1914: Ask Farnoosh: Inside the Slowing Job Market (and How to Protect Yourself)

Summary

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So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Episode 1914 – Ask Farnoosh: Inside the Slowing Job Market (and How to Protect Yourself)
Date: December 5, 2025
Host: Farnoosh Torabi

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Overview

This episode dives into the recent signs of a cooling job market and practical steps listeners can take to safeguard their finances. Farnoosh weaves in recent economic headlines, including job reports, housing market predictions, and trends in youth financial literacy, while answering audience questions on topics like career transitions, layoffs, and investing strategies. The tone is reassuring, practical, and forthright, guiding listeners to both weather economic uncertainty and plan for their future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Slowing Job Market: What It Means and How to Prepare

• ADP Payroll Report: Private employment fell by 32,000 last month, marking the third decline in four months.

  "Hiring managers are being more cautious. Some businesses are delaying expansion plans." – Farnoosh (04:20)

• Advice for Job Seekers:
  • Keep your resume in circulation, even when employed.
  • Update LinkedIn and personal websites before the year-end lull.
  • Be proactive—don’t wait for signs of market weakness to prepare.
• Federal Reserve Watch:
  • The Fed is monitoring this data for potential rate decisions; weak job growth may help the fight against inflation.

Notable Quote:

"Always be sending your resume out. Always. It's not just when you start feeling like things are cooling, you're always looking." – Farnoosh (04:45)

• Action Step: Refresh your professional materials and consider year-end as the deadline for active job search (through about December 16th).

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2. 2026 Housing Market Predictions

• Redfin's Forecast:
  • Hottest Markets: New York City suburbs (Long Island, Hudson Valley, NJ, Fairfield County, CT), Syracuse (NY), Cleveland (OH), St. Louis (MO), Minneapolis (MN), Madison (WI).
  • Coolest Markets: Nashville (TN), San Antonio (TX), Austin (TX), and several Florida cities (Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami).
• Migration Trends:
  • Climate change and cost of living push movement to affordable, less climate-vulnerable regions.
  • Recent grads eyeing affordable rents in small/mid-sized cities.
• Cultural/Lifestyle Shifts:
  • Some southern markets cooling due to climate risk and changing state laws.

Notable Quote:

"[These] aren't really the most affordable places... but because they are so close to New York where the jobs are, they will for now be very popular. There is a lot of commuter attraction." – Farnoosh (07:05)

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3. Year-End Tax Strategies

• Max Out Retirement Plans:
  • 401(k) limits for 2025: $23,500 (+$7,500 catch-up for 50+).
  • IRA limit: $7,000 (+$1,000 catch-up).
  • Solo 401(k) for small business owners.
• Charitable Giving:
  • Up to $108,000 via Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) from IRA for 70.5+ age group.
• Tax Loss Harvesting:
  • Offset gains by selling losing investments—useful if you had significant capital gains.
• Tech Tips:
  • Robo-advisors can automatically harvest losses; opt in if this aligns with your situation.

Notable Advice:

"If you haven't reached the max in your 401k, you might want to consider increasing your contributions before now and the end of the year." – Farnoosh (10:40)

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4. Youth & Financial Literacy Trends

• Kids Are Investing Early:
  • Teens (and even tweens) are now investing for long-term goals like homeownership, using index funds and ETFs.
  • Schools increasingly offering hands-on financial literacy classes—with technology and real investing apps (e.g., Greenlight).
• Cultural Shift:
  • Young people are focused on compounding returns, not chasing get-rich-quick schemes.
  • The number of states requiring personal finance courses for high school graduation is rising (expected to be 30 by class of 2031).

Memorable Moment:

"If you had actually started to contribute just even, I don't know, 20 bucks a week to an IRA or an S&P 500 index fund at age 14, can you even imagine?" – Farnoosh (14:29)

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5. Listener Q&A: Navigating Job Insecurity & Transitions

A. Sticking With a Good Employer During Uncertainty

• Scenario: Luz's husband is launching an uncertain business; Luz’s own job has solid benefits (Roth 401k, six weeks paid vacation, stock plan) but isn't fully fulfilling.
• Farnoosh’s Advice:
  • Stay put for now to maintain household stability.
  • Look for alternative roles within your current company.
  • Don’t jump for a lower-paying job unless benefits and stability are comparable.
  • Benefits often outweigh pay alone; value the full package.

Notable Quote:

"Given the circumstances... you bring the stability right now to the relationship and that's important." – Farnoosh (20:14)

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B. Midlife Career Pivots: Risks and Rewards

• Scenario: Kismet, age 46, single mom, wants out of current tech role, considering a second master's degree.
• Farnoosh’s Guidance:
  • Don’t go into debt for another degree unless financially secure or employer will pay.
  • Explore tuition reimbursement benefits.
  • Set boundaries at work before quitting; open honest conversations with management about workload.
  • Collaborate with colleagues if workload is universally pressing; present a joint proposal to leadership.
  • Start mapping out post-parenting life now, and save deliberately for any education goals.

