So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

What happens when you've checked all the boxes? The career, the family, the financial success, the home. You've done everything you were supposed to do, and yet something still feels...off.

Maybe you're exhausted. Maybe you've become so good at achieving that you don't actually know how to stop. Or maybe, as you move through midlife, you're starting to wonder: Is this really what I want? And who am I when I'm not busy getting things done?
My guest today knows this reckoning intimately.

Unni Turrettini is an author, speaker and former Wall Street professional whose latest book, Soulware, explores how we can reconnect with ourselves in a world that increasingly rewards productivity, performance and external validation.

Unni spent years in high-pressure legal and financial roles, pushing herself so hard that she once physically collapsed at a professional event. But even after building what looked like a picture-perfect life, she found herself questioning why she still felt unfulfilled.

Today, we're exploring the difference between healthy ambition and what Unni calls fear-driven overachieving. We'll talk about why midlife can trigger a crisis of identity, how to stop operating in constant survival mode, and why giving yourself permission to work less might actually make you more creative, productive and even profitable.
And in a very timely twist, we'll explore how Unni uses AI, including ChatGPT, to help reconnect with herself rather than become even more dependent on technology.
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 thought about starting a business in midlife, you probably know the idea is often the easy part. Finding the money, the support and frankly the confidence to actually do it? That’s where things get complicated.

Today we’re talking about what it really takes to launch and grow a business in your 40s, 50s and beyond, especially at a time when borrowing is expensive and traditional funding can be tough to come by.

My guest is Trae Bodge, longtime consumer expert, entrepreneur and co-founder of the Threadneedle Alley Foundation, a nonprofit helping midlife entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable businesses through grants and mentorship.

Trae and I talk about where entrepreneurs can find funding right now, including grants that many business owners don’t even realize they qualify for, why applying for every grant you see may actually be a terrible strategy, and how even $5,000 can completely change the trajectory of a small business.

We also get into something I think is especially important in midlife: building your own board of advisors. The people who can help you think through the things you don’t know, make smarter decisions and keep you from operating in a vacuum.

Plus, Trae shares what she learned after reviewing more than 450 grant applications last year, including the surprisingly simple things that can move your application to the top of the pile.
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.

This week's Ask Farnoosh includes Farnoosh's best money moves in her 30's that led to more ease and financial flexibility in midlife. Plus: the cost of dinner and the iced coffee internet wars. Is it OK to bring an iced coffee to work?

Check out the WSJ article about the hell that is family dinner planning.
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 if the reason your habits never seem to stick isn’t a lack of discipline—but the way you’ve been taught to build them?
Today, I welcome back Monica Packer, founder of About Progress and author of the new book Sticky Habits: A Woman’s Guide to Reclaim Happiness, Ditch Perfectionism, and Create Habits That Last.

Monica is a certified habits and identity coach who has helped thousands of women move away from all-or-nothing thinking and toward sustainable growth.

We explore why so many of our best intentions fall apart the minute life gets busy, how perfectionism can sabotage our routines, and why lasting habits may have less to do with streaks, elaborate trackers, or waking up at 5 a.m. and more to do with identity, flexibility, and choosing progress over perfection.
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.

How much of what you want for your life is actually yours — and how much of it has been negotiated around one very powerful question: What will they say?

What will your family say if you make more money? If you become too successful? If you leave the safe job, start the business, move away, ask for more, speak up — or simply decide you want something different?

My guest today, Denise Soler Cox, has spent years thinking about this, particularly through the experience of high-achieving Latinas who can find themselves caught between two competing messages: You’re not enough. But also? Don’t become too much.

Denise is a filmmaker, speaker and now the author of What Will They Say? Confront Cultural Taboos and Discover Your Inner Power.
And this conversation goes places.

We talk about the cultural scripts that can make ambition feel almost like betrayal. Why being taught not to ask too many questions can eventually affect everything from your career to your relationship with money. Why so many women are financially self-taught. And Denise gets remarkably candid about her own finances — including what happened when a thriving speaking business tied to corporate diversity initiatives began disappearing, tens of thousands of dollars at a time.

We also talk about being a breadwinner, taking up space, reclaiming your name and identity, and perhaps most importantly, learning to trust yourself after years of being taught to look outside yourself for permission.
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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.