Oh, Suze….
You either love her, hate her or really hate her.
In truth, a lot of her advice is really good stuff. But some of it is teetering on the edge, and some advice is just plain bad.
Even though I questioned some of her advice, I still respected what she’s been able to do in educating the masses.
That all quickly was thrown out after she launched her pre-paid debit card program, which grew immediate criticism.
Instead of focusing on the benefits the card offers (none that I know of), she took the much nobler route of calling people names who questioned the card’s merits, as shown below.
@20andengaged Too bad you choose to believe an idiot over me- you just keep following others and see where it gets you –
— Suze Orman (@SuzeOrmanShow) January 11, 2012
In the above exchange, “@ptmoney” is my buddy Phil Taylor, a CPA, personal finance blogger at PTMoney.com, and founder of the Financial Blogger Conference. So yeah, she called my “battle buddy” an idiot, and that ain’t cool.
What’s even more funny about that exchange is that Suze was so quick to defend her “great product” and looks like she’s quietly shutting it down.
Hmmmmm….who’s the idiot now?
#burn 😉
Here are 14 other reasons why you shouldn’t listen to Suze Orman.
1. All Advice Has to Be Taken With a Grain of Salt – Regardless of the Source
Table of Contents
- 1. All Advice Has to Be Taken With a Grain of Salt – Regardless of the Source
- 2. Suze Orman Doesn’t Know You
- 3. Most of Her Advice is Very General
- 4. Your Own Financial Situation Is Unique
- 5. When You Get That Popular, There Are ALWAYS Commercial Biases
- 6. There’s a Bit Too Much Emphasis on The Little Things
- 7. No, Everyone Shouldn’t Invest in Stocks
- 8. No, Everyone Won’t Get Rich in the Stock Market
- 9. Suze Doesn’t Always Follow Her Own Advice
- 10. Sometimes She’s Not Just Wrong, But VERY Wrong
- 11. Orman is a Millionaire – Her Advice May Not Fit Your Financial Situation
- 12. She’s an Entertainer, First and Foremost
- 13. Because Nobody’s Perfect – Not Even Suze Orman
- 14. Because You Need to Think For Yourself – Especially With YOUR Finances
- Bottom Line: 14 Reasons to Question Suze Orman’s Advice
A lot of people pass themselves off as experts when, in truth, there are no experts – only practitioners. Nowhere is this more true than in the financial realm.
There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of subtopics in the area of personal finance, and there are multiple opinions about every single one of them. Complicating this is the fact that no two people have the exact same financial situation.
You should consider financial advice and use the knowledge you gain from it as a basis to help you make decisions about your financial life. But you should never mindlessly take action based on someone’s advice, the least of which is that of a financial guru. That includes Suze Orman.
2. Suze Orman Doesn’t Know You
It’s one thing to take financial advice from a person who has intimate knowledge of your situation. It’s quite another to take it from someone who’s pontificating to a mass audience and has absolutely no knowledge of your situation whatsoever.
Though you may be impressed or even comforted by Orman’s public delivery, she knows absolutely nothing about you. If she did, a single detail in your financial situation – or even one merely related to it – could change her recommendations completely.
3. Most of Her Advice is Very General
There’s a saying that goes, If it’s true, it isn’t new, and if it’s new, it isn’t true,“ and so it is with financial advice experts, including Suze Orman. 90% of the advice spread to the masses coming from an expert in any field is generic – it’s common in the field, and you can get it anywhere. What makes the advice unique is the personal spin added by the individual.
That’s more about the personality of the guru than it is about the depth and quality of the advice itself.
Orman also tends to aim her advice at people who lack much more than a rudimentary understanding of personal finance. Of course, this would be the group most likely to listen to her advice and, ironically, most likely to not follow it.
If you find yourself agreeing with all or even most of what Orman says, you could very well be in this group. And if you are, you need to spend a lot more time working on getting information from other sources. No one can magically turn you into a financial expert, not even in regard to your own finances. That can only happen if you commit to making it real in your life.
4. Your Own Financial Situation Is Unique
When Orman addresses someone else’s problem, it may be similar to yours, but it’s never exactly like yours. A change in a single detail or two could invalidate her advice in your case.
Take, for example, a decision to invest in the stock market. Orman can put out the general advice that everyone should be in the stock market, but what if you have an unstable income, a high level of debt, and a lot of mouths to feed at home?
