Anyone else miss Suze Orman?

[rob62521]

It is Saturday night and it seems like our evening is incomplete...Saturday nights were Suze nights at our house. Anyone else miss her show?

[GrimJack]

I had to stop watching her when she repeatedly said that you should put your emergency fund into a Roth IRA because you can take it out anytime with paying taxes on it. She repeatedly said this without any qualification. That is so wrong that I can no longer trust any thing she says.

[Goldy]

Did you mean to say without paying taxes on it? My understanding is that you can withdraw the contributions tax free so in that regard it's not a bad plan.

[stephy2014]

I don't know him.

[marvholly]

Noi, but I was NEVER a big believer/follower.

However, I DO much believe in her line:
If you have to ask if you can afford it, you CANNOT!

[ua_guy]

I had to stop watching her when she repeatedly said that you should put your emergency fund into a Roth IRA because you can take it out anytime with paying taxes on it. She repeatedly said this without any qualification. That is so wrong that I can no longer trust any thing she says.

What she said isn't factually wrong, and anything she says has to be weighed against your own financial strategy. I'm not sure when it was ever prescribed to blindly trust her. Instead, this whole thing works much better if you listen, and evaluate against your own strategy.

Keeping a Roth IRA as an emergency fund can be very strategic, and also beneficial...

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2012/08/06/can-a-roth-ira-be-your-emergency-fund

[twest]

I miss Suze a lot. I watched her every Saturday night and my husband would say "Oh Suze again, You probably know everything she is going to say anyway" Lol

[rob62521]

We could often predict what she would say, too, but sometimes it is nice to hear it again.

[disneysteve]

I had to stop watching her when she repeatedly said that you should put your emergency fund into a Roth IRA because you can take it out anytime with paying taxes on it. She repeatedly said this without any qualification. That is so wrong that I can no longer trust any thing she says.

I have never found a personal finance "guru" with whom I agree 100% of the time. I don't let that stop me from enjoying, and occasionally learning from, their shows and books.

I think Suze Orman had a great show. It was entertaining while also being educational. She had a nice mix of topics and guests. In recent years, I didn't watch the show but did listen to the podcast in the car.

As for the Roth thing, I'm with you GrimJack. Retirement accounts are for retirement. Period. They really shouldn't be viewed as emergency funds unless you also have sufficient funds going to other retirement savings. If your goal is 15% to retirement and that includes your Roth contribution, than the Roth shouldn't be touched until retirement. If, however, you are putting 15% in your 401k and also funding a Roth, I suppose tapping it in an emergency could be okay.

[tripods68]

Not at ALL!

[bjl584]

No.

I used to watch her show fairly regularly a few years back, but I got away from it. Her shows and her advice started to get repetitive.

I felt like I was watching her show not to learn anything but to gawk at other people that were in financial despair. I started to feel like I was rubber necking at a car crash scene.

[disneysteve]

I used to watch her show fairly regularly a few years back, but I got away from it. Her shows and her advice started to get repetitive.

I think this is true of any personal finance show. Dave Ramsey is the same way. This stuff isn't rocket science. There are a few basic rules: have a 6-month EF, save 15% for retirement, keep your mortgage under 28% of income, etc. Once you've covered them all, there really isn't much to talk about that doesn't involve some variation of those basics.

[tripods68]

I recently started to listen to Dave Ramsey's podcast teaching principle. This man motivated us again in paying off all our debt except mortgage!

Susan Orman not so much!

[disneysteve]

I recently started to listen to Dave Ramsey's podcast teaching principle. This man motivated us again in paying off all our debt except mortgage!

Susan Orman not so much!

Dave Ramsey is much more focused on debt repayment. Suze Orman was more focused on saving, investment, and careful spending.

[tripods68]

Dave Ramsey is much more focused on debt repayment. Suze Orman was more focused on saving, investment, and careful spending.

I know not many members on this board don't really like Dave Ramsey teaching method. I didn't really care for Dave myself until started listening. The difference to me was Dave's passion about DEBT and using the envelope system which was easy to follow up along the way. It was something my wife and I needed to talk openly about our finances on regular basis. It fits our lifestyle and the transformation benefits on our budget was HUGE!. After a year, we rid all our debts except our mortgage.