So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Episode: Ask Farnoosh: Surviving the Financial Storm — Smart Moves for an Uncertain Economy

Date: October 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of So Money, hosted by Farnoosh Torabi, tackles listeners’ most pressing financial questions during a time of economic turbulence, including market volatility, tariffs, and recession fears. Farnoosh is joined by Maggie Johnreau, a financial advisor and partner at Johndreau Wealth Management, who provides practical strategies for weathering uncertainty. The discussion zeroes in on behavioral biases that can impact decision-making, specific advice for those nearing retirement, how to prioritize saving vs. investing during potential layoffs, and the real impact of tariffs on consumers and investments. The episode blends actionable financial strategies with empathy, aiming to steady nerves and encourage wise planning over panic.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Current Economic Headlines & “Tariff Anxiety”

Timestamps: [03:03] – [11:07]

• Tariff Talk & Market Volatility: Hot topics include recent tariff announcements and their impact on market ups and downs. Farnoosh recounts how consumers are rushing to buy goods before possible price spikes, referencing economists and public figures (like Mark Cuban) suggesting “stockpiling,” but urges listeners not to panic buy.
  • Farnoosh: “Be strategic when you’re shopping, not reactionary… stocking up a little bit on the things you know you’re going to use—that’s smart. But hoarding toothpaste? That’s not saving money. That’s just shopping with anxiety.” [05:01]
• Real Estate Market Shifts: Changes in how homes are listed on sites like Zillow due to “pocket listings” (off-market sales) make it more challenging for buyers to find available properties. Farnoosh emphasizes the importance of working with well-connected real estate agents.
• Listener Review Highlight: Farnoosh reads a listener review, emphasizing her commitment to helping people navigate economic uncertainty.

2. Behavioral Finance Biases During Uncertainty

Timestamps: [11:07] – [13:42]

• Regret Aversion: People fear making choices they’ll regret, like missing out on market dips or selling too late.
  • Maggie: “It’s this natural desire to avoid regretting a decision… big one. Should I buy? Will I regret not buying? Will I regret not selling?” [11:51]
• Loss Aversion: The pain of losses outweighs the pleasure of gains, making people risk-averse.
  • Maggie: “Losses are far more painful than gains are pleasurable. We run away faster from pain than we run towards pleasure.” [12:07]
• Herd Mentality: Following trends because “everyone else is doing it” (e.g., jumping on Nvidia because of the headlines).
• Recency Bias: Assuming that current negative events will continue indefinitely.
  • Maggie: “What we always know is that everyone thinks that what we’re going through… is going to continue forever. History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it rhymes.” [13:24]
• Stick to Your Plan: Both speakers emphasize not making knee-jerk reactions and sticking with pre-determined financial strategies.

3. Investing Near Retirement: Three-Bucket Strategy

Timestamps: [13:42] – [17:32]

• Anticipate Volatility: Volatility is likely to persist for a couple of years. The market is highly reactive to news.
• Three-Bucket Approach:
  • Short-Term Bucket: Funds needed within 1–2 years should be kept in high-yield savings or money market accounts.
  • Intermediate Bucket: Money needed in the next 3–5 years should be safer, e.g., bonds or dividend stocks.
  • Long-Term Bucket: Money not needed for 5+ years stays in stocks/riskier assets for growth and to outpace inflation.
    • Maggie: “If you’re retiring today, I hope you live a very long life… You still need to outpace inflation, which might go up due to tariffs… your long term bucket should still be focused on growing.” [15:19]
• Rule of Thumb:
  • Calculate your yearly expenses honestly (don’t forget taxes and infrequent bills).
  • Have 1–2 years’ worth in short-term, 3–5 years in intermediate, the rest for long-term growth.
  • Five years as a buffer is based on historic market recovery times (Great Depression/recession data).

4. How to Prioritize Saving vs. Investing if Facing a Layoff

Timestamps: [20:42] – [23:35]

• Prioritize Your Foundation:
  • Emergency fund (extend to a year’s expenses, if your industry is slow to recover).
  • Health insurance—COBRA may cost twice as much, so plan accordingly.
  • Pay down high-interest debt, especially while you’re still employed.
    • Maggie: “If you can manage those three components and a layoff happens, then you’re going to prioritize flexibility.” [21:43]
• Automate Small Investments: Even small, consistent retirement contributions are better than nothing.
• Retirement vs. College Savings: Prioritize retirement; you can borrow for almost anything but retirement.
• Catching Up: Use sign-on bonuses or new income to make up any missed contributions.
  • Maggie: “One year of not adding to their retirement, if they're young enough, does have enough runway to make that up… you really need to do a financial plan to understand that.” [23:24]
• Listener Strategy: Maxing out 401(k) contributions before a layoff or retirement for the match.