Sure, it might be recommended for everyone to be in the stock market, but in your case, that advice can be all wrong.
Her advice can have you scrimping and saving to invest money in the stock market when in reality, you should be building up your emergency fund instead.
5. When You Get That Popular, There Are ALWAYS Commercial Biases
When Suze promotes one of her books or programs or endorses a third-party product, there’s money on the line – as in money to her. That should raise a red flag.
Orman is virtually a brand unto herself. She is a popularly recognized figure and well-heeded by her legions of fans. That creates monetization opportunities, and you know that she’s taking advantage of those. Virtually everyone in her position does.
I’ve already mentioned her infamous prepaid debit card fiasco. When you have that kind of star power, those kinds of offers come along, and they’re hard to resist.
For example, you can recommend one of a half-a-dozen debt consolidation services or the best airline rewards credit card, but you choose to endorse the company with the fifth best program because they are paying you a fee to do so.
But that doesn’t mean that the product or service that’s being advanced is really in your best interests.
6. There’s a Bit Too Much Emphasis on The Little Things
I remember watching one of her programs when she discussed The Latte Factor. I must admit, her point was compelling – but this might have been a classic example of form-over-substance.
Orman’s point had to be well taken: By stopping at Starbucks every morning to buy a $4 latte, you are spending at least $1,000 per year that you don’t need to spend.
You can save that money simply by making your own coffee at home, and preparing a cup or large container to bring with you to work.
The problem with that kind of advice is that you can spend a lot of time and effort looking to cut small expenses like lattes and not come up with serious money to save when you’re done.
In addition, this may not be great advice for people who are struggling with financial survival. Many people in that situation have already cut the small expenses and are still sinking.
For a person who is in that situation, the best advice might be to take on major expenses, like housing or your car, and trade down on both.
Many people who are in financial difficulty are there because they can barely afford the biggest expenses in their lives.
You can’t fix that problem by cutting out lattes.
And on a personal note, keeping structural expenses low is what enables me to afford luxuries like lattes. I have no intention of being on the equivalent of a financial “diet” with virtually every spending category in my life.
But maybe that’s just me.
And yes, I’ll be ordering a Grande Sugar-free Carmel Latte for my work tomorrow. 🙂
7. No, Everyone Shouldn’t Invest in Stocks
Orman enthusiastically recommends investing in the stock market to anyone who will listen. This is standard issue, one-size-fits-all advice, and maybe not even “advice” in the truest sense. Common sense should tell a “financial expert” that no, not everyone should invest in the stock market.
The advice becomes even more questionable after five years of a powerful run-up of stock prices.
Does she ever tell anyone to lower their exposure to stocks or invest with a service like Bettement that makes the adjustment for you? Does she ever tell anyone it’s time to get out completely? No. But to be fair, she does offer advice on when to sell an individual stock.
The absence of that kind of recommendation makes her stock advice look a little too standard – it’s what all the other self-styled experts are saying, too. And it seems that if you’re providing advice to a large number of people who are struggling with finances in general, urging caution or recommending closing out positions in a record market makes objective sense.
8. No, Everyone Won’t Get Rich in the Stock Market
I can’t pin this entirely on Suze Orman – Dave Ramsey does the same thing, only he cloaks it in mutual funds. But we should always be concerned about the intentions of any self-styled financial advisor who sounds even remotely like a get-rich-quick hustler.
Question to all financial gurus, including Suze Orman: Are you a financial advisor or a cheerleader for the stock market?
Since there’s plenty of cheerleading coming from Wall Street and the financial media, it seems that a financial expert needs to be the person advising caution. The fact that she doesn’t should make us…suspicious.
While it’s true, statistically speaking, that the stock market has returned an average of something in the range of 8% to 11% per year since 1926 (depending on the source), it can vary widely from one year to another. It is also a fact that there have been entire decades that left investors financially devastated.
People who are in tight financial situations don’t need to be loading up in the stock market, as they have more immediate concerns. And even hinting at the possibility that they may become rich by investing in stocks is more than a little disingenuous.
9. Suze Doesn’t Always Follow Her Own Advice
While championing stocks for all, Suze invests her own money primarily in – drum roll – municipal bonds!
You always have to be careful of any expert who operates under the premise of “do as I say, not as I do.” When you’re a financial guru doling out advice that others are relying on, the hypocrisy is not just glaring.
It’s intolerable.