Key Encouragement:

"Let's remember who you are. This is important. We sometimes forget what we're capable of. You have the can do it ness to do whatever you want." – Farnoosh (28:02)

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C. Handling Layoffs: Severance, Health Insurance, and Taxes

• Scenario: Tech worker laid off after 11 years. Facing questions about severance tax, COBRA, moving 401(k), unemployment.
• Practical Steps:
  • Severance & Taxes:
    • Contribute to a traditional IRA to offset taxable severance.
    • Utilize HSA contributions if available (tax-deductible).
    • Possible deductions for job search, moving, education—review with a tax professional.
  • COBRA vs. Marketplace:
    • COBRA maintains same coverage but at a higher (full) cost. For flexibility or cost, consider marketplace options (60-day window after job loss).
    • COBRA premiums typically not tax-deductible (except medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of AGI). HSA funds can pay COBRA premiums.
  • 401(k) & Unemployment:
    • Roll 401(k) into an IRA to preserve tax advantages (old 401k becomes inactive).
    • Apply for unemployment right away if eligible.

Clear Guidance:

"When you get laid off, your 401k immediately pretty much is defunct. That said, you can and you should roll that over into a traditional IRA... From there you can make contributions." – Farnoosh (39:53)

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D. Best Way to Invest: Dollar Cost Averaging vs. Lump Sum

• Listener asks: Should I invest weekly, monthly, or once per year?
• Farnoosh’s Perspective:
  • Dollar cost averaging (DCA) smooths volatility, good for cautious investors.
  • Lump sum might yield higher long-term returns but requires more risk tolerance.
  • Farnoosh personally combines both strategies for flexibility and peace of mind.

Key Takeaway:

"Over long periods, lump sum investing may outperform dollar cost averaging because markets generally trend upwards... I do both." – Farnoosh (42:48, 43:25)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On job seeker strategy:

  "Always be sending your resume out. Always." (04:45)

• On navigating benefits:

  "Sometimes we really need to appreciate the benefits we get at a company... a lot of times that outweighs everything else." (21:26)

• On midlife pivots:

  "You have the can do it ness to do whatever you want." (28:02)

• On financial self-advocacy:

  "Having an honest-to-goodness conversation with your leadership... just say, 'I'm really struggling.'" (31:50)

• On teaching kids to invest:

  "They're doing it by buying index funds and ETFs and tracking the market and not being impulsive." (13:45)

• On investment cadence:

  "Is your goal to make as much money as possible, or... with a little bit less of a shock value and a little bit more of a rested stomach?" (42:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Slowing Job Market & ADP Report: 02:44–05:07
• Housing Market Trends: 06:12–08:44
• Year-End Tax Strategies: 08:45–13:41
• Youth & Financial Literacy: 13:41–17:31
• Q&A – Staying Put During Spouse's Entrepreneurship: 18:01–21:58
• Q&A – Midlife Career Pivot: 26:52–34:56
• Q&A – Layoff/Severance/Insurance/401(k): 34:56–40:57
• Q&A – Dollar Cost Averaging vs. Lump Sum: 41:03–43:25

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Closing Thoughts

Farnoosh’s approach blends optimism with real-world pragmatism. Her advice is tailored to the realities of a shifting job and economic landscape, emphasizing both proactive planning and self-advocacy—whether you’re navigating a layoff, a midlife pivot, or simply looking to maximize your finances during uncertainty.

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Next Week Sneak Peek:

• Guests: Amanda Holden (“How to Be a Rich Old Lady”) and NPR’s Sarah McMann on birth rates and their economic impact.
• Advice for 2026’s market volatility and demographic shifts.

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Transcript

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[Advisor/Co-host]

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[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So money episode 1914 ask Farnoosh.

You're listening to so Money with award winning money guru Farnoosh Tarabi. Each day get a 30 minute dose of financial inspiration from the world's top business minds, authors, influencers and from Farnoosh yourself. Looking for ways to save on gas or double your double coupons. Sorry, you're in the wrong place. Seeking profound ways to live a richer, happier life. Welcome to SO Money.

Welcome back. Welcome back to so Money everybody. I'm Farnoosh Tarabi. It's Friday, it's December 5th and we're going to answer your money questions today. But starting with some of the big headlines that have crossed my desk and.

[Advisor/Co-host]

That I think we should talk about.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

We'Ve got a lot to get into today before I open up the mailbag, because we've got some economic news that came out this week and it's been a little telling and it's about the job market. Although we are not going to be.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Getting the November monthly jobs report from.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

The government, we normally get it today.

[Advisor/Co-host]

The first Friday of every month. But because of the government shutdown, there's going to be a delay.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So we don't have that data.

[Advisor/Co-host]

But we do have earlier this week.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Adp, which is a payroll processor, they also routinely come out with their own jobs report. And they found that private employment fell by 32,000 jobs last month.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And this is the third decline in four months.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And that's meaningful.

[Advisor/Co-host]

It's not time to panic.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But I think it suggests what we all have been feeling, what we've all been saying to ourselves quietly or maybe even out loud, that market's not doing great, at least the job market, right? That if you've lost your job this year, I, I'm going to venture to.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Guess that it's been tough to get interviews, it's been tough to get second.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Interviews to land that job. This confirms, at least from this source, the ADP folks, that momentum is slowing.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And that the labor market, as far.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

As the data shows now, is finally.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Cooling after what seems to be a. A pretty hot run.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's just one piece of data. It's one source. So we're going to wait for the government report later on in this month. And the government report, by the way, it's more expansive, right? This is just private payrolls. The government report covers all kinds of sectors. But the ADP report tells us a few things.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Hiring managers are being more cautious. Some businesses are delaying expansion plans.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And we're seeing more pullbacks in sectors that were previously aggressively adding headcount for everyday workers. This doesn't mean job losses across the board, but it does mean that we.

