So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

I'm so excited for today's guest. She's a writer, photographer and world traveler. Wendy Simmons is out with a new book that you should run -- not walk -- tomorrow to go get a copy after you listen to this podcast. It's about her vacation in North Korea. Yes, I know what you're thinking... how does one even travel there? Why would one vacation there? There's so many questions. But the book is called My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth. Wendy also has a weekly travel column featured on the Huffington Post and has written for other outlets including Yahoo!, PopSugar, Travel and Leisure among many others. Wendy's photographs have also been featured in numerous exhibitions and shows across the country and have even earned her accolades. Wendy also has over 25 years of marketing, PR and management experience. She's also switched careers several times serving as the president of Vendeloo, a consultancy she founded in 2001, working as the Chief Brand Officer of a NYC-based global eyewear brand and owner of a bar in Manhattan. So, in the interview we discuss, how did she decide to go to North Korea? Why, really? What were her expectations going into the country and were they met? Would she recommend you and I go to North Korea and if so, what should we take with us? Wendy is also an entrepreneur. We transition nicely to talk about money. We talk about learning about money as she lived in a neighborhood that was pretty wealthy. Why she says she doesn’t really think about money. She doesn’t want to think about money and her number one financial failure, which perhaps not surprisingly, involved the stock market. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode I answer your questions about making acomeback on increasing your credit score, the biggest financialmistakes college freshman make and more.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is a consumer protection lawyer and has done so for over 20 years. Most recently, he's focused on helping people with student loan problems. Jay Fleischman is a partner with a law firm, Shaev & Fleischman, and practices in both New York and California. He's been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post and on Fox News. Jay also hosts the weekly podcast, The Student Loan Show. On the show, he breaks down the complex world of student loans and consumer debt so that people can take control of their situation. He is also a speaker who gives talks and shares his advice at speaking engagements across the country. On that podcast, he breaks down the complex world of student loans and consumer debt, so that people can take control of their situation. So with Jay, I wanted to learn first of all how big is this problem and what are the most common issues his clients come to him with? What if you have a private loan? We know that there are some federal programs that can assist those federal loan borrowers, namely, income based repayment, but what if you have a private loan? What is your best bet if you cannot pay back that loan? Advice for parents who are thinking about, or who are currently co-signing, a loan with their child and some free resources. So before you go and hire an attorney to help you, what are some free ways that you can learn how to get out of your debacle? For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is the Founder and CEO of Restorsea. Patti Pao has an extensive beauty background having launched over 400 products for popular brands including Avon, Elizabeth Arden and Guerlain to name a few. She's known for creating revolutionary products. It all started when Patti recognized that there was an unmet consumer need for gentler anti-aging products that deliver real results. She didn't go about this in the most normal way... Patti took a tour through the fjords of western Norway and came across a tour of the country's largest salmon hatchery. Along the way she noticed the workers hands looked much younger than their faces and because they worked with their hands in the water Patti knew where to look for the secret. Shortly thereafter Restorsea's proprietary Vibransea complex was born, which is anchored by Aquabeautine XL, a natural enzyme salmon release into the water at birth enabling them to safely emerge from their eggshells. She even secured the exclusive global rights to use the enzyme in all of Restoresea's products. She has her MBA from the Harvard Business School and received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guests are the dynamic duo behind FlippedLifestyle.com. Shane and Jocelyn Sams are former teachers and went on to build a business that allowed them to quit their day jobs, spend more time with family and earn passive income online. The couple now generates hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in profit while only working around 10-15 hours of work per week. Now, they are helping other families do the same by connecting with people through their podcast, website and inside their Flip Your Life community. They were recently featured in Forbes sharing the story of how they went from making $76,000 a year to $1M. For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is a two-time Emmy Award winning consumer reporter. Jeanette Pavini has completed more than 10,000 money-saving news stories. For eight years she was the chief consumer reporter for CBS 5 News in San Francisco and her money-saving segments became the backbone to her 30-minute consumer show, The Real Deal. Her Emmy nominated show ran for 10 years on both CBS and NBC and was a recipient of eight Press Club Awards for Best Program.Jeanette is frequently featured as a guest contributor for the TODAY Show and Hallmark Channel's Home & Family Show. She also writes a column for the Wall Street Journal Sunday edition and MarketWatch, which offers readers money-saving advice and consumer protection tips. Now, Jeanette is a spokesperson and consumer saving expert for Coupons.com, a leader in online and printable offers and digital coupons.   For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode of Ask Farnoosh, I answer your biggest questions about what to do with a $30,000 windfall, whether couples should keep their credit accounts separate and more.For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the last episode on Startup Week here on So Money. Our last guest is a writer and entrepreneur from Southwest Louisiana who is now living in New York City. Courtney Young is the co-founder of  Heartmob,  a not-for-profit tech platform designed to reduce trauma and isolation for individuals who are experiencing online harassment. She is also the founder of Think Young Media Group, a boutique technology and media agency that produces narrative, documentary and television projects. She raised money for non-profit via several grants and a Kickstarter campaign. Courtney's writing has been featured in publications including The Nation, The American Prospect and Ms. Magazine. For people out there that are interested in starting a nonprofit, we talk about raising money through crowd funding - how did she do it, what was her approach and would she recommend it again? We also talk about growing up in the south. What was that like and what did her parents teach her about money and making ends meet when you’re running a nonprofit? For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm so excited for today's startup guest. He's a fellow Penn State alum and co-founder of The Coding Space. Eli graduated from the Smeal College of Business last year and now runs the after school program The Coding Space where he helps students learn to code. The company launched in July 2015 with just 6 students in September to over 125 students by the winter semester. Eli says the company is 100% bootstrapped. Prior to working here and while still in college, Eli started his own web development company, CrossedClouds. He was also part of the user acquisition team at Mozilla Firefox in San Francisco and worked at Remind.com For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to startup week. Today's guest is the founder and CEO of Bstow, a forthcoming app that will be launching soon. It rounds up your spare change and shares it with a charity of your choice. Jason Grad is a technology specialist based out of New York City who has a proven track record for high growth in both sales and marketing. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Jason began his career as an IT Manager and Director of Online Sales at Eveready Hardware before joining Yelp as an Elite Account Executive. While at Yelp he was in the 1% of out 1,500 executives in total sales. In six months he was able to generate over half a million in new business. In June 2015, Jason left Yelp to pursue his entrepreneurial dream and start Bstow. Jason enjoys giving back to the community and volunteers at events and mentors at both Startup Institute and Venture for America. Right now, Jason is in Tel Aviv, where he was accepted into the prestigious Barclay’s accelerator powered by TechStars. So, he is sort of incubating this idea and app. I was curious so why Tel Aviv, what is this accelerator? How can other aspiring entrepreneurs take advantage of an accelerator and then, how did he actually make the jump from employee to entrepreneur? How did he do that in a financially feasible way? How much money did he have shored up in order to make that leap with some confidence? For more information visit www.somoneypodcast.com. Learn more about Farnoosh's upcoming literary workshop Book to Brand. Early bird registration is now open! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.