The Get Ready Money Podcast
The Get Ready Money Podcast with Tony Steuer features insightful conversations with thought leaders who are transforming how we think about money.
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The Get Ready Money Podcast
Overcome Your Tax Fears Now! Featuring Farnoosh Torabi
On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Farnoosh Torabi, Author and Podcaster about changing the way we think about money and taxes,
Key Takeaways:
- Know that you don't have to go it alone.
- See fear as a signal to get moving.
- Asking for help is an act of intelligence.
- Taxes don’t need to be complicated.
- We all have the ability to handle our taxes.
- How does do it yourself tax software work?
Connect with Farnoosh Torabi:
Books:
- A Healthy State of Panic: Follow Your Fears to Build Wealth, Crush Your Career, and Win at Life (Amazon)
- Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life (Amazon)
- When She Makes More: The Truth About Navigating Love and Life for a New Generation of Women (Amazon)
- You're So Money: Live Rich, Even When You're Not (Amazon)
Podcast:
- So Money Podcast (here)
Resources mentioned:
- TaxAct (here)
Bio:
Farnoosh Torabi is one of America’s leading personal finance experts. She is the host of the award-winning podcast So Money, which has earned over 30 million downloads. She is a sought-after speaker and author of multiple books.
Her newest is entitled A Healthy State of Panic, part-memoir, part-guidebook on how fear can be a superpower to achieve true wealth and career success. Along with being featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine, Farnoosh has appeared frequently on Today, Good Morning America, and more.
She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in finance and international business and holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Farnoosh lives on the East Coast with her husband and two children.
The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and transform your financial future? Then you've come to the right place. This is the Get Ready Money Podcast with Tony Stewart, where Tony has insightful conversations with financial experts who are changing the way we think about money. Catch up on the latest financial trends and hear practical advice from Tony and his expert guests so you can build healthy habits that work, Be empowered with tips for implementing small changes that can have a big impact on your financial future. So sit back and get ready to hear from today's guest.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast, changing the way we think about money. I'm pleased to be joined today by Farnoosh Tarabi. Farnoosh is the host of the so Money podcast and author of A Healthy State of Panic.
Speaker 3:In this episode, we'll be discussing Farnoosh's insights on how we change the way we think about money and taxes. Varnusha, welcome to the Get.
Speaker 2:Ready Money podcast. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you for having me. Yeah, so real quickly. Can you give us just a quick overview of your origin story?
Speaker 3:Sure, well, I've been working in personal finance for about 20 years, started out as a journalist in personal finance, worked at all the major places Money Magazine, cnbc, et cetera and then, like a lot of, like you know, origin stories, I got laid off in the Great Recession and had to kind of figure out my next move and at the time I decided to go independent and start to build on the momentum that I'd built in my career as a financial journalist and educator, and that soon after that I wrote some more books. I started a podcast called so Money, and I've been. I never looked back. It's been great. I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of cool people, meet a lot of interesting people, travel and, most importantly, help people with their money. The podcast, primarily, has been the tool to do that.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I'm glad to have you here today. As I mentioned pre-show, I'm a big fan of your work, so excited to talk a little bit more about that, of course, and to get into the taxes. So what tax concept do you wish people knew?
Speaker 3:I wish people knew that they don't have to be so complicated. I think that we, like a lot of facets of our financial life, we turn it into like this hairy monster. We don't give ourselves the benefit of the doubt to say you know what, maybe I do have the chops to actually learn this, at least the basics, and that I don't have to allow fear to get in the way of me being successful, whether it's in another realm of my financial life or here with my taxes. So I think that's an overarching message. I think a lot of us can relate to that, no matter where we come from or what our backgrounds are. You know taxes, they get a bad rap. You know nobody likes to do them, and so we conflate that with I'm not good at doing my taxes, and I think that's a mistake.
Speaker 2:Well, that's awesome and I love that. I think with most things in the money world is that it is. You know, we can all do it, but you know, as we have to just understand, it's a little more complex and that you know, you just have to put some energy into it. So what should people keep in mind if they're feeling fear about filing taxes? You talk about fear a lot.
Speaker 3:I do, and I like to talk about fear as a tool, especially in our financial lives. If you're feeling fear this time of year around your taxes, consider this feeling a signal that you need to address some things. Maybe it's that you have to get a little bit more educated about the tax filing process. Maybe it's that you need to work with some experts, get some help and realizing that there are many people that feel the same way that you do. The difference is that some people will do something about it and others will choose to stay stuck, and I want everyone to see their fear as a signal to go out there and get moving and get their taxes done, because I mean, maybe you're getting a refund and that's not a bad thing, right? So the earlier you get that, you can start reinvesting that into your life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's awesome and I think you know with fear is that you know, as you point out, you need to address it and see about how you can overcome it. So that's wonderful advice. So you know, what is the most important thing for people to keep in mind when they're getting ready to file their taxes.
