Suze Orman: what do you think?

I watch all of Suze O's shows so I too can learn how to turn useless advice into big money.

[Ima saver]

Any body that gets you to thinking about your money is to be commended.

[katwoman]

She's mostly a lot of fluff -BUT- I do love the fact that she takes into account the way a person feels about money/debt as opposed to doing the "right thing" financially.

For instance, just recently someone called in with a huge (100K) amount of student and personal debt. She was torn (stressed out, really) between paying down her student loans or saving for a home/retirement. The advice she was given by friends and others was that student debt is OK since it's a low rate and that she should buy a home and save for retirement.

Suzy got to the heart of her problem. The debtor would feel far less stressed if the debt were paid down rather than let it hang over her. Now, others on this board might go the housing/retirement route and it wouldn't be a bad choice. Personally, that kind of debt would have me losing sleep so in my eyes Suzy gave the right advice given the info she had to go on.

As far as investments are concerned....I can do better asking people here on this board.

[Synacle1]

I tried watching her PBS special again last night. She seems to flip flop alot. I know she tries to make her advice more tailored toward the caller in question but come on. She contradicts herself constantly throughout the shows.

[contrary1]

I noticed she was now selling her wares on QVC. Seems totally at cross purposes to me. Selling a savings/investment/no CC system on a channel that is determined to separate people & their money.

Generally, I enjoy her, when she's on public TV here.

[Firefly]

I guess I live under a rock. I don't know who she is..

[janasgoad]

I love her organization kit. I'm already a good saver and have estate planning under my belt but organizing my financial life so that someone else could make sense of it was invaluable. I love having everything in one container with the detailed file pockets (ie: Credit Cards, Records, and Debt
Important Personal Documents, Personal Insurance, Social Security records, Retirement and investment records, Estate Planning, Taxes, Home Ownership paperwork, passports, birth certificates, etc). If we had an emergency I could just grab the one file case and run.

Her advice for the average person who has little saved, lots of debt, and no plan of attack is great. Some of her advice for advanced financial strategies don't match my own preferences but I respect her for her continued attempts to get people to think about their finances and quit whining about being in debt.

My two cents...

[Ima saver]

She has been on QVC for years!!

[KandiB47]

Girlfriend,

I really enjoy the Suze Orman show! And I liked her book, "Young, Fabulous, and Broke". I TIVO Suze every Saturday.

[baking23]

I can enjoy her PBS specials, she seems a bit concervative money-wise for me, but I don't like her MSNBC show. It seems like there she just yells at folks, not that they don't deserve it, but I don't like to watch that.

[morningstar]

Hmmm. I, too, think she lost a lot of respect when she did that GM ad. She lost mine.

[doodles44]

I think that Suze is okay and helps bridge the gap for "normal" people to learn about finances. What confuses me is that she encourages young, fab and brokers to put professional clothing on their credit cards! Yikes! That's what got me in trouble in the first place!

[Ima saver]

I just read an article about Suze. She has most of her money in municipal bonds, which is strange I think.

[Scanner]

That's because she's smarter than people give her credit for - you see me kinda nudging people here towards muni-bonds and often I meet some resistance because of the low yield.

But when you have considerable wealth, as I imagine Suze does, muni-bonds make great sense because the effective yield goes up.

With a muni bond, you get:

1. Protection of principal
2. Guaranteed return
3. Tax-free flexible investment (unlike Roth's which must be held until age 65, you can cash a muni out any time).

I think more people at this forum should look into and understand their place in a portfolio.

[zetta]

Once you're out of cc debt and own a house, I find she has nothing for those of us ready to work toward the next level. I also found her "emotional" advice to be mainly platitudes that she doesn't directly apply in the financial advice she gives.

[Scanner]

I'm not a Suze Orman apologist or fan but I think she applies a concept that many of us "sophisticated" investors tend to forget and it's this:

People in debt do not accumulate wealth

In that, I actually think she's often far more responsible than typical finanical advisors (translation: loaded mutual fund salesmen). Most people walk into AG Edwards, UBS/Painewebber, Merrill Lynch, whomever thinking they are going to get financial advice. Really what they get is a sales presentation for mutual funds.

Most people NEED to learn budgeting, using calculators for refinancing, etc but all the typical financial advisor wants is access to your investments/discretionary income. They could care less if you are spending $800/month eating out when you shouldn't.

In that, Suze offers more sound financial advice than probably 98% of her peers in the industry. In other words, she teaches fundamentals.

There is some element of truth (a lot of element of truth) in that bolded statement. Yeah, I know, I know. . .a mortgage is good debt, gives you leverage, yadda, yadda. . .and she'll admit that when all is said and done. . .but let's face it, your net worth, or your wealth, is your assets minus your liabilities.

Her advice is often unglamourous and unsophisticated but I rarely find any fault with it, other than it errs on the conservative side maybe. But then again, when it's other people's money. . .maybe one OUGHT to err on the conservative side.

No?

Or does the forum advocate going for the latest stock?

That's why I am personally involved in commodity investing but you don't see me ramming it down other people's throats here.

"First learn walk. . .then learn fly, Danielsan. . .nature's rules. . .not mine."

[Aleta]

She worked as a broker for one of the big ones and she through her own experience lost $50,000. from an investment from a broker in that firm. She lstarted working for the same company and sued them because of her loss. The average person that loses money doesn't think to do the things she did. She does realize how easy it is to have an unscrumpulous broker gambe your money away. She also has a living mother and I think that she relates to older money and their unprepared knowledge about finances until they are forced into it at a time that they are ill-prepared to make decisions.

Has anyone bought her blue box and its contents. I had to smile when she submerged it in water to show that it would float and the fact that it had a little light inside. She thinks of everything. I wonder if she was thinking of flooding victims. Also, she now lives in Florida so she's gearing things towards real thinking at the last minute. Or maybe to someone who has to leave the home because of a fire in the area and needs just one good sized case that can handle many documents. I think its a good idea.

[anonymous_saver]

Originally Posted by crosses

I was watching TV the other day and saw Suze Orman on it. I hadn't seen her for a long time, but it seemed to me that she was hard selling FICO in her show and their credit score. I'm curious what others think of her?

I love Suze Orman - In particular her Young, Fabulous, and Broke book. The book really breaks down things such as 401(k)'s, IRA's, mortgages, etc. It is a great first step. It says obvious things such as pay off the highest interest debt off first for your credit cards and such, but some people just need to see that in print!

I have seen her talk about the Women and Money book and I am not that impressed. I think the book I talk about above is a much more useful text! I suggest it to many people!