10. Sometimes She’s Not Just Wrong, But VERY Wrong
Back in 2009, Cheryl Curran at Merriman Blog had this observation about stock recommendations by Suze Orman:
“In the interview, Suze told (Eric) Schurenberg (of Money Magazine) that even though all the evidence indicated index funds outperform 80 percent of managed funds, “Today I think you have to be more active.” She recommended exchange-traded funds specializing in emerging markets, U.S. oil and metals & mining. And what happened to investors who took those recommendations? From the time of her interview in June 2008, these sectors went down 44 percent, 71 percent, and 71 percent, respectively, through the end of the year…but her previously recommended funds, Vanguard 500 Index and Total Stock Market Index, dropped 28 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in that same time frame.”
Now, to be fair, 2008 was a bad year in the stock market. But if we’re going to trust the advice of experts, it’s never more important than when the sky is falling. Had you followed Orman’s advice in the summer of 2008, it would have cost you serious money. That’s more than being a little bit wrong.
Any one of us can be wrong in calling the stock market, but this episode and others are proof that the near-religious faith people place in gurus like Suze Orman is never well advised.
11. Orman is a Millionaire – Her Advice May Not Fit Your Financial Situation
The more successful a person becomes, the less he or she can relate to the plight of everyday people. It’s just human nature. Suze Orman is worth somewhere between $10 million and $30 million, which is far more than the vast majority of people who follow her advice are worth.
Life looks a lot different when you have that kind of money. An eight-figure bankroll simply gives you a different perspective, and that affects your ability to process what’s happening from an emotional standpoint.
When you’re worth millions of dollars, it can be hard to appreciate the role that fear plays in a person’s decisions.
For example, if you have $10,000 to your name, the consequences of investing the money and getting it wrong can be disastrous. But from the ivory tower of a millionaire, investing money aggressively when you have a small pile of it can be seen as the only way to move forward.
Perspective changes everything, and Orman is simply on a different financial plane from her disciples.
12. She’s an Entertainer, First and Foremost
There are people who are very good at what they do, and no one in the general public has any idea who they are.
There are other people who are very good at what they do – or maybe not so good – but everyone knows who they are. That’s because they are experts at public presentation.
Some people just know how to work a room. Their adrenaline surges when they are holding a microphone and speaking before a large group.
They thrive on attention. They are the people who we will know all about. And for that reason, they will be anointed as experts.
Anyone who reaches the level of Suze Orman gets there primarily because they have value as an entertainer. They’re not just informing; they’re entertaining, and that’s why you know who they are.
The problem with this mix is that you can never be certain when the informing ends, and the entertainment begins. The really good gurus know how to blend the two seamlessly.
13. Because Nobody’s Perfect – Not Even Suze Orman
Most of us desperately want to believe that there are people who are “in the know,” people we can turn to and know with absolute certainty that we’ll get the right answers. It makes us feel good, even if deep down inside, we know it’s not entirely true.
But even given that Suze Orman is smarter than your average financial expert, we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that she’s not perfect. We can know this because she’s human.
No matter how much we want to believe in anyone, the reality is that doctors lose patients, lawyers lose cases, referees blow calls, and high-priced star athletes drop passes.
Moral of the story: Never assume a piece of advice to be right because it came from the lips of Suze Orman.
14. Because You Need to Think For Yourself – Especially With YOUR Finances
When we were kids, we relied on the adults around us to guide us through life. As we grew up, we began to realize that we have to do for ourselves what we once relied on others for. And so it is – or should be – especially when it comes to finances.
While it’s fine to rely on input from experts, there is no substitute for learning personal finance on your own. Only when you have some grasp of what you need to do, can you even apply the advice and recommendations that you’re given by others.
And that’s important. After all, any losses that you encounter will come out of your financial resources, not the experts’.
That should give you good reason for not listening to Suze Orman – or any other financial guru!
Bottom Line: 14 Reasons to Question Suze Orman’s Advice
When it comes to personal finance, being smart about advice is the name of the game. Suze Orman’s tips can be pretty insightful at times, but you’ve got to tread carefully for a few reasons.
First off, you’ve got to remember that financial advice isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Everyone’s got their own money journey, and that’s something to keep in mind.
Now Suze’s advice might not be the perfect match for everyone’s unique situation. There’s this thing about her being connected to different money-related stuff, like that prepaid debit card gig she’s got going. Can we totally trust that she’s not leaning a certain way because of those connections?