Speaker 3:I think organization goes a very, very long way. So there is this fear of like showing up to do your taxes and not having all the necessary required paperwork. So I would say go do that. That's step number one is to compile that documentation, whether that's income statements, bank statements, expense reports, credit card statements. We know the drill and I would also say it's important to get help. So right, it's a complex return or a simple return. They have a team of certified, credentialed experts who are living in America, they understand our tax codes and they have a 100 percent guarantee that your return is going to be done accurately and that you're going to get the best possible refund, if you are in fact entitled to a refund.
Speaker 2:So get the help that you might need.
Speaker 3:Yeah, people often think you know it's so close to the tax filing deadline I have no option but to just sort of figure this out on my own. Everyone's too busy to help me and I think that's again get us getting our kind of in our own ways and know that there are these DIY tax prep softwares that can help you, and it's not just a digital solution. There's people there, to real life people to help.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that is an awesome solution, and you know a tax act, you know. So, you know. I think the thing, though, you know and this gets back to what we were talking about a minute ago is, you know, what would you say to those people who are like, you know, they're really stuck, you know, is I mean, everybody has this fear of the IRS, you know, and they're they're not feeling like, you know, I can do this, as you know, how do they get started with something like tax act? I mean, how do they, you know, conquer that thing that's going on in their head?
Speaker 3:Well, sometimes, when we're grappling with a current fear in this case, you know, the fear of filing our taxes I would challenge that fear with an even bigger, you know, sort of scarier predicament. Is that if you don't do something right, what's the what's the result of that? I would, I would bet it's something scarier right, because right now you can actually do something about it with this fear, you can make a move, you can get some help. If you do nothing and then the deadline passes and now you're behind, and now you're if you owe money, that's not good, right. You're going to have to deal with that.
Speaker 3:And I think there's something scarier waiting for you at the end of that stagnancy and at the end of that road of choosing to do nothing. That if fear is really a motivator for you, let that motivate you, that visualization of you being kind of in this future, stuck place and now penalized, and now really scrambling to catapult you today to do the right thing, which is to face your financial life and your tax reality. And you know we have time still to get this done. I want to encourage people that you know we're not talking the day before the tax deadline. We still have some time and some good time to get this done.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. That's all great tips. So what tax that I'm trying to break?
Speaker 3:is that taxes are unsolvable. You know, the average person can't tackle their taxes. I think that that is a myth, frankly. You know and again, going back to personal finance in general, there's so many myths like that, right? Well, we're raised with this narrative that, like it's too complicated, it's not for me. I never learned this. Therefore, I'll never be good at it. It's a choice at the end of the day. Do you want to be good at it or don't you? We all have the ability to conquer this and be good at it, and I would also say that there's a myth that you have to do it by yourself, that if you invite help into your life around this, that it suggests weakness or that you don't know what you're doing. No, it means you know exactly what you're doing, which is that you are going to lean on the support of those who know a little bit more than you that provide a structure so that you can get this done, because you know it's important, right, and I think there's no shame in that.
Speaker 2:Well, that's awesome and I love that you said that this is for everybody, because there's people in different cultures and demographics who sometimes feel like, hey, the whole financial world is not for me.
Speaker 3:Right, right, they do. And again, these are narratives that we hold on to. We don't know when exactly they started, when they were crafted, but here we are, as adults, still holding onto them, still buying into that myth, and I think at some point, you have to ask yourself is this helping me out? You know, holding onto this belief, is it helping me or is it hurting me? And I think you answer that and you know what your next move has to be.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's great stuff. So, to wrap up, what is your number one tip on changing the way we think about money and taxes?
Speaker 3:Know that you don't have to go it alone. I think that's really important. Again, this might be a cultural bias that some people have Is that sort of like I have to do everything on my own. That there is honor and valor in sort of doing your own taxes and doing your own. You know financial, you know calculations, but that asking for help is an act of intelligence. You know it's saying that this is an area where it's complex and my life is very busy and I know this is important. So I'm going to invite the experts in to help me and I'm going to do it myself to the extent that I can, and then also arm myself with resources and support. And if you'd like more information on Tax Act, the website is very simple, it's taxactcom.
Speaker 2:Fantastic and for everybody watching and listening, there will be a link to the Tax Act website so you can check it out. But I love what you said is that asking for help is okay, that it's always okay to ask for help if you don't know something. So real quickly. You already mentioned Tax Act, but where can people find out more about you and tune into the so Money podcast?
Speaker 3:Thanks for asking so. So Money Podcast is available wherever you love to listen to podcasts and it has a website, a home online at somoneypodcastcom, and you can also learn more about me at farnooshtarabicom. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Fantastic. Well, Farnoosh, thanks for joining us today on the Get Ready Money Podcast.
Speaker 3:It's been a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and thank you everyone, as always, for tuning in to this episode of the Get Ready Money podcast. If you learned something today to change the way you think about money, please be sure to subscribe and to tell a friend. Until next time, let's change the way we think about money.
