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The Mel Robbins PodcastThe Mel Robbins Podcast

The #1 Money Rule to Live By: Understand The Psychology of Money

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — Today, you’ll learn the #1 money rule to live by to achieve financial success. You’ll also get the secret to stopping fear and anxiety around money for good. In this episode, financial expert Farnoosh Torabi will uncover major money myths that leave you feeling trapped and the steps you need to take to get good with money and build wealth. Whether you want to start saving, make more, or get out of debt, this episode will lay the foundation for greater financial success. This is an open and honest episode that will help you transform your relationship with money, and Mel candidly shares about her experience with financial fear after she found herself $800,000 in debt. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: https://www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-233 Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 0:00 Introduction 0:53 Mel shares a financial lesson she had to learn after facing bankruptcy 5:51 Why does money intimidate so many of us? 11:50 What every woman needs to know about being financially independent 14:25 How do financial dynamics shape your relationships? 17:49 The top 5 financial fears that keep most people up at night 20:20 Farnoosh’s go-to advice for overcoming financial fear and taking control of your money 26:20 How to harness your financial fear as a tool to transform your life 29:40 How to let your financial fear fuel your growth 34:30 The one question to ask yourself if you have fear and anxiety around money — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostFarnoosh Torabiguest
Nov 13, 202438mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Transform Money Fear Into Power: Using Financial Anxiety As Fuel

  1. Mel Robbins and financial expert Farnoosh Torabi explore the pervasive, often hidden fear people feel around money—fear of not having enough, losing everything, making wrong choices, or never reaching key milestones like homeownership or retirement. They reframe fear as a useful signal rather than something to eradicate, arguing that engaging with financial fear reveals our deepest values and what we want to protect. Farnoosh emphasizes that money is both a tool and a form of power, especially for women, and that financial independence is a right, not a luxury. Together, they offer mindset shifts and practical mental exercises to trace the roots of money fears and turn them into motivation and concrete action plans.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Treat fear as a financial advisor, not an enemy.

Instead of trying to be “fearless,” recognize that money fear is signaling risk, values, and what you want to protect; when you listen and unpack it, fear becomes a tool to make wiser choices.

Financial independence is not a luxury; it’s your right.

Especially for women, having your own income, accounts, and credit is essential to autonomy and safety; someone else’s money (a partner’s, parents’) is not the same as your own financial power.

Trace your money fears back to their origin story.

Ask where a particular fear comes from—often it’s inherited from parents, past scarcity, or cultural messages; once you see it isn’t entirely yours or no longer fits your current reality, you can update your behavior.

Go to the ‘dark place’ to create your action plan.

Instead of vague “what if” worry, vividly imagine the worst-case (job loss, bad investment, no retirement), then list what you would actually do—who you’d call, what you’d cut, how you’d earn—turning fear into a concrete roadmap for today.

Redefine wealth as options and autonomy, not just assets.

True wealth is the ability to choose—leave a job, end or stay in a relationship, start a business—because you have enough financial runway to act in alignment with your values.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

When you're good with fear, you can be good with money.

— Farnoosh Torabi

Money is not a nice-to-have. Everybody needs money, particularly women.

— Farnoosh Torabi

Someone else’s money is not your money.

— Farnoosh Torabi

Fear does not want to keep you stuck. It wants you to find a solution to help you.

— Farnoosh Torabi

My biggest takeaway is fear is the biggest obstacle. All the stuff that you need to do, you're capable of.

— Mel Robbins

The universality and forms of financial fear (scarcity, loss, failure)Money as tool, power, and autonomy—especially for womenHow childhood and family dynamics shape adult money beliefsTop recurring money fears across generations (not enough, losing it, retirement, etc.)Using fear as data: tracing its roots and reframing its messageImagining worst-case financial scenarios to design practical action plansMoney and relationships: power dynamics, communication, and shared financial values

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