2013: Ask Farnoosh: Raising Wealthy Kids, Rethinking Retirement & A $700K Inheritance

**Farnoosh Torabi** (0:00)
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Hey, friends, welcome to Ask Farnoosh this Friday. Before we get into the show, a little favor to ask you. As many of you know, So Money is finally on the tube, YouTube. After 11 years of podcasting, here we are. I've entered a world of cameras, lighting, thumbnails, and trying not to freeze on the most awkward facial expression imaginable. I have many of them. If you're already subscribing, thank you. If not, I would love to see you hit that subscribe button. We're posting full episodes and eventually clips from the interviews and now these Friday Ask Farnoosh episodes as well. So if you're someone who likes to watch your podcasts, they're called vodcasts now, while you're folding laundry or working out or just pretending to work at your desk, come on over to YouTube. It's a friendly place for the most part. Speaking of cameras, I had one of those moments this week that honestly, it made me stop and appreciate how quickly life moves. I brought my daughter Colette, who's nine, to the Today Show yesterday. Now, for me, walking into 30 Rock, it's not exactly new. I've been fortunate enough to appear on the Today Show over a hundred times over the years, but bringing her completely changed the experience because suddenly you're seeing it through her eyes and not just the eyes of a TV contributor. And it brought back a flood of memories. The first day I stepped on to the Today Show set, I was 23 and I just started working as a junior reporter at Money Magazine, not as a guest, just there to be there for technical support. And I was tagging along backstage, soaking it all in. I remember one of the producers asked me, how does it feel to be here? And I said, quote, it is so surreal.
And then fast forward to yesterday, that was also so surreal. But back when I was 23, that moment, I remember it feeling really enormous because everything was moving fast, producers running places, cameras rolling. I do remember it being kind of quiet and calm in the green room. And even when you went on set, and there were always maybe some celebrities you might spot. I remember one time walking into the green room, the makeup area green room at the Today Show and Coldplay.
The entire band was sitting there on the couch resting before they were going to go on to and perform on the plaza. I nearly passed out. And I remember getting my hair done that day, and the makeup and hair people were so used to this stuff. I was like, can you believe it? There's Coldplay. There's Chris Martin. And they're like, who? Who's that? I'm like, okay, you're just pretending. Okay, like, come on.
And then to fast forward a little bit, from that first time I stepped onto the Today Show at 23 years old, I was invited back a few years later for my first appearance. Meredith Vieira was the anchor. I was terrified. I wrote all about it in a healthy state of panic. I did embarrass myself, but they did ask me back as well. So I guess I paid the price. And over the years, thankfully, those nerves settled. I became more comfortable. And I've been back, as I mentioned many times, to talk about recessions and retirement and student loans, inflation. Television became part of my job. But somehow bringing Colette this week made it all feel brand new again. She met Dylan Dreyer. She met Savannah Sellers, who's been a guest here on So Money. She met Al Roker, who somehow manages to be exactly as warm and funny off camera as he is on camera. And he took some time with her. He really asked her about her summer and how it's going.
I don't think she understood the enormity of the moment. I did, and I kept trying to explain it to her in the car. I'm like, did you know Al Roker is really, really, really famous? He's one of the most popular hosts and longstanding hosts of the Today Show.
She's like, yeah, I knew that.