And let’s talk about how her own money moves might not always line up with what she’s telling others. There have been times when her suggestions didn’t exactly shine, especially when the market took a hit.
But here’s the kicker: Suze’s not just a finance guru – she’s also putting on a show. Mixing up info with entertainment is her style, no doubt about it.
All in all, deciding what to do with your finances isn’t something to rush into. Take your time, think about what you need and where you wanna go, and then make your move.
In no way defending Orman, but once you’re rich, the advice is to invest in municipal bonds and have no more than 20% of your money in an index fund. Which goes to your point of everyone’s financial situation is unique.
I am a long time viewer of Suze Orman among others. I understand the fact that all financial circumstances are different as well as individualized, thus dictating that the information and advice MUST BE TAILORED ! You must admit that some of the information even when strongly scrutinized mathematically and practically just makes sense. Wouldn’t it be better to have some sort of guidance and direction even if considered general as opposed to just not doing anything or existing in a state of cluelessness like many are. One GUARANTEED FACT is your NOT going to grow younger and TIME WON’T WAIT for you to figure out financial complexities !
Not the brightest bulb on the tree.
Many limited fund investors are fighting back against the big gun corporation trying to snatch up Gamestop for a song and dance. When the so called common man began investing in GS they cried foul. Really? So the typical everyday investor is NOT allowed to do what the big guys do?
Ummm… is THAT fair market practice? NO! Many of us who are buying GS stock would miss the company if it went away.
So suck it up and deal with the fact that WE get to trade too.
LOOK AT HER DEBIT CARD SCAM AND NOWS SHE SPEAKS FOR AARP ABOUT FRAUD YUO HAVE TO LOVE HER LIKE BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL COACHES AND MANGERS IF U ARE BAD DONT WORRY SOMEONE WILL HIRE YOU/ AMERICA AND BY THE WAY AARP IS NO WINNER EITHER
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SI listened to Suze Orman today and over and over she emphasized you should get a financial adviser who knows eveything about you. So that criticism is not a valid one. . Second criticism was she was too general. She is speaking to a large number of people all with different levels of income and experience. She is absolutely correct to speak in generalities in this venue. Again, she is absolutely correct when she advises people who are trying to save money to look at the little things. I have used the Starbucks coffees example when helping recovering addicts/alcoholics who are trying to rebuild their lives. Her presentation IS entertaining, but she is not an entertainer. That is a good thing because most find talking economics boring. She does not present herself as an expert. Over and over again she says “in my opinion.” . She doesn’t take her own advice? She invests in venues that fit her life and business. If she invested in stocks her presentations would be filled with questions concerning specific stocks. She doesn’t want to influence on any stock. She is a great basic resource so people have information that helps them ask individual questions of an advisor. The author of this article sounds resentful or has a grudge.
I am a CFP, and have watched her for many years, when she started her budgeting advise, was great…but then she got into areas that she really has NO knowledge of…her generalized investment, Annuity , and insurance advise is poor to say the least, she should have stayed with budgets, where she makes sense !!
The financial impact of a coffee a day – really?
I have watched Suze for many years. I don’t always agree with everything she recommends but I respect Suze for her passion to help everyone, especially the younger generations. I also respect the fact that she has made a lot of money by her own ambitions and doing it honestly.
Her advice may be generic but it’s good advice for all. She has helped a lot of people become aware of their finances. Yes, she can be abrasive but remember, no pain, no gain.
I will stand by Suze any day of the week.
Suze Orman a terrible advice and years ago I listened I took my money out of my retirement account and paid off debt and that was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. And today I’m paying a huge price for listening to her. So I can tell you she makes mistakes big time. I’m still frustrated that I listen to her. What I believe is that you never take your money out of your retirement account. You managed to pay your debt with the money you have and you pretend your retirement account is not there. Why she would say that I don’t know. That was ridiculous advice.
Suze is a successful lesbian performer, who is primarily a song-and-dance man. Her advice is the Reader’s Digest equivalent of a real college textbook, made for the masses, much like Dr. Phil, and the pandering, walking infomercial of pseudo-information, Dr. Oz. These people attract foolish, mindless suckers and social misfits like flies to manure. They use the mass medium of television to spread out their nonsense across the landscape to their adoring fans, whose wallets get lighter by the minute. These hucksters are little different than the TV preachers who scream and cry, and beg for you to send your money to them for your eternal salvation. We’ll be right back after this message.