[Advisor/Co-host]

May feel the shift. Right?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Fewer job openings, slower wage growth.

[Advisor/Co-host]

So it could be harder to ask for a raise.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Some more competition for the roles that are out there and for the job seekers that are tuning in. As always, a big piece of advice I got in my before I was even in the workforce, I was an intern. My boss said, always be sending your resume out. Always. It's not just when you start feeling like things are cooling, you're always looking.

[LinkedIn Ads Representative]

Even when you're happy, you're always looking.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And so time to dust off that LinkedIn profile and make sure your skills are fresh. If you haven't yet. And now between the end of the year. I think December 16th is when everybody snoozes. I think I asked this at an event this week. The Friday before Christmas is pretty much when you're not going to get any more responses. I was like, okay, that's fair. So you still got time to send out those resumes possibly, or at the minimum, hunker down and start updating your websites, your LinkedIn, all the things. And by the way, the Federal Reserve is looking at this job market data to see how to factor this all into their rate decisions, their interest rate decisions, especially heading into the new year. It's one of the moments where what's bad for job seekers might end up being good news in the fight against inflation. So I'll be keeping an eye on all of it. I'll be bringing it all to us on these Friday shows. I know you all like these little news digest at the end of the week in case you've been busy with life and you haven't been paying attention to the news, let alone the financial news of the week. Let's talk about housing now because this survey came out this week and this.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Is not so much anything you have.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

To act on, but maybe something you can just talk about amongst yourselves. So the real estate firm Redfin, the real estate search engine Redfin dropped its predictions for the hottest and coolest markets where Americans are heading and why. This isn't anything we have to act on, but it's just interesting information because it tells us where people are moving for job opportunities, potentially more affordability, cost of living opportunities.

[Advisor/Co-host]

So according to their report, the hottest.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Housing markets in 2026, which this surprised me, New York City suburbs, Long Island, Hudson Valley, North New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut. I guess these places will ne I'm never going to say never, but I feel like these aren't really the most affordable places. I will say this from personal experience, but because they are so close to.

[Advisor/Co-host]

New York where the jobs are, they will for now be very popular.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

There is a lot of commuter attraction to these towns. Syracuse, New York also made the list as well as Cleveland, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Madison, Wisconsin. Hottest housing markets in 2026. And they went on say commuters will.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Be attracted to the New York City suburbs.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

More affordable areas like the Midwest and Great Lakes regions will be attractive to those seeking to move from areas at risk of climate related disasters like floods and wildfires. And recent grads are likely to move to small and mid sized cities where they can find affordable rent and begin their careers in the workforce. Now on the flip side, the markets that are likely to cool, according to Redfin, include Nashville, Tennessee San Antonio, Texas Austin, Texas Fort Lauderdale, West Palm beach and Miami, Florida. I think we know why those last three might be cooling down. I'm going to guess it's because of climate change and maybe also because some of the laws in Florida are changing with regards to things like vaccines and that for some people is a non starter. And Nashville, Tennessee Austin, Texas we've been hearing over the last six years, especially during COVID a lot of people like a gold rush. People move to these parts of the country and perhaps now that rush is over and people are moving out, the market's cooling and or it's just lost its luster. I don't know. I don't know. Austin still seems like a fun place to live. Nashville, I've been there.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Seems fun.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

If you live in these places, write to me, let me know what's going on. Why are these housing markets expected to take a downturn? I am about to do a workshop today for my so many members club on year end money strategies to help them finish the year strong, start the new year ahead. And as I was doing some research I came across this article in the Wall Street Journal that's called three year end strategies to cut your tax bill. So I have been actually doing some tax prep for the next year. My accountant likes to make sure that my business pays all my estimated taxes.

[Advisor/Co-host]

For the year by the end of the year.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So when it comes to filing in 2026, I'm not going to really owe anything. If anything, I might get a little.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Bit of a refund.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So I've done that. And this is for everybody who might be like me or even those who have a 9 to 5. There are lots of things you can do now until the end of the year to optimize your taxes. 1. Max out those retirement plans. Whether you use an individual retirement account or any of these employer sponsored retirement accounts, if you're able to think about contributing more or the maximum that's allowed, this will reduce your taxable income for 2025 while your portfolio grows tax deferred. If you haven't reached the max in your 401k, you might want to consider increasing your contributions before now and the end of the year. Go to human resources, ask for an adjustment. Sometimes you can just go onto the dashboard, into your financial institutions profile and just do it there. There's some adjustments you can make there. It takes minutes. I think for 2025 you can stash away in your 401k up to $23,500. If you're older, you can make an additional catch up contribution of $7,500. Now, if you have a traditional IRA, the maximum contribution is seven grand plus another 1,000 catch up contribution if you're 50 or older. Those contributions for the IRA can be made through April 15th so you don't have to rush and do this till the end of the year. For business owners that don't have employees, or for businesses that are run by spouses with no other employees, you might want to create a solo 401k if.

