honest conversations about money and opportunity.Follow Janesse: IG @yoquierodineropodcast | https://yoquierodineropodcast.comLearn more about her fundraiser for DiversiFI, a financial freedom conference created for Latinas and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, to Puerto Rico in fall 2027.******This episode of So Money includes a paid partnership with Google Workspace with Gemini. Farnoosh takes us behind the scenes of how an episode goes from an initial idea to a conversation ready for the mic. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini and try it free for 14 days at https://goo.gle/workspacewithgemini.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take Farnoosh's midlife surveyWhat if the retirement you’re saving for isn’t the life you actually want?This week on Ask Farnoosh, we unpack a story about Gen X’s willingness to “blow up” their lives—from downsizing to moving overseas—to make room for more freedom. Plus, a closer look at a headline about retirement savings at age 84, what those numbers really tell us, and this week’s mortgage-rate news.Then, three questions adapted from public Reddit conversations:I inherited $25,000. Should I pay off debt, invest—or enjoy some of it? How to prioritize competing goals, weigh a nine-percent car loan, and make a thoughtful decision without making a joyless one.We want to pay our nieces’ and nephews’ college tuition. What if one doesn’t go? Setting clear expectations, supporting different paths, and understanding a useful gift-tax distinction.Someone sent me money through Zelle by mistake. Why shouldn’t I just send it back? Sending a new payment doesn’t undo the original transaction—and that difference could leave you paying for someone else’s fraud.Stories discussedUpworthy: Gen X is redefining what retirement meansFinanceBuzz: Average retirement savings of 84-year-old Americans — The cited figures cover households age 75 and older with retirement accounts, rather than specifically all 84-year-olds.Freddie Mac: Weekly mortgage-rate survey archiveMailbag sources and resourcesThe inheritance questionOriginal Reddit discussionInvestor.gov: Paying off high-interest debtInvestor.gov: Making the most of a lump-sum paymentThe college-gift questionOriginal Reddit discussionIRS: Gift-tax guidance, including the educational exclusionThe Zelle questionReddit: Why are some Zelle payments reversible?Related Reddit discussion: An unexpected $500 paymentOregon financial regulator: “Payment sent by mistake” scamsZelle: Reporting fraud or a scamHave a money question or a midlife decision you’re wrestling with? Visit SoMoneyPodcast.com and click Ask Farnoosh.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’re not ready to retire. But you might be ready to stop working—and living—the way you have been. How do you figure out what you can afford to change?Farnoosh welcomes certified financial planner Sara Stanich, founder of Cultivating Wealth and author of Crossroads: A Financial Fable for Women Navigating the Decisions, Transitions, and Pivots of Peri-Retirement.Sara calls this stage “peri-retirement”: the stretch when your relationship with work, money and identity begins shifting, even though retirement may still be years away. Her book follows four childhood friends navigating caregiving, divorce, career burnout and entrepreneurship—and the financial decisions that come with each.The conversation explores why midlife calls for a different financial playbook, one that makes room for both future security and a better life today.Topics include:What peri-retirement means and why it can begin earlier than you expect.How to assess whether you can afford a career change, lower income or more flexibility.Why earning good money doesn’t always translate into feeling financially secure.Balancing support for children and aging parents with your own needs.Rebuilding financial independence after divorce.Why Sara chose fiction to tell these money stories.A five-year vision exercise to help clarify what you want next.Learn more:Explore Sara’s work at Cultivating Wealth.Find Crossroads and accompanying resources at crossroads-book.com.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you afford to retire—and what do you want life to look like when you do?Financial advisor and former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Dan Goldie joins Farnoosh to discuss his new book, The Retirement Answer: The Six Key Decisions Every Retiree Needs to Make, and the financial and emotional decisions that shape life after full-time work.From growing up with a single mother facing financial insecurity to navigating his own early exit from professional tennis, Dan shares the experiences that inform his approach to helping people plan for their futures.In this episode:How to figure out what you need for retirement beyond the intimidating headlines.Social Security timing and the tradeoffs of waiting to claim benefits.Opportunities to boost retirement savings in midlife.Why Dan favors flexible withdrawals over a rigid application of the 4% rule.How to prepare for changes in identity, purpose and daily routine.Why retirement can be a gradual transition, including consulting or part-time work.