In this week’s Ask Farnoosh, we’re diving into your money questions and breaking down the big headlines.

First up: What the Trump-backed budget bill could mean for your wallet. Farnoosh unpacks the Congressional Budget Office’s $2.4 trillion deficit projection and explains how the proposed tax cuts and spending reductions may impact interest rates, government programs, and your future taxes.

Then, in the mailbag:

• Is the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement right for you? Farnoosh shares her personal take and how she’s pursued financial freedom—without traditional retirement.
• How to create a gift-giving strategy that feels generous and sustainable, plus tips for teaching kids to be kind and money-wise.
• And: Adding bonds to your investment portfolio—why they matter, how to buy them, and how to hold them in your retirement account.

For further reading on the Republican Budget Bill, check out NPR's coverage.

Today we're exploring how financial literacy changed a person's life. Our guest is Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin — former Wall Street lawyer, leadership consultant, single mom, and founder of The Gaia Leadership Project. From the outside, her life looked picture-perfect: elite career, national media appearances, a thriving business. But behind the scenes, Elizabeth was battling deep financial insecurity, credit card debt, and the emotional weight of divorce and single motherhood — all while running a nearly 7-figure company.

In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, Elizabeth opens up about hitting financial rock bottom during the pandemic and the mindset shift that pulled her out. She shares how investing in financial education helped her pay off $50,000 in debt in six months, build emergency savings, and teach her children what she was never taught: how to talk about — and take control of — their money.

To learn more about BudgetDog, click here and say you were referred by Elizabeth!

Hannah Cole is back on So Money — and just in time. You may know her as the founder of Sunlight Tax, or from her game-changing workshops that help creatives and freelancers make sense of their money. But today, she's here to share insights from her forthcoming book, Taxes for Humans, which might just be the most approachable — and dare I say, funny — tax book you'll ever read.

In this conversation, Hannah and I dive into the emotional baggage so many of us carry around taxes: shame, intimidation, even fear. She opens up about being dismissed by a traditional accountant early in her career, and how that lit the fire for her to become a voice for those often left out of financial conversations — women, artists, freelancers, anyone who’s ever felt like a “weirdo” in the world of money.

We talk about how to avoid the dreaded tax bill shock, what the IRS really cares about, why freelancers need to understand quarterly taxes, and what you should know if you’re married and your spouse is handling the taxes (spoiler: pay attention!). Plus, Hannah shares the number one thing new business owners should do to feel confident and in control of their taxes.