[Advisor/Co-host]

You don't have one already, or you.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Might want to fully fund an existing plan. Another thing we can do is to be more charitable. If you haven't made a charitable donation to a qualified 501C3 in 2025, there are many ways to do it. And 30% of annual giving takes place this month, 10% in the last three days of the year. So this a lot of people take to heart and practice. If you're at least 70 and a half years, you can consider making a qualified charitable distribution from your traditional ira. Individuals can donate up to a hundred and eight thousand dollars this way in 2025 and that deduction is sent directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. And then another thing you might want to consider is what's called harvest tax losses. The stock market has made many winners this year. If you've been following the s and P500 passively, I'm conf confident your portfolio is up. And if you are among the taxpayers who owes taxes because of capital gains on stocks or other investments, you might want to consider selling any losing holdings to offset those capital gains and reduce the taxes that you may owe. Again, this only applies to you. If you sold any stocks this year and profited, you might want to consider also selling some of the stocks that you would have lost money on all to offset the capital gains payment. If it's your first time doing this or you're not familiar with this, don't go it alone. Definitely get some help with this. If you're working with a robo advisor.

[Advisor/Co-host]

There'S usually someone there, a human you.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Can call and they can help you with it. And sometimes these robo advisors you can opt into automatic tax loss harvesting. If you haven't done that this year, you might want to look into opting into that next year. And then here's another article that I really liked this week that I read in I think it Was Wall Street Journal here again? It mimicked an episode that we shared on the podcast this week about kids and investing. This week we had on the show the author of Investing for Tweens, Jamie Bossi. If you missed that, go check it out. She talked all about how with kids as young as 10 years old, you can teach them the principles of investing. We also talked about kids who are younger as well as kids in college and those who boomerang back home after college. But her new book that's coming out in January, focuses on the tween cohort and introducing them to investing. And coincidentally, in the Wall Street Journal, I was happy to see this article about how teenagers are investing in stocks.

[Advisor/Co-host]

For their future home.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Someone has sent them a message, and.

[Advisor/Co-host]

I have to think it's either their.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Parents, it's the media, or maybe it's this podcast that if they want to get a leg in life because life is getting more expensive and with everything that's so unpredictable, they need to take more control of their financial destiny sooner rather than later. And they're doing this by investing. And they're not doing this by trading and buying crypto and falling into these get rich quick schemes. They are doing it in the way that you and I talk about on this show, right? They're doing it by buying index funds and ETFs and tracking the market and not being impulsive and buying and selling and following meme stocks. Many young Americans in this article say they're responding to the year's market volatility with patience and the steadiness of investors that are decades their senior. That is very refreshing. It's very inspiring. And teens are setting up portfolios already, saving for financial milestones like buying a home. They're probably seeing some of their parents, friends or their parents who have thrown in their towels. I'm never going to be able to buy a home because it's just, it's so, so expensive. And that's not their fault. But maybe that's got their wheels turning. These kids, like, maybe I should just start saving money, investing it, compounding that money as soon as possible. All this money that I'm getting from birthdays and my job, and every little bit goes a very long way. This cohort, this article talks about how these young kids are also interested in the concept of retiring early, and that's also why they're into this. And guess what? They're learning all this. In one case, they're learning this in a high school in Vermont, and it's a personal finance class. And I love that. I talked with Jamie Bossi on the podcast about whether we give schools too much beef for not being at the front lines of teaching kids about financial literacy. How can we expect schools to be the end all, be all for teaching kids how to manage money? To some extent, I think we put too much pressure on schools, but that doesn't put them off the hook. Right. We want schools to appreciate and include financial literacy somewhere in the curriculum. It can't hurt. And I think the way this classroom in Vermont is going about it, they're making it hands on, they're making it conversational, as opposed to throwing a workbook at the kids and just quizzing them on terms it's gotta be learned through trial and error. They're using technology, they're using apps. So it's using the tools that they're familiar with. They're using a platform called Greenlight, which allows them to set up recurring transfers from their bank accounts to invest automatically. And many of them are making these contributions weekly. Think about it. If you had actually started to contribute just even, I don't know, 20 bucks a week to an IRA or an S&P 500 index fund at age 14, can you even imagine? And then you incrementally increase that over the years, regretting that. And I don't know if that would help you buy a house today, but it would certainly come in handy. And it would be some one of those things that I think you would look back at your childhood and go, wow, that was a remarkable thing. And that is, that was very much a differentiator, something that I grew up with that a lot of kids didn't and has really given me a leg up in life. Now, this article went on to say that a dozen states currently require students to take a personal finance class to graduate from high school. That's excellent. And that number is expected to rise to 30 by the time the class of 2031 graduates. That's according to the center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College. Wow. So that's a good story. Also on the show this week, we talked about the truth about Queer Myths, Stressors, and the path forward. Forward with my friend Nick Wolney, who's the author of the forthcoming book Money Proud, a book that's dedicated to financial advice for those in the LGBTQ + community and their allies. A really important conversation. And check that out if you haven't yet. All right, let's go to the mailbag and answer your big questions that have come in through all the ways Instagram, my email, on the street.

[Advisor/Co-host]

No, I'm kidding. Sometimes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

First up is Luz, her husband is.

