So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Today's episode is sponsored by Bank of America. To learn more about BofA Rewards and see where you land, head to bofa.com/bofarewards

Welcome to So Money, everyone. You know the loyalty economy when you see it. Airlines have status tiers. Your grocery store has a rewards app. Hotels want you to hit the next level of points before your trip. But did you know your bank could be another place to unlock exclusive benefits? I didn’t until now, and here's the part that got my attention: Access is changing. More banking customers than ever now have access to real rewards, and the kinds of benefits available to them are expanding, too. If you haven't looked at what's available to you lately, it's worth a review.

My guest today has spent her career inside that shift. Shikha Narula is Managing Director and Head of Consumer Deposit Products and Rewards at Bank of America. Before this, she led US consumer lending products at American Express, and spent 16 years at Citi in cards and marketing. So she's watched this industry rethink, again and again, what it actually means to reward a customer for sticking around.

In our conversation, we're going to talk about

The forces actually reshaping banking right now
What that means for how we should evaluate our own banking relationship and
Shikha will walk us through BofA Rewards, which launched this year and represents a pretty different approach to who gets rewarded and for what.

By the end of this episode, we’re going to walk through a bank check in that takes less time than waiting for your coffee, and it could be worth real money that you don't even know you have access to.
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.

Love is beautiful. But love is not a financial plan.

What happens when you're the breadwinner in your marriage? When your aging parents haven't saved enough for retirement? Or when protecting your financial future means having some pretty uncomfortable conversations with the people you love most?

This week, I'm joined by Jannese Torres, creator and host of Yo Quiero Dinero, author of Financially Lit, entrepreneur, and one of my favorite voices on women's financial independence.
Jannese is no stranger to challenging traditional expectations around money and relationships. She's the breadwinner in her marriage, runs a real estate business with her husband, and is a passionate advocate for prenups and financial boundaries. She's also navigating something many of us in midlife can relate to: the growing realization that our parents may be counting on us for financial support.

We get into the messy intersection of love, money, marriage, and family obligations, including Jannese's remarkable experience of getting divorced for just $500, thanks in part to financial protections she put in place.

And we explore what it really means to build generational wealth. Spoiler: Sometimes the greatest financial gift you can give your children is making sure they'll never have to support you.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why love isn't enough: The financial conversations every couple should have, especially when one partner earns significantly more.
The case for prenups and postnups: How Jannese protected her investments and business during divorce, and why these agreements aren't just for the wealthy.
Being the female breadwinner: How to navigate traditional gender expectations and build an equitable partnership.
Working with your spouse: What Jannese learned about trust, money, and stepping back while investing in a house-flipping business with her husband.
When your parents have no retirement plan: How to set financial boundaries without abandoning the people you love.
Raising financially independent kids: Why funding your own retirement may be more important than paying for every dollar of your child's college education.
Redefining generational wealth: The lessons, examples, and financial confidence we pass down matter just as much as the money.

A powerful takeaway from Jannese:
"The most generous form of wealth that you can give your kid is a financially independent parent."

More about Jannese Torres
Jannese is the founder of Yo Quiero Dinero, a personal finance platform dedicated to helping women build wealth and achieve financial independence. She's the author of Financially Lit and is working to bring a new financial empowerment conference to Puerto Rico in 2027, creating space for women, especially first-generation wealth builders, to have honest conversations about money and opportunity.

Follow Janesse: IG @yoquierodineropodcast | https://yoquierodineropodcast.com
Learn more about her fundraiser for DiversiFI, a financial freedom conference created for Latinas and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, to Puerto Rico in fall 2027.

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This episode of So Money includes a paid partnership with Google Workspace with Gemini. Farnoosh takes us behind the scenes of how an episode goes from an initial idea to a conversation ready for the mic. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini and try it free for 14 days at https://goo.gle/workspacewithgemini.
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.

Take Farnoosh's midlife survey

What if the retirement you’re saving for isn’t the life you actually want?

This week on Ask Farnoosh, we unpack a story about Gen X’s willingness to “blow up” their lives—from downsizing to moving overseas—to make room for more freedom. Plus, a closer look at a headline about retirement savings at age 84, what those numbers really tell us, and this week’s mortgage-rate news.

Then, three questions adapted from public Reddit conversations:

I inherited $25,000. Should I pay off debt, invest—or enjoy some of it? How to prioritize competing goals, weigh a nine-percent car loan, and make a thoughtful decision without making a joyless one.
We want to pay our nieces’ and nephews’ college tuition. What if one doesn’t go? Setting clear expectations, supporting different paths, and understanding a useful gift-tax distinction.
Someone sent me money through Zelle by mistake. Why shouldn’t I just send it back? Sending a new payment doesn’t undo the original transaction—and that difference could leave you paying for someone else’s fraud.
Stories discussed
Upworthy: Gen X is redefining what retirement means
FinanceBuzz: Average retirement savings of 84-year-old Americans — The cited figures cover households age 75 and older with retirement accounts, rather than specifically all 84-year-olds.
Freddie Mac: Weekly mortgage-rate survey archive

Mailbag sources and resources

The inheritance question
Original Reddit discussion
Investor.gov: Paying off high-interest debt
Investor.gov: Making the most of a lump-sum payment
The college-gift question
Original Reddit discussion
IRS: Gift-tax guidance, including the educational exclusion
The Zelle question
Reddit: Why are some Zelle payments reversible?
Related Reddit discussion: An unexpected $500 payment
Oregon financial regulator: “Payment sent by mistake” scams
Zelle: Reporting fraud or a scam

Have a money question or a midlife decision you’re wrestling with? Visit SoMoneyPodcast.com and click Ask Farnoosh.
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.

You’re not ready to retire. But you might be ready to stop working—and living—the way you have been. How do you figure out what you can afford to change?
Farnoosh welcomes certified financial planner Sara Stanich, founder of Cultivating Wealth and author of Crossroads: A Financial Fable for Women Navigating the Decisions, Transitions, and Pivots of Peri-Retirement.

Sara calls this stage “peri-retirement”: the stretch when your relationship with work, money and identity begins shifting, even though retirement may still be years away. Her book follows four childhood friends navigating caregiving, divorce, career burnout and entrepreneurship—and the financial decisions that come with each.
The conversation explores why midlife calls for a different financial playbook, one that makes room for both future security and a better life today.

Topics include:
What peri-retirement means and why it can begin earlier than you expect.
How to assess whether you can afford a career change, lower income or more flexibility.
Why earning good money doesn’t always translate into feeling financially secure.
Balancing support for children and aging parents with your own needs.
Rebuilding financial independence after divorce.
Why Sara chose fiction to tell these money stories.
A five-year vision exercise to help clarify what you want next.

Learn more:
Explore Sara’s work at Cultivating Wealth.
Find Crossroads and accompanying resources at crossroads-book.com.
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.

Can you afford to retire—and what do you want life to look like when you do?

Financial advisor and former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Dan Goldie joins Farnoosh to discuss his new book, The Retirement Answer: The Six Key Decisions Every Retiree Needs to Make, and the financial and emotional decisions that shape life after full-time work.

From growing up with a single mother facing financial insecurity to navigating his own early exit from professional tennis, Dan shares the experiences that inform his approach to helping people plan for their futures.
In this episode:

How to figure out what you need for retirement beyond the intimidating headlines.
Social Security timing and the tradeoffs of waiting to claim benefits.
Opportunities to boost retirement savings in midlife.
Why Dan favors flexible withdrawals over a rigid application of the 4% rule.
How to prepare for changes in identity, purpose and daily routine.
Why retirement can be a gradual transition, including consulting or part-time work.
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.