So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

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.

Big changes are coming to So Money. Farnoosh shares more about the show’s 2027 evolution into a weekly, video-first podcast focused on money in midlife—and why the overwhelming response from listeners has reinforced her decision to go deeper on the financial questions that emerge in our 40s, 50s and beyond.

Then, it’s time for the news. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years, and Farnoosh breaks down what the move could mean for your credit cards, HELOCs, mortgages, savings and even the job market. Plus: why higher rates make this an especially important moment to review your debt, credit score and emergency savings.

In the mailbag, Farnoosh offers an order of operations for a listener wondering whether to prioritize paying off high-interest debt, building savings or continuing to invest. And a parent asks how to teach teenagers about investing. Farnoosh shares ideas including custodial Roth IRAs, investing tools for kids and some of her favorite resources for raising financially savvy teens.

The So Money midlife feedback form: https://www.jotform.com/form/262556781257063
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.