[Advisor/Co-host]

She described starting a business and over the next year or two, as it is with starting a business, there isn't an expectation, there is no expectation that the business will be profitable. So that is exciting but also clearly some pressure there. So Luz is 30, she's married to her husband. They don't have any kids yet, although they're looking to start a family. They're hoping to family plan in the next year or two. Her dilemma is really tied to her job satisfaction.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

She doesn't love the role that she's in at her company, but she loves.

[Advisor/Co-host]

The company and the company has a lot of benefits. She described a six week paid vacation because she's earned this.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

She's been at the company for a while.

[Advisor/Co-host]

So this year she gets six weeks of paid vacation. There's a Roth 401K and this year she's going to be fully vested in the stock purchase plan so she'll get to cash on some of those stocks. And she's asking me, should I maybe look for a new job.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

She really wants a more remote role.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And she's nervous and I agree.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Luz, look, I don't think this is.

[Advisor/Co-host]

The right time, given your husband's entrepreneurial pursuits, to start looking for a new job. The job market is very wishy washy and for you right now, where there is just one income stream coming into your household, unless you told me, look, I have a year's worth of savings, I'd say, you know what, maybe now is not the best time to be jumping ship. Instead, if you love the company, continue to look within the company for a different role. And remember, companies, while they want to get the best talent, they are probably more inclined to hire from within. They don't have to pay a recruiter. Right. They don't have to train you again necessarily. They are, you're already acclimated with the culture, like you're going to be able to settle in and hit the ground running and that's a great ROI for your company. And so I'm not saying give up on your hopes and dreams of finding a dreamier role somewhere, but given the circumstances of where you are in your relationship, one income, you said you wanted to maybe start a family in the next year. You bring the stability right now to the relationship and that's important. I would say if the roles were reversed and you were interested in starting a business and you knew that it was going to take time to be Profitable. And your husband was the one who was the sole breadwinner, and he was.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Like, look, I'm going to blow this up a little bit.

[Advisor/Co-host]

I'm going to quit and try to find another job. You would probably not be cool with that, right? That would create a lot of uncertainty. And you're already facing a lot of uncertainty starting a business, so that would make things a lot more fragile. I'm just being practical. That being said, nothing can stop you from looking for a job, and nothing should stop you from looking for a job. Look for a job, and if you find something that excites you, secure it before quitting. Don't quit your job before you find another job. And I know that you also said that there might be another job on the table. That's a 20% pay cut. Pay isn't everything.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But if this company doesn't have the.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Same kinds of benefits, a Roth 401K is an exceptional retirement benefit.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Six weeks of paid vacation.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Incredible. You said they have a great family leave policy. So all these things, we really sometimes need to appreciate the benefits we get at a company.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And not.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And I'm not like, so loyal to companies, but I'm just saying that if you have it good on the benefit side, a lot of times that outweighs.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Everything else because it really speaks to.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Your ability to then have a life outside of work. You get to plan for retirement, you.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Get to go on vacation, you get.

[Advisor/Co-host]

To be home with your kids. My advice is to stick it out for a little bit longer. Continue searching for a job if you want to, but be more insistent on trying to find something internally at your company, since you say you do really love the company.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

My friends and I recently went to Charleston and stayed at this beautiful home we booked on Airbnb, just a short.

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Walk from the bustling downtown area.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

The place had these tall windows that.

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Let in the softest afternoon light. Warm brick details that felt straight out of old Charleston. And a little porch with rocking chairs.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Where I'd sit in the morning with my coffee and listen to the church.

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Bells in the distance.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

When I met the host, she mentioned that she hosts her home on Airbnb whenever she's visiting family out of town, which is pretty often since she's been.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Taking care of her mom. And instantly I thought, this place has so much charm.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But managing guests on top of everything else she has going on, that's a lot to juggle. That's where Airbnb's co host network comes in for. Hosts who travel often, work full time.

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Or want a little help managing bookings.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

A local co host can step in.

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And handle the details.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

From guest communication to check ins to on site support. It's a smart way to earn extra.

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Income without adding to your to do list.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So if you've considered hosting but don't.

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Know where to start, find a co [e-mail] host I'm Farnoosh Tarabi, host of so Money and this episode is sponsored by ghelt. Feeling like your CPA is always one step behind, causing you to miss valuable tax advantages? Questioning if your tax plan is truly as optimized as it should be? That's where GHLT comes in. GHELT is a tax planning and strategy solution for you and your business. They're the modern alternative for entrepreneurs who feel like their CPA is reactive, not tech forward, and maybe not asking the bigger strategic questions about how your business is growing. What I love about GHELT is this they make taxes part of the business plan. With GHLT, your partner in taxes, CPAs and AI align your tax strategy to how your business grows. That includes the real levers that matter, choosing the right entity structure, maximizing retirement contributions and uncovering hidden credits and deductions. All handled alongside your business and personal compliance. And GHELT is proactive. Your tax strategy gets revisited every quarter by a dedicated cpa, not just a tax time. No more slow replies, no more surprises, no more spreadsheets and email chaos. Just a slick dashboard, clear next steps and year round support. Schedule a [e-mail] today and learn how your taxes can become a leverage for growth. That's joing E-L-T.com and schedule your discovery call today. Farnoosh tarabi listeners get 10% off their first year of service. Just mention my name on your intake form.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

These days everyone's talking about AI, including us here at so Money.

