Mandi Woodruff is the executive producer and co-host of the Brown Ambition Podcast, which she launched in 2015 with Tiffany "The Budgetnista" Aliche. Brown Ambition has been named one of the Best Financial Podcasts of 2020 by Business Insider and was nominated this year for a Plutus Award for best podcast. Mandi has more than a decade of experience as a personal finance editor and reporter, and now serves as the Senior Content Director for LendingTree.com, an online marketplace where you can shop and compare everything from mortgages to personal loans. 

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

1113: Managing Motherhood and Work with Mandi Woodruff Santos, Co-Host of the Brown Ambition Podcast

Today’s Ask Farnoosh focuses on questions related to managing your family finances in this pandemic and recession. I recently partnered with Country Financial and they recently conducted this eye-opening survey which points to some major financial struggles across the nation. It found that 51% of parents have financial concerns with extra food, childcare, technology and internet costs and 27% of parents have had to delay paying rent, credit card bills, auto insurance bills or retirement contributions. I'm joined by Troy Frerichs who is Country’s Vice President of Investment Services to help answer listener questions including: How to be a new parent and manage the related costs and time pressures of working and raising your child from home? How to get back in the workforce if you've had to quit your job during Covid to take care of your family? How to navigate the increased costs of college kids returning and living back at home? You can learn more about the Country survey and get access to some really helpful content and articles at countryfinancial.com/farnoosh

1112: Ask Farnoosh: How to Manage Family Finances in the Pandemic?

Like so many great entrepreneurs’ stories begin, Kara Goldin discovered her business idea through solving a problem in your own life, wanting to regain her health in her 40s. As she committed to drinking more water in her own life - and adding natural flavors to the drink - a business was born. Hint is now one of the leading beverages in the world and Kara called one of the leading six distruptors in business — alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Her latest endeavor is the launch of her book: Undaunted: Overcoming Doubt and Doubters. Part autobiography, part business memoir and lots of insights on self-development, Undaunted offers inspiring stories that impart lessons that any reader can apply to their own path. While most motivational business and life books try to offer quick fixes, Undaunted focuses on long-term success, showing you how to take control of breaking down barriers and moving forward.

1111: Kara Goldin, Founder of Hint Water and Author of Undaunted

This episode is part of a two-episode series in partnership with FICO. Our initial episode tackled all of your top credit score-related questions. FICO's Joanne Gaskin joined to co-host. You can listen to the full episode here. Today we welcome Sally Taylor, Vice President and General Manager of B2B Scores at FICO. As a product executive in the predictive analytics and decision management space, Sally has many years’ experience shaping, managing and delivering products that help businesses improve their operations and generate high ROI. She's been part of amazing transformations – such as leading the FICO Scores adoption to revolutionize the mortgage industry, to initial business uses of mathematical optimization in the credit industry – to currently making analytics accessible and consumable via the FICO Analytic Cloud Marketplace. In her current role, Sally manages a team of 60 professionals responsible for business development and partner relations, product strategy and management, marketing, analytic and software development, analytic delivery and project management for global business-to-business FICO score products. Learn more about Sally: FICO Blog: FICO Celebrates 30th Anniversary of the FICO Score Spotlighting global financial inclusion innovation at 2019 FICO World VIDEO – Fox Business: What is a FICO Score? Forbes byline: Top Three Data Trends Helping To Transform Lending Thrive Global: FICO VP Sally Taylor: “As with any social movement, walls come down when people respect and understand each other.” Yahoo Finance: 10 Powerful Women in Finance Share Their Ideas on Achieving on Gender Parity

1110: Sally Taylor: Vice President and General Manager, FICO

How do elections impact the stock market and is there reason to pause your investment strategy until after November 3? This week's Ask Farnoosh responds to audience questions related to the election, as well as whether it's smart to withdraw from one's 401(k) to invest in real estate?

1109: Ask Farnoosh: Should I wait to invest until after the election?

Whether you’re struggling for the words (and patience) to discuss topics like allowances and college costs with your teenager or want to encourage your 4th grader to save at a young age, my guests have advice on how to teach financial principles to your kids throughout the years. Doug Nordman and Carol Pittner are the father-daughter authors of the book Raising Your Money-Savvy Family for Next Generation Financial Independence. The book is part personal stories, part practical advice, guiding readers on how to instill financial values in their kids starting as early as Kindergarten, or as the authors say, “after they stop eating money.”  We discuss their own personal memories of discussing money when Carol was growing up, as well as how families that may be struggling with money can open up to their kids about it in a meaningful (and not scary) way.