Why the lesbian title? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t ever write a heterosexual performer, or maybe a Catholic performer, in other circumstances. You get my drift?
The fact that you consider the sexual preference of a financial advisor relevant to the quality of their advise tells me what you really are, and why would I waste my time reading your comments?
Larry, you make a good point.
There’s always someone trying to make money to be the negative to someone else,I think it’s sad when you can’t promote your own ideas without trying to destroy others!! I in this case would not choose to believe in someone trying to destroy another’s advice, there are ways to give opposite ideas without saying someone is wrong… that’s only one opinion.
The day you can beat Dave Ramsey. Call me
What’s your number so I have it on speed dial?
Dave would be tough to beat. He got me motivated to really get out of debt! He is the only one who got me to take my finances serious. I am grateful for the baby steps and am following through with each one of them. Got all info free on his radio show and bought a few of his books after getting started. Last debt left is the house payment and that will be paid off soon as well. Got a nice emergency fund set aside if needed. A lot of these other “gurus” have good information, but they did not motivate me where I needed it. The only thing I do that is against his plan is still using credit cards (but I treat it like a debit card and pay it in full every month now). Plastic is plastic — As long as you treat them like a debit card, you pay 0 percent interest. No one got rich of rewards and as far as I know, no one has claimed to. During the pandemic I found the whole cash thing has not worked as well and things are getting more cashless anyway, and online shopping is on the rise, so one has to adapt. Envelopes with cash don’t work for that. Try walking into a car dealer with 50Gs in a white envelope to buy a car in this day and age… You’d probably be shaken down for the money and in handcuffs going out their door.
I enjoyed reading your article, but not because I’m anti- Suze Orman. You hit on some good basic points that we should consider when making our own money management decisions.
I agree with every one of your comments.
I find it strange not to find a cooperate address or working phone number for Suze Orman Financial Group
there is much i don’t agree with suze on but one of her pieces of advise is without bounds and will benefit everyone . live below your means. just because you can afford a million dollar house and drive a bentley don’t mean you need it.if you can afford a big suv with a v8 maybe don’t go to a 4 cylinder civic but somewhere in between should work just fine and invest the difference. and no i do not like the stock market,the SEC is a sleep at the wheel.
What do you think about investing with acorn
I just watched Suze on a QVC program. She said, “The less you have, the more you need a revocable trust.” (In other words, you need to buy her estate planning kit.) What? If you don’t have much, can’t you use TOD (Transfer on Death), POD (Payable on Death), and beneficiary designations for life and retirement accounts? She also said “If you have a $200,000 home and it’s not in a trust it will cost you $200,000 in probate fees in California to settle the estate.” Really? That’s sounds awfully expensive to me. Bottom line: Some advice from every financial guru is probably OK, but apparently not everything. It’s up to you to make smart, informed decisions about your money. Not follow someone blindly.
do you want to listen to winners of the game or those not winning the game? orman does good work. people, then money, then things. that’s a good way to prioritise life for anyone, top or bottom. too many people at the bottom of the game put things first, then money, then people it seems.
if you don’t like orman, go higher up the net worth food chain and listen to buffett: avoid debt, have savings and buy the index. sound advice that works. it does get you ahead, slowly at first, but it works.
why discredit orman because she’s worth $10mil to $30mil? she could be a billionaire and still be giving even better advice than she’s giving today. the notion that she can’t relate to regular people is nonsense. would you want to learn chess from kasparov or some kid in grade 7 who loses a lot? i’d listen to kasparov, even though he’s so far removed from the grade 7 kid struggling, he will remember what it’s like to start playing chess and the various pitfalls.
8 is factually wrong. Including dividends, there is no ten-year rolling. In the history of the S&P 500 the word investor would have ever lost money. That is a fact. There is no “decade” that would have left someone “financially devastated”.
So right Her information is totally off to the average person She repeats the obvious and misguided with the rest As ststed she hyperbolizes generic info and Five mill to retire How unrelevant I m not sure but i understood her to retire and come back to work Miscalculated expenses? What a joke I just hope she hasnt ruined too many Girlfriends finances
Here is the big problem I have with Suze Orman and others like her (Dave Ramsey for sure): Their approach to finances is always a crash diet approach. Don’t spend anything until X happens. Until you have all of the debt paid off, don’t spend. Once you have your debt paid off, then focus on retirement, putting every dime into it. Then wait until 70 to retire. If a health ‘expert’ recommended a starvation diet, would you pay attention to that? Yet, that is what these pundits always do.