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But talking about tech isn't the same as actually using it.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Recently, when my workload was piling up, I started testing ways to bring AI into my real workflow. And that that's when I discovered how powerful Zapier is. Zapier is where innovators break the hype cycle and actually put AI to work. I love how simple it is.

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[Farnoosh Tarabi]

My team uses it to automate guest follow ups, organize research, and take busy work off my plate so I can stay focused on creating. With Zapier's AI orchestration platform, you can connect models like ChatGPT directly into the tools you already use to build AI powered workflows. Agents, chatbots, whatever you need.

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No complexity, just results.

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Teams have already automated over 300 million.

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[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Ready to join them? Get started for free by visiting zapier.com.

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SewMoney that's Z-A P I E R.com SewMoney when it comes to holiday gifting, I really want to give things people will love. Pieces that feel special they'll wear for years. That's why I'm going with Quince this year. From Mongolian cashmere sweaters to Italian wool coats, everything is premium quality at a price that actually makes sense. Quince honestly has something for everyone. Those Mongolian cashmere sweaters I was talking about? They're $50 but look and feel like the designer versions. They've got beautiful silk tops and skirts if you're dressing up perfectly, cut denim for every day, and outerwear that actually keeps you warm. And I'll just say the cashmere feels incredible. It's soft, structured and it doesn't pill. It's the kind of quality I'd expect from a 200 sweater, not $50. And they're not just about clothing either. Quince has amazing home bath and travel pieces. I've been eyeing their set of hotel.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Quality towels and honestly, I might be.

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Gifting those to myself this year. Fine gifts so good you'll want to keep them with quince. Go to quince.com sewmoney for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com so money to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Quince.com somoney our next question comes from.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Our friend Kismet in the audience and.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Kismet is grappling also with a career.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Malaise and she's not very inspired in her current role. She's looking to make a transition, but what's holding her back is one her age. She says she's 46 and feels like she also has a daughter. She's post divorce, she's taking care of.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Her daughter, single mom that it's really hard to balance her personal responsibilities and.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Demands at home with the potential risks of shifting gears in her career because.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

She is looking for a little bit.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Of a different pathway than she's currently in. And by the way, I want to mention Kismet has already pivoted once and beautifully. She used to work in the arts, now she's in tech. So Kismet, just first off the bat, let's remember who you are. This is important. We sometimes forget what we're capable of. We get really scared when we think about change. Uncertainty scares us and that's fine. But as I write in my book, A Healthy State of Panic. When the fear of uncertainty arrives at this cross section of your career, it's really important to remember your skills, your relationships, your track record, okay? You're somebody who has gone through a lot and has thrived and has been intentional and has pivoted before. You have the can do it ness to do whatever you want.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So don't let that be what keeps you back.

[Advisor/Co-host]

She talks about being 46, I'm 44. So Kismet's 46 and she's worried that at this sort of mid career point in her life it can be risky.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

To like she wants to maybe go.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Back to school and get another master's degree. That could take time. And then when she comes out of that, the job market be great. But she's just not happy in her career, particularly at this company. She says that there are cultural shifts, there have been layoffs. She doesn't really see growth for herself. The trajectory for growth is just not there at the company. She's feeling pressure to work excessively to stay competitive, but it's affecting her personal life. And so she's contemplating whether to pivot her career to learn new skills.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But then what are the risks of.

[Advisor/Co-host]

That and what are the trade offs to returning back to school for a second master's degree at age 46? This is clearly a financial question as well as all sorts of other questions. It's a question about what do you want? It's a question about what would make you happy. But let's tackle the finance piece of this first. Kismet says that she feels financially stable but is behind on retirement.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Kismet, I would see if maybe your.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Company would offer program where you can go back to school, earn credits, could reimburse you at least partially for continuing education. It's in their benefit to invest in your growth if they believe in retaining employees. Now I know they just had these layoffs, so they might not be in.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

The headspace right now for this, but.

[Advisor/Co-host]

It'S often in the manual whether they have this or not. It's a ongoing thing.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

That would be the first thing I would look at because what I don't.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Want you to end up having to do is to go into debt to afford this next degree. I think if you had the cash, and there was more where that came from. And you had no problem paying for a graduate degree, another graduate degree, then I'd say, okay, pursue it. But practically speaking, you have to be.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Careful with your money.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And this may not be the right.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Time to invest in getting another degree.

[Advisor/Co-host]

If it means stepping back financially and then having to pay that off. And then if you're going into an industry, a career path that you don't have a network, you have to build that network. That can take time to get a job. So what am I saying here?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I'm saying don't quit to go to grad school.

