1965: Ask Farnoosh: Smart Moves After Debt, Student Loans, How to Invest Through the Noise

It’s spring break, and while I’m taking a little time offline with family, I didn’t want to leave you hanging. In this episode of Ask Farnoosh, we’re revisiting some listener questions from earlier this year—straight from the January mailbag—but don’t worry, these topics are just as timely and relevant today.We’re covering:How to navigate student loans—especially when family is involvedWhat to do with extra cash once you’ve paid off debtHow to approach investing when the market (and headlines) feel uncertainSpecial Announcement:Registration is now open for Book to Brand, my immersive, in-person event happening October 9 in New York City. Join top publishers, agents, and authors to learn how to build a platform that gets attention—and results. 👉 Early bird tickets are available now at booktobrand.co Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Sahirenys Pierce is a financial educator, speaker, and the creator of The High Five Banking Method—a simple but powerful framework that helps people organize their money with purpose, reduce financial stress, and actually follow through on their goals.In this episode, we talk about:How financial trauma shapes our decisions (often without us realizing it)Why traditional budgeting fails so many peopleThe five-account system that can simplify your entire financial lifeAnd how to create stability—even when the economy feels anything but stableWe also get into her personal story—from losing her childhood home… to becoming the financial voice she wished her family had back then. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the biggest threat to your career… isn’t losing your job—but becoming irrelevant before you even get one?Right now, we’re watching something seismic unfold in the workforce. College grads are struggling to land entry-level roles. Companies are hiring more cautiously—or not at all. And quietly, in the background, AI is beginning to reshape not just which jobs exist… but whether entire career paths survive.In fact, a recent survey of 5,000 unemployed Americans found that only 15% would choose a four-year college again knowing what they know now. That’s not just a statistic. That’s a warning.Today, we’re bringing on someone who is not just observing this shift—but actively building solutions inside it. Chieh Huang, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Pelgo, is working at the front lines of what he calls the “intersection” of AI and the job market—helping workers reskill, reposition, and stay in the game.In this conversation, we unpack:Why entry-level jobs are quietly disappearingThe surprising roles AI is actually creatingWhat employers are really thinking right now about hiringWhy your ability to learn quickly may matter more than your degreeAnd how to use AI—not avoid it—to stay competitive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Ask Farnoosh Friday, we’re tackling one of the biggest questions right now: how do you stay financially steady when everything feels uncertain?Joining me is returning guest and trusted voice in personal finance, Georgia Lee Hussey, CFP and founder of Modernist Financial. [Grab her free financial toolkit] Together, we unpack the emotional and practical realities of this moment—from market volatility and recession fears to tax season surprises and the rapidly evolving role of AI in our careers.We start with the money anxiety so many of you are feeling right now. What’s really driving the fear around the markets? And how do you respond without sabotaging your long-term plan? Georgia shares how she coaches clients through uncertainty—and why downturns may actually be opportunities, especially if you’re still in your earning years.Then, we dig into tax refunds. If yours is bigger this year, Georgia explains why it may not be the “win” it seems—and how to think more intentionally about what to do with that money.We also explore the future of work in an AI-driven world—including why skills rooted in the humanities, creativity, and critical thinking may become even more valuable, not less.And finally, we zoom out to what matters most: how to stay grounded, make thoughtful decisions, and build financial resilience in a world that can feel anything but stable.In this episode, we discuss:How to manage market anxiety and avoid emotional investingWhy downturns can benefit long-term investorsWhat your tax refund is really telling youThe hidden costs behind recent tax policy changesHow AI is reshaping jobs—and where new opportunities lieWhy creativity, writing, and empathy are becoming power skillsSmart ways to prepare financially for uncertainty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brooke Taylor is a former Google executive turned researcher and coach who has spent years studying a phenomenon called the success wound —interviewing more than 5,000 women to understand why so many accomplished, capable people still feel like it’s never enough.Her new book, Healing the Success Wound: Align Your Ambition, Find Lasting Career Fulfillment, and End the Cycle of Never Enough, puts language—and solutions—to something I think so many of us have felt but couldn’t quite articulate.In our conversation, we unpackWhat the “success wound” really is…Why achievement can become a stand-in for self-worth…The five archetypes of high achievers who struggle with fulfillment…And how all of this shows up not just in our careers, but in our finances, our relationships, and even how we parent.We also talk about Brooke’s own turning point—what she calls her “spiritual awakening breakdown”—and how it led her to rethink everything she thought she knew about work, ambition, and identity. