What would you do if your life completely spun off course…before you even had a chance to understand who you were?

My guest today, Nikki Mammano, says she didn’t set out to become a drug dealer in Hawaii—she was a teenager running from trauma, searching for a fresh start, and instead found herself pulled into a dangerous underground economy that nearly cost her everything.

In her new memoir Breaking Good, Nikki shares the raw, unfiltered story of addiction, survival, incarceration—and ultimately, rebuilding her life from nothing. We talk about how she rose through the ranks of a drug operation, why she chose loyalty over leniency when she was caught, and the moment that changed everything: discovering she was pregnant and deciding to start over.

This is a conversation about second chances, financial survival, and what it really takes to rebuild—not just your bank account, but your sense of self.

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or as long as I’ve known him — which is now more than fifteen years — he’s had the same signature look: a sharp mohawk and an even sharper perspective on money.

Today on So Money, we welcome back one of the original voices of the personal finance internet: J. Money, the longtime blogger behind Budgets Are Sexy and the founder of Rockstar Finance, a platform that helped shape the early personal finance blogging community. When this podcast first launched more than a decade ago, J. Money was one of my earliest guests — back when sharing your net worth online was considered radical and the idea of building a career from a blog about money was still pretty new.

In this conversation, we catch up on what’s changed — and what hasn’t. The mohawk is still there, thankfully. But J.’s life looks very different these days. He’s stepped away from blogging full-time, sold his site to The Motley Fool and later bought it back, and now spends much of his time running something called a “Free Closet,” giving away thousands of clothing items every week to people in need in his community.

We talk about the early days of the money-blogging world — when transparency about debt, savings, and net worth helped motivate an entire generation to take control of their finances. We also talk about what happens when you actually reach financial independence. Does money stop mattering? What motivates you next?

J. shares why the blogging magic eventually faded for him, how social media changed the tone of personal finance conversations, the surprising lessons he’s learned from working closely with unhoused communities, and why he believes the real power of money is simply the freedom not to think about it anymore.

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This week on Ask Farnoosh, Farnoosh kicks things off with a behind-the-scenes look at a whirlwind week in journalism and media. She shares highlights from her recent interview with Senator Cory Booker about his bold new “Keep Your Pay Act” proposal, which would eliminate federal income tax on the first $75,000 of income, and discusses what that could mean for working Americans. She also reflects on being featured in Kiplinger’s latest issue on the best financial advice experts have ever received, sharing a career lesson that shaped her own path: learning to earn money not just from what you do, but from what you know. Plus, Farnoosh announces her upcoming free webinar on March 26 about how to land a big book deal (register using the link).

Then, a quick breakdown of the latest money headlines that matter for your wallet: mortgage rates climbing back above 6% and what that means for today’s “frozen” housing market, the widening K-shaped economy separating households that are thriving from those struggling with rising costs, and early signs that the once-hot job market may be cooling—along with why now is a good time for a financial check-up.

In the mailbag, Farnoosh tackles listener questions including:

• Should high earners prioritize Roth 401(k) contributions or diversify across other retirement strategies?

• What to watch out for when a financial advisor pushes variable universal life insurance instead of traditional investing.

• Creative ways families are making childcare and daycare costs more manageable.

• How a teenager’s part-time income and assets can affect FAFSA eligibility and college financial aid.

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