I spent a lot of my life in debt. Once I was done with grad school and had a sound and steady job I started working out of the debt and worked towards having enough money for my children to go to college. We also managed one nice vacation a year and did buy some things we wanted. It took about 5 years to get rid of the consumer debt and another five to clear the student debt. I’m sure we could have cleared all of it in 4-5 years had we taken Orman or Ramsey’s advice. But, it would have been a miserable 4-5 years! No vacations. Asking “can I afford it” about everything. Instead, like any reasonable weight loss plan, we had a plan in place to pay things off. We certainly tightened our belt to do so, but not to the extremes that the pundits always preach. Yes, we were paying off debt for more years, but we were also living a comfortable lifestyle in those years.
ur post sucks man, i am not a fan of suzie orman , but i support her mind set cause it works for middle income family, are u seriously talking about history? i support her index fund because u can look at it in the long term 20 years? 25 years? and yes wait for the big drop and get into the market. The index inordinately surpasses and reduces risk for non financial educated middle income people.
I always wonder the net worth of author’s giving financial advice because it doesn’t seem wise to take financial advice from broke people either, not saying that’s the case here just a thought.
I am a Suze Orman fan. I have nothing bad to say about her but everything bad to say about people. People are lazies and they are quick to said things about her. I have friends that calls me Ms. Suze Orman let me tell you why. I have had to bail my friends out of debt. I have told them on how not to get in financial trouble. Did they listen excuse me “Hell No” so what I had to do is step back and make them manage there money. I stopped bailing them out when I was managing my money to bail them out. Even my children’s, let me tell you this. My daughter started working for a great company I said to her let me see your benefits paper. She said old mom! I said okay let’s do this. I will give you a 100.00 per pay period let them take it out of your check and put into a 401k. She was so excited about me giving her my money. She said yes! She was thinking she had a lot of money. So after a year I said look what I got in the mail she said what I said your 401k statement showing how much you have made on your investing into the 401k. It blow her out of the water but the joy just started. I had to remind her it is my money. She started to cry. Great opportunity to explain to her about money! Now she have never made any investment into thing with out talking to me. She had to apologize to me for her thinking she was smarter then me. I have been an investor for years but I only do it with my money then everybody comes to me and say help me. I said to them really are you willing to do the work. I have a friend as a million dollar friend because of me. She was in a BK and now she is weathy. I have been able to save a lot of my friends. I have a sister who came into 750,000.00 this is what she received and I told her let me help manger your money for free. Let me tell you something people think it’s free it’s not good. So stupid sorry about that. So now my sister is showing only 10,000.00 and she want to know how can I make it grow to what she had. I laughed so hard I said baby you are on your own. Because she did not listen at first. I said it’s going to cost you, she said I will pay you so please help me. Believe me I have learned how keep my mouth close.
Oh thank you for writing such a succint and blunt piece giving clarity to what drives these self-disclosed financial experts (including Mr. Ramsey, whose “financial expertise” comes from his own experience with bankruptcy). You are spot on with their general advice that has been around long before either was born. Repackaged for public consumption and for their profit!
Thank you very much for posting this. I used to love following figures like these; but when I went through my divorce after being a stay at home mom and house wife and losing pretty much everything, I realized that the advice of such financial icons was inappropriate for those with life circumstances like mine. I doubt Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman will tell you to go to a food pantry or take advantage of social services so you can free up your budget for paying for legal fees. And I’m sure they won’t tell you to use your smart phone to find quick money for completely gigs or small tasks. Such financial gurus have never had to survive the realities the less fortunate go through. To this day, I have never been in credit card, or student loan debt but I have had to hustle and be creative in supporting myself without the help of my family.
It is so refreshing for people of your caliber to expose the hypocrisy that such people like Suze Orman have amassed. They use their platform to become a brand and then exploit the very people who come to them for help. This is actually an evil industry where the rich grow richer of those who desperately need financial guidance.
Thanks again!
Hi Jasmine – I wouldn’t lump them all together as being an evil industry. Some have come from their own financial disasters. I’m pretty sure Dave Ramsey once declared bankruptcy. He’s not the only one. Some become financial gurus precisely because of personal financial crises. But you’re right, you do have to take their advice for how well it fits your own circumstances. Most of it is very general, and won’t apply to people with deep financial problems.
