So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Today I have a longtime friend joining me on the show. I’ve known Jennefer Witter for at least 10 years. Jennefer is the CEO and founder of The Boreland Group, a national PR firm headquartered in New York City. It’s not often as journalist that you become friends with the publicist. The publicist who e-mail you, write to you, call you, grab you for five minutes at a conference to tell you about their company. I’m all for pitches. I love working with publicists for the most part. They are very helpful to me and instrumental in the work that I do. We wouldn’t have guests on this show if it wasn’t for the good work and the kind work of publicists who represent amazing people and amazing brands, but rarely do you actually befriend these people in your personal life where you actually go to dinners and you share personal stories. Jennefer and I really clicked way back when I was working at NY1. Initially, we started out as just business friends. We worked together, she sent me pitches, I had some of her guest on the show. So, long story short, we’ve been in touch for all of these years. Her business has exploded as well. She’s on the show today to share some of her lessons learned as well as her financial mindset and behaviors. How she has been able to build wealth while living here. Also, how, as a single female entrepreneur, she’s been able to build her business to the point where she was named one of the top 10 black CEO entrepreneurs in the country. She also has a book called, The Little Book of Big PR: 100 Plus Quick Tips to Grow Your Small Business. In addition to getting her clients on top national and regional platforms, she herself has been featured in Fast Company, Bloomberg, The Huffington Post and TheStreet.com. She’s also an advocate for women in business and serves as an active member of Elevate New York. 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 an award-winning financial writer contributing to CBS News, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, Financial Planning amongst many others.Kathy Kristof is also the author of three books, most notably, "Investing 101" and "Taming the Tuition Tiger." You might also recognize Kathy's voice as she frequently contributes to TV and radio programs. A fun fact, she was even once a question on Jeopardy... "Kathy Kristof replaced what famous personal finance columnist who died in 1991?" The answer was Sylvia Porter.   Some take aways with Kathy include core perspective on the financial markets in 2016. What we can do to protect our money. She’s covered the markets for decades so she can pinpoint cycles and she can tell you what might be the best strategy going into this year. That and so much 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.