[Advisor/Co-host]

I wouldn't.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I think there's just too much on your plate.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Of course I don't like that their company culture is so rigid. But there too, I'd say be an advocate for yourself on the job. Are you afraid of getting fired if you don't put in 150%? If you don't stay late at night? I've had these conversations and it seems like it's a lot of times women, not to genderize this, but I think, let's be honest, women at work, we tend to feel like we have to work overtime to be appreciated at work. I've had conversations with listeners who've said, I work all these hours and I don't like my job anymore. It's okay. But is your job really on the line if you don't go 150 miles an hour? Have you thought about putting some boundaries around when you're available and when you're not available? Like, why are you answering emails at 8pm? I understand that sometimes projects require late nights.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I've worked at magazines where when you're.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Closing an issue, you're there in the office until midnight, sometimes middle of the night, and then you're back to normal. But if this is ongoing and it.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Never seems like it's going to go.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Away, you're going to burn out and it's going to cost you and your company. So I want to the extent that you feel comfortable because I know it's hard sometimes you have to be careful.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But having an honest to goodness conversation.

[Advisor/Co-host]

With your leadership, with a manager and.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Just say, I'm really struggling.

[Advisor/Co-host]

And I think that would be understood given that if maybe they've had these layoffs and those who remain are doing their jobs and filling in for the roles that are no longer. I'm sure you're not the only one. So sometimes getting together with other colleagues and as a team, going in and making a proposal to present to leadership. We want to address the workload, we want to address the hours. Ask for what you want.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

The worst they're going to say is no.

[Advisor/Co-host]

If you need to work from home on Fridays or if you need to go completely remote, you know, you can try that. Pro tip. If you get a doctor to write a note that the commute is adding stress to your life, which is medically unsafe for you, that is one way sometimes where you can get out of the demands to work at the office every day and drive and commute into the office. I know people who've done that. So if this is actually something that is keeping you up at night, it's adding to your stress, your blood pressure is high. Talk to your doctor about this and see if there's a way to.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Because look, a lot of us, we.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Don'T hate the job or the company. We hate the environment of the job. Like our earlier friend was talking about, not loving the commute, she wants to work from home. The conditions of the job make it so we start to really get antsy and we don't want to stay there anymore. We start considering career shifts, pivots, going back to graduate school. But let's like understand maybe what are the pressure points at your job that you can control, that you can have a conversation about with your boss, your manager, your leadership, and maybe resolve some of these smaller micro issues which actually do play a big role potentially in your satisfaction and your productivity at work long term.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

You mentioned that your daughter is not.

[Advisor/Co-host]

In college yet and it's something that you're eyeing is once she's in college, you know your life will change. You're not going to have her at home full time and you'll have more time to tend to your own desires, needs, practically speaking, you'll have more time for yourself. So between now and then, start thinking about what is the lifestyle that you want. Will you be able to downsize? Will you stay in this home that you're at for the long haul? If not, what would selling look like? I think that this is a really good time to start to think about and you mentioned you haven't really done this work, but it's important, important to think about what you want your life to look like. Post your daughter leaving for college.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

If you really do want to go.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Back to graduate school, I don't want to burst your bubble there. Then you want to save your money. Goals have price tags and if you can identify these goals sooner than later, great. That means you can also start saving sooner than later. So if you really want to do this, then think about what it will cost financially. Of course there might be programs that are are less expensive than others. So really exploring the landscape to see how, where and how much is it going to cost to get the skills that you want to make the pivot that you want.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Next question. An audience member who was recently laid.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Off from their tech job after 11 years of service. They say it comes with a severance package, thankfully. But this is the first time this person is going through a layoff and wondering if I have any advice with respect to to minimizing the taxes on.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

That lump sum severance health insurance.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Should they sign up for cobra? Would it make sense to look for something in the marketplace?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Is there a way to contribute after.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Tax dollars into their 401k and then deduct it when they file taxes? Are they eligible for unemployment? So I'm going to go through this list of questions first about minimizing taxes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Is there a way to do that?

[Advisor/Co-host]

By the way, this question came in through our so many members club. I answered it already for our for our friend, but I wanted to bring it to the show because I think a lot of us unfortunately may be in this camp or are about to be in this camp and wanted to share my thoughts with everybody. But minimizing your taxes on the severance, it's a pain, right? They take the taxes out and while you and you feel the pain pretty heavily right away, there are ways to later on this year in this same tax year make some some financial moves that could help to reduce your taxable income come tax filing season and then maybe you'll get a bit of a refund. One is to contribute to a traditional IRA where your contributions will be deducted from your taxable income. The limit this year is $6,500 if you're under the age of 57,500. If you're 50 or older, you get a $1,000 catch up contribution. So there's that to help offset the tax bill from the severance. If you have access to a health savings account, either because you had one through your employer and you're going to continue with that, or if you go out into the marketplace and purchase a health savings account, you can make contributions to that. Those are tax deductible. And then if you make any expenses this year related to searching for a new job, moving perhaps for that new job, or taking classes, taking on expenses related to higher ed education, those can also potentially lower your tax bill. Next question is about health Insurance. Is COBRA worth it? Our friend wants to know. She doesn't have any major health concerns right now. Currently has a high deductible plan with an hsa. Okay, great. So again, if you have the hsa, you could contribute to that, assuming you continue with that plan. And how you would do that is you would want to go on cobra. COBRA is a federal program, allows us to continue the health insurance plan that we had with our employers in the aftermath of a layoff. You can continue to have all of those benefits of it continue to be available to you, but it comes at a much higher price. So when you were working at your company, you were getting a subsidized version of that plan. Your employer was paying for part of it and then you were paying for part of it. Now on cobra, you are exclusively paying for that health plan, which means now you're covering your employer's portion plus your portion plus a management fee, which is about 2%. So Cobra tends to be a pretty pricey option. That said, a lot of people just.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Take the path of least resistance.