Term Life insurance 1st! Then, stocks/mutual funds; all one needs to do over a lifetime, is avoid getting CREAMED in a double or triple play, like GE, or ENRON!
Starting as early as possible for the Time Value Of Money benefits, lightly diversify and choose solid stocks….over diversifying is like being the fulcrum = you don’t ‘GO’ anywhere.
I have never followed Suze, but I did follow our Canadian version, Gail Vaz-Oxlade.
From what I understand from this article and comments, Gail may have been a superior choice for many people. It’s a real shame that Gail retired from the “money advice” world. I’m better off, financially, because of her.
Well done.
Yes, the famous money guru’s have some good information but it is mixed in with bad advice and conflicts of interest. They get to where they are through marketing, personality, connections, and hard work. They deserve the platform they have, but it doesn’t mean we should do what they say.
Excellent assessment! They’re often well known due to marketing more than advice. The advice may not be terrible, but it probably won’t be the best advice for your personal circumstances. When it comes to money, it’s best to get several opinions/solutions, then decide for yourself which is best. The problem with Suze Orman is at least partially the fault of the people who follow her because they want someone to tell them what to do, even if that person isn’t intimately familiar with their circumstances.
One of three TOTAL FRAUDS foisted on the lay-public by Oprah Winfrey; the others being Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz. Suze Orman is a financial performer. She has no credentials or any special qualifications other than being famous for being known. After the failure of that scam debit card she decided to lay low until the gullible public forgot about it. Now she’s back with more inane advice for rubes. She’s a perfect shill for a lazy citizenry that wants get-rich-quick solutions with no research or “heavy lifting.” The author is too kind to Ms. Orman. You can get better advice with a GOOGLE search.
Hi Tony – I don’t know if it’s accurate to call her a total fraud. Much of her advice is standard/or based on research. But it’s all coated with opinion, as is the case with all public advisors. You have to take her advice with a grain of salt, and compare it with that of others sources. But then I think you have to do that with any source, especially when it comes to money.
One thing no one can argue with is that Suze made her money off from the poor and middle class. Her Debit Card was a scam. People paid a lot more money for it than she told in her talks, lots more!!! She made millions off it then closed it down. 1. Because she was in legal trouble for the scam. 2. Many people had figured out they were paying lots of money to use their own money. No one can up their FICA score by using a pre-loaded Debit Card. She was a Scam Artist from the get-go. There is lots of evidence to back this. Do your homework. By now no one probably cares. She lives in the Bahamas where she is safer from prosecution and I’d guess safer from being killed by some oth the people she ripped off.
Hi Charla – Yeah, that debit card offer was a real fiasco, but it’s just one of the 14 reasons.
These 14 reasons could easily be about 4 reasons because you re-state the same thing about 4 ways.
1 – Suze’s advice is general so she can’t help you specifically
2 – Investing in the stock market is risky
3 – Suze may have a vested interest in the advice she gives
4 – Everybody makes mistakes
You had one other criticism which is just flat wrong:
5 – Doing the small things doesn’t make much difference
Wrong. Doing a lot of small things adds up to something that makes a big difference.
Thanks for offering a different opinion Steve. We welcome all opinions here.
I agree with Steve. Little things do add up. Watching and eliminating those when there was nothing else to cut was how we survived. That said, you do have to think for yourself and base decisions on your personal circumstances. I appreciate all the information I got from Suze especially about life insurance.
Well not all of her advise were good. But I find that a lot of advise as very2 informative and I definitely like her advice regarding people who are badly indebted and ways for them to overcome it. You cant expect her to be 100% accurate all the time.
Hi Afiq – I agree, some of what she says is good. But I wouldn’t use her advice exclusively, and there are some areas where I completely disagree with her. But it’s probably true that every expert has a large number of critics.
Hey … they are talking about Dr Phil !!!
I stumbled across your article and found it interesting. A huge economic problem in this country is people not having a plan for their money. Most people in bad financial shape are not doing a written budget each month. They don’t closely track their money.
I don’t agree that you shouldn’t listen to her at all, since everyone needs to take a larger interest in your own finances, just be careful with some of her advice.
Honestly I think the most sound financial advice you can get is from Dave Ramsey, his radio show and podcast are 100% free and offer the vast majority of his financial wisdom and content. So I will summarize his idea’s
Get on a written budget. There are free apps out there, I LOVE the everydollar app, my wife and I use the free version and we both can see and track our expenses each month.