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Farnoosh's newsletter.When does a bad shopping experience deserve a public callout? Farnoosh weighs in on Kelly Clarkson’s mechanical bird brouhaha and the responsibility that comes with an audience. Then, this week’s Ask Farnoosh tackles three money worries: Is six months of emergency savings enough? How do you choose health insurance without an expensive mistake? And what if your peak earning years end before your biggest bills do?How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is for anyone who has ever stood in the vitamin aisle reading about the exact right creatine dosage for a woman "in this stage of life" and thought... okay but where's the aisle for my retirement savings?I'm right in the thick of this myself. Midlife money is basically all I want to talk about lately, because I think we are the forgotten demo. There's an entire industry telling us how to optimize our sleep, our supplements, our skin. But when it comes to actually managing our money at this stage, when the stakes are higher and the runway to retirement is shorter, the advice mostly dries up.So I'm thrilled to have Lindsay Goldwert here. She's the co-author, with Gabrielle Moss, of The Midlife Plot Twist, and she's spent a lot of time talking to women about the money moment we're in right now: the shame, the catching-up, the marriages where one partner has quietly been steering the ship, the total reinvention some of us are doing in our forties and fifties. Lindsay, welcome to So Money.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you do if caring for a parent meant putting your own financial future—and your kids’—on hold?That’s not a hypothetical. It’s the reality facing millions of Americans right now, including Senator Andy Kim—a father of two, a son navigating his own father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and now, one of the leading voices in Washington pushing for change.Today’s episode is a deeply personal and urgent conversation about the true cost of caregiving in America—financially, emotionally, and systemically.This interview is also a special crossover with The Montclair Pod, my local news podcast, where I co-host alongside Michael Schreiber—who you’ll hear in this conversation as well. Together, we sat down with Senator Kim to talk not just about policy, but about what happens when aging, illness, and money collide inside your own family.Before serving in the Senate, Andy Kim worked in national security and diplomacy, and today he represents nearly 10 million New Jersey residents. But in this conversation, what stands out most isn’t his title—it’s his story.He opens up about his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s, the impossible trade-offs of being in the sandwich generation, and how quickly a family’s financial plan can unravel in the face of long-term care costs.We talk about why so many families are blindsided, what Medicare does—and doesn’t—cover, why long-term care insurance is falling short, and what changes may be coming.Also check out: Caring for Aging Parents with Beth PinskerHow's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you pause your 401(k) contributions when life gets expensive? This week on Ask Farnoosh: balancing retirement savings with immediate needs, navigating student loans after SAVE, and helping parents who have little saved for retirement. Plus, why some retirees are returning to work, a lawsuit challenging McDonald’s use of AI in pricing, and updates on Book to Brand, MidiCon and So Money’s midlife-focused next chapter.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by Carrie Joy Grimes. founder of WorkMoney(opens in new tab) and the author of the new book The Joy of Money(opens in new tab). She’s a former union organizer who spent years helping workers fight for better wages and benefits while also trying to untangle her own complicated relationship with money — debt, shame, financial anxiety, all of it.In this episode, we talk about why so many women still avoid taking ownership of their finances, how to rebuild confidence after money mistakes, whether homeownership still makes sense, and how to separate what society tells us should make us happy from what actually does.We also talk about the inspiration behind her new book, The Joy of Money, and why she believes financial security is not just about numbers — it’s about feeling safer, freer, and more in control of your life.This episode originally aired on May 13.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever felt like the math just doesn't work anymore, you're doing everything right, still coming up short on your housing payment, groceries, student loans, this episode's for you. My guest, Freddy Smith, spent nearly 20 years acting, including nine of those years on Days of Our Lives, before a business manager, who was supposed to be handling his money, stole it and stopped filing his taxes. Then came the pandemic. He lost the show. He moved to Florida and had to rebuild his finances from zero in a brand-new career. That personal collapse turned into a mission. Freddy started sharing what he was learning about taxes, investing, inflation, and the Fed on TikTok and Instagram, not as an expert, but as someone figuring it out in real time alongside his audience, and that honesty struck a nerve. He's now built a community of two million people in three years, and it's now the subject of his new book, Generation F'd: How Millennials and Gen Z Were Robbed of the American Dream and How We Can Fix Our Futures. In this conversation, Freddy and I get into why he thinks the real crisis for millennials and Gen Z is not financial illiteracy, it's wages that haven't kept pace with the actual cost of living. We talk about his big four: housing, student loans, childcare, and healthcare, why he thinks college needs a hard math test before anyone signs on the dotted line, his wild but genuinely compelling case for how a young person could retire with millions just by investing early, and why he's cautiously optimistic that his generation is about to be the one that finally changes the system. This episode first aired on July 27.How's midlife going? Fill out Farnoosh's survey and help shape the podcast in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.