[Advisor/Co-host]

They sign up for COBRA and they never have to shop around for new insurance. They can continue to see their doctors and not worry about their new plan with out of network doctors. I leave that up to you. If you can afford, that's the easiest option potentially. But if you're indifferent to your current policy and or it's expensive, I would shop around on the marketplace. With a layoff. You qualify for a special enrollment period.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

On the marketplace because losing job based.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Health insurance is considered a qualifying life event and so you can purchase coverage outside of the regular open enrollment period. You generally have 60 days from the time that you lose coverage to enroll. So just keep that in mind. There is a bit of a deadline to this paying into cobra.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Would that be tax deductible?

[Advisor/Co-host]

It's a really good question. Our audience member wants to know. Usually not. COBRA premiums are typically not tax deductible. The only thing I would say is that if you do itemize your tax deductions when you file your taxes, there.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Is a medical expense deduction, but it's.

[Advisor/Co-host]

A pretty high threshold. If you spend more than seven and a half percent of your gross income on qualified medical expenses, including COBRA premiums, then the portion of your medical expenses that exceed 7.5%, that would be tax deductible. Also, if you contribute to an hsa, you can use those pre tax funds to pay for COBRA premiums, which indirectly provides some tax savings. Another question, is there a way to contribute after tax dollars into my 401 and deduct it when I file taxes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So.

[Advisor/Co-host]

So the short answer is no. When you get laid off, your 401k immediately pretty much is defunct. That said, you can and you should roll that over into an a traditional IRA usually to keep that money intact and to be able to continue contributing to that retirement account. Now it won't be your old 401k but now it's a new traditional IRA. From there you can make contributions. The annual limit again, $6500 and that money is tax deductible. So your old 401k essentially sunsets once you get laid off. But there is a time frame during which you can roll that over into a traditional IRA and start using that like it was your old 401k. But of course the contribution limit is much smaller. So just FYI. And then is this person eligible, eligible for unemployment benefits? I think so. Check with your state. But most layoffs in many cases, in most cases is a qualifying event for unemployment benefits. And I would apply sooner rather than later.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

All right, let's move on to our.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Last question about how to invest wisely.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Should we be investing a little bit every week, a little bit every month?

[Advisor/Co-host]

Once a year?

[LinkedIn Ads Representative]

Does it matter?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

All right, so the best way to invest in terms of cadence, it really.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Depends on your stomach for risk. That's really how I see it. There are many different kinds of studies that look at what's called dollar cost averaging where you invest a fixed amount at regular intervals, whether that's weekly, monthly, quarterly. And you do this regardless of market conditions versus lump sum investing, which is once a year you gather up all your funds and you throw it into an account. Who is best for either method? I think it comes down to your risk tolerance. If you're not somebody who stomachs volatility.

[LinkedIn Ads Representative]

Then I wouldn't recommend doing lump sum.

[Advisor/Co-host]

Contrib because if you invest just once a year and then the next day the market falls 10%, that is not going to make you feel good and it could prevent you from doing that ever again. And so for someone like that has a low risk tolerance but is also aware of how the market moves and isn't using that as a reason not to invest, but they just want to limit their the shock value is to do it in increments so that a little bit gets invested consistently. And when there are fluctuations in the market, it doesn't feel like as big.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Of a loss, as big of a hit.

[Advisor/Co-host]

But over the course of your lifetime, over the course of your investment horizon, it all evens out for the most part. I say that with a little bit of an asterisk because studies suggest that dollar cost averaging can psychologically ease the investment process. But over long periods, lump sum investing may outperform dollar cost averaging because markets generally trend upwards.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So just keep that in mind. What is your goal?

[Advisor/Co-host]

Is your goal to make as much money as possible or is your goal to make money and do it with a little bit less of a shock value and a little bit more of a rested stomach and a better night's sleep in that case? If it's if you're the latter, I would say dollar cost average. If you are okay with the risk and want to make as much money as possible, I would say do it as a lump sum investor once a year. And honestly, I do both. I invest in a lump sum in my SEP IRA and then I invest in increments in my brokerage account. Why? I have no idea.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But it's just the way that it's worked out and I'm okay with it. I do a little bit of both. You'll learn that about me. I like a hybrid approach to most everything. And that's our show, everybody. Thanks so much for tuning in. Next week we have an excellent lineup of guests. Guests starting with Amanda Holden, who's the author of the new book how to Be a Rich Old Lady. You might remember Amanda. She's been on the show a few times. She's an investing expert and she's written a life changing path to the financial freedom we all deserve, how to Be a Rich Old Lady. It's a great conversation. She actually gives us some advice on how to navigate the uncertainty that a lot of US anticipate in 2026 in the stock market and also next week. Week what's going to happen with the decline in our country's birth rate and also the global decline in birth rate. Sarah McMann is an NPR reporter who has gone all over the world to interview experts and everyday people on why society is having fewer and fewer children and what this will mean for the future of work, housing, families. You don't want to miss that conversation, so make sure to hit that follow button. You'll get those episodes immediately into your feedback. Have a great weekend everybody. I'll see you back here on Monday. And I hope your weekend is so money.

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