Our guest today is a pioneer financial blogger, one of the first to sell his blog for 7 figures. Jim Wang founded Bargaineering.com. It was a side hobby that eventually brought in a full time income — and then less than 5 years later he sold the site for $3 million. PS. He says he started the blog because he was bored! Today Jim has a new online venture, a website called Wallethacks.com, launched last fall. It’s pretty spectacular in its vision and delivery. Articles, tools and tips on building money systems, how to live fully, save, spend wisely and pay down debt. Jim’s been featured in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Entrepreneur and Marketplace Money. And now, excited to say, on this podcast. He also created a special link for So Money listeners offering an exclusive contest and some great materials so check it out by visiting wallethacks.com/somoney. Three takeaways from our time together... His growth strategy for Wallethacks and how it will differ from how he built his first successful blog. Growing up with immigrant parents. What financial lessons did he learn as a child? How to master your money even if you're forgetful like Jim! 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 how much money to set aside monthly in a 529 account, effectively asking for a raise at work, student loan repayment plans 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, we're looking at $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. Outstanding student loan debt in this country has surpassed credit card debt and it’s a problem. Today’s guest is hoping that he can bring some solutions to this problem. We have Adam Carroll, the founder of National Financial Educators. He’s quickly being recognized as one of the top transformational trainers in the country. We’re lucky enough to get him to stop by college week on the show. He’s very busy because next week he has this amazing documentary that is going to go live called Broke, Busted, Disgusted. It is a documentary on student loan debt. The film started garnering critical acclaimed after his TED Talk in September. Adam is also the author of “Winning the Money Game," which is taught along with its corresponding curriculum in high schools and colleges across the country as a financial literacy supplement. He also has his own podcast called, “Build a Bigger Life”. He is the founder of National Financial Educators. He’s presented over 500 colleges and universities all over the country on the topic of student loan debt and financing education. So, he is our guy today in the hot seat talking about student loans, his three best tips for those saddled with debt, how to get out of it. He  also shares the number one question he finds college students often cannot answer - a basic question - when it comes to their student loans and it was the stimulus for his documentary. 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, we have a very special and important guest as we dive into college affordability and student loans. Our guest today is a nationally recognized expert on the topic of student financial aid scholarships and student loans. His name is Mark Kantrowitz. You may have seen his name quoted in the media often. He is my go-to expert and resource when it comes to learning more about student loans. Mark aims to deliver practical information, advice as well as tools and resources to students and their families so that they can make informed decisions about planning and paying for college. In the last five years, he has been quoted in more than 5,000 newspaper and magazine articles. He has written for major publications including The Times, The Journal, The Washington Post and Forbes. He’s also the author of four best-selling books about scholarships and financial aid. We discuss what works for you and against you when it comes to receiving financial aid, demystifying the FAFSA, the free application for federal student aid. What gets factored in? What doesn’t? How to earn more money as you go through college. Because you may experience a decline of your financial circumstances. Maybe a parent at home loses his or her job? Maybe you lose your job? How do you apply for more financial aid and where can you find free money for school? 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 co-director of College Counseling at the Colorado Academy, which is an independent prep school for grades pre-K through 12th grade. It’s located in Denver. Mark Moody has been helping students at the school prepare for the college admission process since 2008. Before that he was the director of college counseling at the Bush School in Seattle. He is an active member of the Association for College Counselors in independent schools and other college counseling networks. He’s also contributed to the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education and the True Admissions blog. We talk about the biggest mistakes students make that could hurt their chances of getting in to a desired institution. Personally, I’ve been rejected from a few schools and it doesn’t feel good. I wish I had known prior to that experience how to improve my chances of getting in. We discuss how to invest in college properly to get the experiences, the tools and the knowledge that you need for your next phase in life. Mark speaks with admissions directors at major schools frequently - lots of them at Ivy Leagues. He shares his best insider tips based on these conversations that might help applicants. We also discussed this controversy around the Coalition for Access Affordability and Success. It’s a new coalition of public and private schools. The goal is to encourage more students from low income families to apply to these schools, including some ivy leagues but it stirs up a lot of controversy. 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.

It is college week on So Money! All week we’re dedicating the show to all aspects of college – How to afford it? How to pick the right school? How to dissect the financial aid process? Is college worth it? And much, much more. This concept of doing a themed week is thanks to you, by the way. I asked you a couple months back what types of changes or additions you would like to the show and some of you suggested themed weeks. I experimented with it last year with Millionaires Next Door Week and So Money Millennials Week. And they were very popular. I'm hoping to dedicate more of the podcast to these special deep-dive weeks. Kicking us off to educate us all on the best ways to afford college and how to steer clear of too much debt is the author of the new book "The Debt Free Degree: How to Eliminate College Debt At Every Step." John Wasik is an award-winning author of 15 books, speaker and journalist discussing financial topics from investing to student loans and more. John also serves as a personal finance columnist and blogger for Reuters. Prior to his current role he served as a former special projects editor for Consumers Digest magazine.  His work has been featured in outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN amongst many others. 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.

 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.

Our guests today want to help you make 2016 the year you save HALF your income. I know what you’re thinking…"Say, what? It’s hard enough saving 10%!"Joe Saul-Sehy and Kathleen Celmins, both of the Stacking Benjamins podcast, have a new course called Save 50: How to Save Half Your Income and Take Control of Your Future. Kathleen has actually done this herself - and continues to save 50% of her income. We explore how this can actually work on any income. And why if you’re in debt you may be the most likely candidate to successfully save half.To sign up for their e-course, which helps you learn the techniques to figure out your magic number, cut expenses, earn more money, and set up a system to save half your income for the rest of your life, go to farnoosh.tv/save50.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.