5. Tariffs: How They Affect Consumer Spending & Investments

Timestamps: [24:33] – [32:09]

• Tariffs = Higher Prices: Tariffs will likely make goods more expensive for U.S. consumers.
  • Maggie: “Just simple math, it doesn’t make sense for us to try to produce everything in our country. There’s this theory of comparative advantage… tariffs likely will make things more expensive.” [25:21]
• Mechanism: Companies rarely “eat” tariff costs; they pass them to consumers.
  • Maggie: “It’s really an essential tax in one way or another for U.S. consumers.” [27:30]
• Real-World Examples:
  • Farnoosh shares a story of her cousin in retail, explaining how companies are scrambling to share tariff burdens and reduce the impact for consumers. Retailers may force suppliers to absorb some costs if unwilling to raise prices.
  • Maggie notes that many companies built in buffer margins since previous tariffs (from 2020s), but there’s a limit to how much they can absorb.
  • Maggie: “If the tariffs get really big, at some point something’s got to give and probably the only way to pay them is to increase prices and pass down to the consumer.” [30:27]
• Effect on Inflation: Likely to be a one-time ‘shock’ to prices (“transitory inflation”), then prices may stabilize at a new, higher level—echoing what happened with groceries and essentials after pandemic inflation.

6. Federal Reserve’s Potential Responses

Timestamps: [32:09] – [34:22]

• Dilemma: The Fed could either focus on addressing recession risk (lowering rates) or controlling inflation (raising rates). The “general consensus” is if a recession hits, the Fed is likely to lower rates, even if inflation is high.
  • Maggie: “They have a really hard decision to make. The general consensus on Wall Street is that they’re going to care more about an economic recession.” [33:04]
• Fed Transparency: Chair Jerome Powell has admitted to uncertainty, holding rates steady for now.
  • Farnoosh: “I do appreciate Jerome Powell saying it’s a shit show in Fed-speak…just admitting that was a breath of fresh air.” [33:54]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Shopping Panic:

  • Farnoosh: “Hoarding toothpaste? That’s not saving money. That’s just shopping with anxiety.” [05:01]

• On Regret & Loss Aversion:

  • Maggie: “It’s this natural desire to avoid regretting a decision… big one. Should I buy? Will I regret not buying? Will I regret not selling?” [11:51]

• On Emotional Investing:

  • Maggie: “History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it rhymes… It probably won’t happen forever. Right. And so we have to stick with our plan and not make emotional decisions.” [13:24]

• On Facing Layoff:

  • Maggie: “If you can manage [emergency fund, health insurance, debt], and a layoff happens, then you’re going to prioritize flexibility… a small, consistent and automated contribution… is still better than nothing.” [21:43]

• On Tariff Reality:

  • Maggie: “It’s really an essential tax in one way or another for U.S. consumers… from a marketing perspective, it’s not a tax on the consumer, it’s a tariff on a company. But more likely than not, they’re going to pass that expense down to us.” [27:30]

• On Fed Uncertainty:

  • Farnoosh: “I do appreciate Jerome Powell saying it’s a shit show in Fed-speak…just admitting that was a breath of fresh air.” [33:54]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [03:03] — Main episode start, economic headlines, tariff anxiety, and shopping spikes
• [11:07] — Maggie Johnreau joins to discuss behavioral finance and biases
• [13:42] — Guidance for near-retirees: Three-bucket investment strategy
• [20:42] — Advice for those worried about layoffs: Savings vs. investing priorities
• [24:33] — In-depth on tariffs, real-world examples, and inflation impact
• [32:09] — Federal Reserve, interest rates, and policy uncertainty
• [34:22] — Maggie’s closing, plugs, and episode wrap-up

Where to Learn More

• Guest: Maggie Johnreau

  • Social: @JohnreauWealth
  • Website: johnreauwealth.com

• Host: Farnoosh Torabi

  • Website: somoneypodcast.com
  • Members Club: somoneymembers.com

Takeaway:
The episode counsels listeners not to panic but to plan: stick to financial routines, avoid emotional decisions, focus first on a strong financial foundation, and remember that economic shocks are disruptive, but rarely permanent. Farnoosh and Maggie provide reassurance, practical tips, and a reminder that uncertainty is part of the investing journey—weathering the storm is both emotional and strategic work.