1108: How to Talk to Your Kids About Money with Authors Doug Nordman and Carol Pittner

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in the pandemic, as families struggle to address the education gap for their kids, a group of moms got together to create an essential platform for parents and teachers to connect called The Learning Match. Julie Plake McMinn and her co-founders built The Learning. Match to connect families to trusted, qualified and experienced educators in their local community and virtually nationwide. Access to The Learning Match is always free for educators, and during the current beta testing is also free for families. With more than 15 years of experience, Julie is an all-around marketing, branding, and PR pro. She is equally at home planning a major event, creating marketing strategies and communications plans, or engaging top editors and producers. A move to New York City after she graduated from Penn State University, marked the start of her communications career: She began as a marketing and advertising assistant at Niche Media, a luxury-lifestyle magazine publisher. Working on Niche titles such as Gotham and Hamptons, Julie was thrown head first into the world of networking and relationship-building for the jet set. As a result of Julie’s own networking, entrepreneur and business owner Bethenny Frankel reached out when she needed an assistant. In 2008, she became Bethenny’s right hand—coordinator of chaos—handling everything from scheduling to marketing to product launches to the development of the Skinnygirl Brand. Learn more about The Learning Match.

1107: The future of school and a new business that solves a massive problem.

***This episode is brought to us by Capital One*** Today we're answering your money questions related to buying a car, a deep-dive on all-things auto. The fact is many of us are shopping for a new set of wheels these days. Sales of new vehicles are up big time, thanks to extremely low interest rates and rising demand from those who want an alternative to buses, trains and taxis…and more freedom to get around. Given this trend, I thought it would be helpful to dedicate an entire Friday show to providing advice and strategies for securing a great auto deal in today's market. I've recently partnered with Capital One and I'm excited to soon bring on Dave Kang, the CMO of Capital One’s Consumer Auto Finance, for his insights. We discuss: When leasing may make more sense than buying a car? Should I buy a new car or used? How to best negotiate in this economy? To check out Capital One's AutoNavigator tool described on the episode, visit www.capitalone.com/cars.

1106: Ask Farnoosh: Should I Buy or Lease a Car?

If you're looking at the stock market and wondering why it's not suffering as much as the economy, my guest can explain. Dr. Hans Boeting is also known as The Investing Tutor and he dedicates his work to teaching others how to analyze and engage wisely in the stock market. Dr. Hans shares his methodology for picking winning stocks (not something we recommend if you aren't already investing for retirement through a diversified portfolio in your 401k or IRA). But if you're ready to "play" in the market with some extra cash that you don't absolutely need, Dr. Hans has a strategy for us. More about Dr. Hans: He was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa. He earned his Path of Distinction MBA from William and Mary and holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from St. John Fisher College. After he discovered how rich families built their fortune using the stock market, he decided to become an investor. He has read over 400 books, 40,000 financial articles and spent 11 years pursuing mastery. Dr. Hans has impacted the lives of countless professionals and placed many families on the path to Generational Wealth. You can learn more about Dr. Hans and his teachings at www.theinvestingtutor.com

1105: How to Pick Winning Investments (and What is Going on with the Markets?) with The Investing Tutor, Dr. Hans Boeting

A lot of Americans are choosing to relocate in the pandemic, but as my guest Chris Browning, host of the podcast Popcorn Finance explains, moving to a new part of the country can be challenging when you're Black or a person of color. Worrying about being accepted and safe is something he and his wife have experienced when thinking about whether to relocate from Los Angeles. More about Chris: He is the creator and host of the award-winning, short-form podcast Popcorn Finance & the call in, money advice show This is Awkward. Each week Chris discusses finance in about the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn. Topics range from understanding the basics of investing to his love of tiny homes.  Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance with an emphasis in financial planning and still maintains his position as a financial analyst specializing in revenue analysis.

1104: How Race Impacts Real Estate Decisions with Popcorn Finance Host Chris Browning

Is now a 'good time' to buy or rent? Do I need life insurance? How should I tackle my fiance's student loans? All these questions answered and more in this week's Ask Farnoosh. Guest co-host is So Money fan and listener Susan Reade, General Manager of multiple radio stations in Edmonton, Canada, breadwinning wife and mom of two.

1103: Ask Farnoosh: Should We Wait to Buy a House and Rent, Instead?