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Register for Farnoosh's free webinar on How to Get a Book Deal.In this episode, Farnoosh opens with a candid reflection on media narratives around Iranian identity and addresses a recent editing glitch from a prior interview.From there, the conversation turns to a growing concern on many economists’ minds: Are we heading toward a recession in 2026?With oil prices climbing past $100 per barrel and historical data linking energy shocks to economic downturns, Farnoosh breaks down what this could mean for your money—and how to prepare with what she calls a mindset of “healthy panic.”The episode also dives deep into the rising costs of long-term care, why traditional insurance options are becoming less accessible, and what newer hybrid solutions could offer families trying to plan ahead.Plus, a powerful excerpt from Senator Andy Kim, who shares his personal connection to elder care through his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.Finally, Farnoosh answers listener questions about:Supporting aging parents while still saving for your own futureNavigating financial misalignment in relationships when one partner is giving more to family Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you do if your life completely spun off course…before you even had a chance to understand who you were?My guest today, Nikki Mammano, says she didn’t set out to become a drug dealer in Hawaii—she was a teenager running from trauma, searching for a fresh start, and instead found herself pulled into a dangerous underground economy that nearly cost her everything.In her new memoir Breaking Good, Nikki shares the raw, unfiltered story of addiction, survival, incarceration—and ultimately, rebuilding her life from nothing. We talk about how she rose through the ranks of a drug operation, why she chose loyalty over leniency when she was caught, and the moment that changed everything: discovering she was pregnant and deciding to start over.This is a conversation about second chances, financial survival, and what it really takes to rebuild—not just your bank account, but your sense of self. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

or as long as I’ve known him — which is now more than fifteen years — he’s had the same signature look: a sharp mohawk and an even sharper perspective on money.Today on So Money, we welcome back one of the original voices of the personal finance internet: J. Money, the longtime blogger behind Budgets Are Sexy and the founder of Budgets Are Sexy, a platform that helped shape the early personal finance blogging community. When this podcast first launched more than a decade ago, J. Money was one of my earliest guests — back when sharing your net worth online was considered radical and the idea of building a career from a blog about money was still pretty new.In this conversation, we catch up on what’s changed — and what hasn’t. The mohawk is still there, thankfully. But J.’s life looks very different these days. He’s stepped away from blogging full-time, sold his site to The Motley Fool and later bought it back, and now spends much of his time running something called a “Free Closet,” giving away thousands of clothing items every week to people in need in his community.We talk about the early days of the money-blogging world — when transparency about debt, savings, and net worth helped motivate an entire generation to take control of their finances. We also talk about what happens when you actually reach financial independence. Does money stop mattering? What motivates you next?J. shares why the blogging magic eventually faded for him, how social media changed the tone of personal finance conversations, the surprising lessons he’s learned from working closely with unhoused communities, and why he believes the real power of money is simply the freedom not to think about it anymore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Ask Farnoosh, Farnoosh kicks things off with a behind-the-scenes look at a whirlwind week in journalism and media. She shares highlights from her recent interview with Senator Cory Booker about his bold new “Keep Your Pay Act” proposal, which would eliminate federal income tax on the first $75,000 of income, and discusses what that could mean for working Americans. She also reflects on being featured in Kiplinger’s latest issue on the best financial advice experts have ever received, sharing a career lesson that shaped her own path: learning to earn money not just from what you do, but from what you know. Plus, Farnoosh announces her upcoming free webinar on March 26 about how to land a big book deal (register using the link).Then, a quick breakdown of the latest money headlines that matter for your wallet: mortgage rates climbing back above 6% and what that means for today’s “frozen” housing market, the widening K-shaped economy separating households that are thriving from those struggling with rising costs, and early signs that the once-hot job market may be cooling—along with why now is a good time for a financial check-up.In the mailbag, Farnoosh tackles listener questions including: • Should high earners prioritize Roth 401(k) contributions or diversify across other retirement strategies? • What to watch out for when a financial advisor pushes variable universal life insurance instead of traditional investing. • Creative ways families are making childcare and daycare costs more manageable. • How a teenager’s part-time income and assets can affect FAFSA eligibility and college financial aid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.