1725: Ask Farnoosh: Is Opening a Mortgage in Midlife a Bad Idea? Plus: Interest Rate Cut Impact and Election Thoughts

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 ExcerptsNeha Ruch (Episode 1774) – Reframing career pauses as The Power Pause and why caregiving chapters can be strategic, dignified, and financially intentionalKatie Gatti Tassin (Episode 1832) – The “Hot Girl Hamster Wheel,” the beauty tax, and how cultural pressure quietly drains women’s wealthAmina AlTai (Episode 1880) – The ambition penalty, broken systems at work, and how to shift from painful ambition to purposeful ambitionDr. Corinne Low (Episode 1919) – Rethinking “having it all,” using data to understand tradeoffs, timing, and women’s life satisfaction Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the So Money Members Club today and get your first two months FREE. Offer expires December 31.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 also offers guidance for PhDs entering a competitive job market, shares practical ways to invest in your health for long-term financial wellbeing, and explains when withdrawals from a whole life insurance policy may be taxable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 book, Having it All: What Data Tells Us About Women’s Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours. She has spent the last 15 years studying how women actually live — how we work, how we partner, how we parent, and how we divide time and labor inside our homes. And what her research shows is uncomfortable: while women’s careers have evolved dramatically, the structure of marriage and household labor has barely changed since the 1970s.In this conversation, Corinne walks us through the data behind why modern women are so tired, why the mental load remains stubbornly unequal, and why cooking, cleaning, caregiving, and the invisible work of running a household still fall disproportionately on women — regardless of who brings home the bigger paycheck.We talk about why “fair” isn’t always the right goal — and why sustainability, nourishment, and evidence-based decision making matter more. We dig into outsourcing, why women undervalue their time, and why we’re far more comfortable paying someone to change the oil than paying someone to make dinner.And then there’s Corinne’s personal story, one that the media turned into a headline, but rarely explained well. After divorcing a man, Corinne remarried a woman. And in doing so, she experienced something unexpected: when gender stopped silently organizing the household, equality no longer had to be negotiated; it could be designed.We talk candidly about what same-sex couples get right about partnership, what heterosexual couples can learn from that, and why true equality at home requires interrogating defaults — not just dividing tasks.We also get into the bigger questions women are asking right now: when to have children, how motherhood reshapes careers, why women still take the professional hit for caregiving, and how AI and economic change may actually make women’s labor more — not less — essential in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 freedom at all.That moment of reckoning became her financial awakening.My guest today is Rose Han, YouTuber, money educator, and author of the new book Add a Zero. Rose went from six figures of debt to building a seven-figure net worth, not by chasing flashy investments or overnight wins, but by radically rethinking her relationship with money, work, and freedom.In this conversation, Rose shares the mindset shifts that helped her escape debt, why income alone doesn’t equal wealth, how she built assets from scratch with almost no capital, and why even after “making it,” she chose to recalibrate her definition of enough.We also talk about rewriting the financial rules millennials inherited, betting on yourself in an uncertain economy, and how to build a life that feels rich — not just one that looks rich. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 latest rate cut and what the split decision inside the Fed signals about inflation, the labor market, and the likelihood of future cuts. She explains why mortgage rates may not move much in the near term, what the Fed’s return to buying Treasury securities really means, and why now is not the time to make big financial moves based solely on headlines.Next, Farnoosh walks through important 401(k) changes coming in 2026, including higher contribution limits, expanded catch-up contributions for older workers, and increased employer contribution caps. She outlines who benefits most from these changes and shares practical steps listeners can take now to maximize retirement savings and avoid leaving money on the table.In the mailbag, Farnoosh answers listener questions on:Whether gold makes sense as a “safe haven” investment, how to buy it, and how much is too muchWhen high-yield online savings accounts are a smart place to park money, especially after receiving an inheritanceWhat to do with an old employer’s 401(k) and when rolling it over is the better moveAnd one of the toughest questions many first-time buyers face today: whether it’s ever worth tapping a 401(k) to buy a home Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 exactly this.My guest is Sarah McCammon, National Political Correspondent at NPR and co-lead reporter of the series Population Shift: How Smaller Families Are Changing the World. You may have seen the headlines, but Sarah’s work goes far deeper—across Finland, Greece, and the United States—to understand why people are having fewer kids, and what the downstream effects look like on everything from the labor market to aging, immigration, childcare, housing, and the future of economic growth.We talk candidly about the financial pressures families face, why even countries with generous social safety nets aren’t reversing the trend, how shifting relationship patterns and cultural expectations factor in, and what all of this means for you whether you’re raising kids now, hope to someday, or are simply planning for your financial future in a world that may look very different in the decades ahead.Sarah also opens up about her own experience becoming a parent in her twenties without paid leave, what she might do differently today, and what economists and policymakers are still struggling to understand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 wealth even as tech stocks dominate headlines, valuations drift from reality, and everyone seems to be bracing for a correction. Together, we unpack the psychology of risk, what true diversification looks like in an AI-obsessed market, and why slow, intentional investing still works — especially now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Ask Farnoosh, she breaks down new economic data showing private payrolls fell by 32,000 jobs — the third decline in four months — and what that cooling job market means for hiring, raises, and year-end career strategy. She also digs into Redfin’s housing market predictions for 2026, smart last-minute tax moves (from retirement contributions to tax-loss harvesting), and inspiring data about teens investing for their futures. In the mailbag, she advises listeners navigating job dissatisfaction, mid-career pivots, starting families, layoffs, health insurance decisions, and the best way to structure your ongoing investing strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Queer Guide to Generate Wealth, Slay Debt, and Build Good Habits to Secure Your FutureNick brings a candid, deeply human lens to the financial lives of queer people, from the emotional and cultural realities that shape money choices to the systems and habits that help rebuild stability, confidence, and long-term security. His own story, which he describes not as self-help but as a kind of spiritual reckoning, is woven throughout the book and sets the stage for an honest, energetic, and eye-opening conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 dollars they earn, save, and spend?Our guest is Jamie Bosse is a Financial Planner, Author, and Mother of four. She helps her clients navigate life’s transitions and overcome and anticipate potential roadblocks along the way. Jamie finds it extremely rewarding to see people organize their financial lives, maximize their human capital, and get closer to their life goals in her work at CGN Advisors. Jamie has a passion for mentoring and financial literacy and is the author of Money Boss Mom: Helping Young Parents Be the “Boss” of Their Financial Future, as well as the Milton the Money-Savvy Pup children’s book series.Her next book, Investing for Tweens, is available for preorder here.In this episode, we explore how parents can introduce investing in a way that feels tangible, empowering, and fun — whether that’s buying a share of Nike because your kid loves their sneakers or using a custodial brokerage account to let them experience the market in real time. We also talk about helping college-age kids understand the real cost of life, how to communicate money boundaries at home, and how parents can teach healthy financial habits even if they’re still working through their own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.