Danetha Doe is the creator of Money & Mimosas® and host of the Money Sex Power podcast. Money & Mimosas is a financial well-being resource enjoyed by readers in over fifty countries. Danetha was named a personal finance expert by TIME, Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal. She was recognized as a millennial thought leader by the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs and a millennial entrepreneur to watch by the office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Danetha is the star financial expert in the Webby Award winning TV series, Going From Broke, produced by Ashton Kutcher, which garnered over 12 million views in its first season. Her work has been featured in Entrepreneur, Elle, The Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, NBC and more. A former NFL cheerleader turned money maven and entrepreneur, Danetha believes that charting your own path is the key to financial freedom.

1102: Money and Mimosas Founder Danetha Doe

There’s plenty to be frustrated with, as a parent to a child experiencing school virtually this fall. Same for teachers, administrators and students. These are unprecedented times and the path forward is unclear. All are struggling. But, what are the bright sides? How can families navigate this challenging academic year with more success (regardless of income)? This show is dedicated to offering positive solutions to an otherwise challenging school year with guest Ana Homayoun, noted teen and millennial expert, author, speaker, and educator. Her work focuses on helping students develop empathy and executive functioning skills in today’s tech and social media world. More about Ana: She is the author of three books: That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, The Myth of the Perfect Girl, and Social Media Wellness. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News, as well as on Fast Company, CNBC, and ABC News, among others, and she is a frequent guest on NPR. In 2001, Ana founded Green Ivy Educational Consulting, LLC, an internationally recognized organization that works with parents, students, educators, and employers. She works with schools, universities and corporations consulting with parents, students, educators and employers about promoting intrinsic motivation, authentic engagement, and overall wellness. In early 2019, with the support of the Foundation for the Carolinas, she launched the Life Navigator Middle School Program, a school advisory curriculum and school coaching program designed to promote executing functioning skills and student wellness as well as social and economic mobility.

1101: How to Make the Most of the School Year with Education Expert Ana Homayoun

On this week's Ask Farnoosh, host Farnoosh Torabi responds to audience questions related to the real estate market, specifically in New York City. Will the Big Apple get its groove back in the next year or two? Also: how parenthood can make you more productive at work (and richer), and best ways to save and invest for mid-term goals like buying a car or supporting a relative through college. Co-host Chelsea Silveira Burgos revisits the show. She is an avid So Money listener and personal finance enthusiast pursuing financial independence with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. Chelsea and her family live in California where they own their home, save for retirement and college, and are working toward becoming debt-free. Chelsea is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and works primarily with children on the Autism spectrum. She is an adjunct instructor for her online grad program and has a private tutoring client who connected with Chelsea on Instagram after Chelsea was reposted by a few popular accounts in the field of ABA.

1100: Ask Farnoosh: When Will New York City Make a Comeback?

Sophia Amoruso, aka THE GIRL BOSS, is a New York Times bestselling author and serial entrepreneur. In her latest venture, she’s going wheels up with a new program called Business Class, an in-depth online entrepreneurship course that covers the fundamentals of starting and scaling your own business. Registration started yesterday at takebusinessclass.com. It’s a course Sophia says she’s prepared to teach like no one else, thanks to her successes and failures running high-profile businesses. You may know Sophia as the author of the NYT bestseller GirlBoss, which chronicles her personal journey of dumpster diving, shoplifting…starting an eBay account and turning it into a clothing empire called Nasty Gal. Since then it’s been a rollercoaster of a timeline. Shortly after appearing on the cover of Forbes in 2016 as one the country’s richest self-made women, Sophia’s business NastyGal, the primary source of her wealth, filed for bankruptcy. Sophia moved on quickly, raising money to start her next business Girl BossMedia…That company acquired by Attention Capital and earlier this year Sophia stepped away from the CEO position. And in recent months the GirlBoss movement, which she became the poster woman for, has been criticized for its lack of inclusivity and diversity. Sophia here gives a bold interview, talking openly about her ups and downs, what she makes of the “cancel culture” around GirlBoss…and why she’s actually glad she never became too too rich.

1099: The GilrBoss Sophia Amoruso on Failure, Cancel Culture and Her Newest Endeavor

Host Farnoosh Torabi is an award-winning financial strategist, TV host and bestselling author. So Money brings inspiring money strategies and stories straight from today's top business minds, authors and influencers. What was their financial journey and how do they master their money today? Hear from inspiring individuals and learn about their financial philosophies, wins, failures and habits. Plus, their secret guilty pleasures. On Fridays, tune in as Farnoosh answers your biggest questions about money, career, guests, you name it. Submit your question for Farnoosh at www.SoMoneyPodcast.com.

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So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

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