1. Save $1000 in a starter emergency fund
2. List your debts smallest to largest (not including your house) pay minimum payments on everything but your smallest debt, throw all your extra money at it. Once it is paid attack your next one utilizing the payment you saved from paying off the first one.
3. Once debts are paid fully fund your emergency fund with 3-6 months of living expenses.
4. Save 15% of your Gross income in retirement. Start with 401k up to the match, then also look at Roth IRA’s.
5. Save for your kids college, you don’t want them coming out of college with $100,000 in student loans do you?
6. Throw extra money at your home until it is paid off.
7. Max out retirement- Enjoy life!!!
Thanks for taking the time to read this
I 100% agree. Practitioners, not experts. And very generic zzzzzzz. My advice to practitioners: sit down, stay humble.
PS. I’m feminist
I stumbled onto this article. It’s the first and last one I’ll ever read on this site.
You are just an awful, awful writer. It’s not just the misspellings and the grammatical errors (although you have plenty of those). It’s also the repetition (your “14 reasons” are really more like four or five, just repeated ad nauseam), the hypocrisy (it’s apparently okay for you to try to make money off your site, but not for Orman), and the complete lack of logic (most of your “reasons” for not listening to Orman have nothing to do with Orman at all).
You need to find another hobby. Maybe you can read to the elderly? But not your articles, as that will just cause them to kick off quicker. Something more interesting, such as the ingredients on a cereal box.
That’s perfect! I love cereal!!
You are a whiner who obviously is very jealous of Suze’s great success. You are also DEAD WRONG about the advice she gives on the market. She told me to get out, right before the ’08 crash. She saved me major bucks, about $50G’s. Her advice to bail was available for everyone in her many interviews around that time. In closing, your bashing is so generic, it suffers from the exact things you accuse Suze of.
@john Ha! Yes…I’m VERY jealous. (runs off to get orange spray tan immediately)
Your first impulse is to insult the way she looks? Because if she were a guy, you wouldn’t have bothered to insult her looks. You’d be admiring her rise from a waitress to being worth $35mil.
@KJ Actually, if you read the post, my first impulse was to insult her for launching a high-fee pre-paid debit card that was purely for her gain and not the consumer which she claims to look out for.
Met Suze right as I was kicking my ex out in 2007. He forgot to turn the cable off so I got to watch her on cable. Paid off 17000 in credit card debt in 18 months, that he racked up on my card, paid the 10000 a year over my son’s 35000 scholarship for college, and am still living credit card debt free. Own a waterfront beach house outright, two profitable rental houses, and my primary is done in five years. Maxing out my Roth IRA, contributing to my 403b, and will have an 80000 + pension in 7 years. All on a teacher’s salary. I owe this to Suze’s advice, and my willingness to listen. I still watch her old podcasts, and I reread her books. Live below your means and within your needs. Hats off to Ms. Orman.
I have never put much stock (no pun intended) in what these financial celebrity types say. They live in a different world than I do. I am a single mom and handling finances and preparing for retirement has specific challenges that someone like Suze can’t understand. Thank you for writing this.
Watching Kera right now with Suzy. Googled for counterpoints to Suzy; found your site. I’m already not impressed with this site goodfinancialcents since it already hit me with 2 ads-in-my-face which I did not click on. Ef-Ewe!!! Does this site have a money problem?
Pre-paid CC are bad for people who need them? Wrong.
She had just finished mentioning municipal bonds. Boohoo if she uses them as well.
Oh, BTW, her credentials are that she whistle-blew on the guy and company she worked for who blew her newly acquired $50K while she herself was studying regulations gaining her credentials.
Your 14 points are obvious to me; No new helpful info.
Suzy doesn’t like reverse mortgages, unlike Magnum PI/Tom Selleck Sellout.
So far, Suzy’s advice is sounding sound.
This site is probably just jelly.
“This site is probably just jelly”.
By far the best comment I’ve ever received!
I majored in economics in college. I am now retired but surprisingly, the majority of what I learned is still true today. I feel badly for anyone who expects someone else to take an interest in their finances. People are all pretty much alike. We look out for ourselves first and if there is any compassion left, we give that out sparingly. The thing that everyone should see about Suze but apparently nobody but me does, is Suze talks like a conservative but continues to align herself with liberals. Years ago, I learned the only real difference between the two was who they want to give the middle class’s money to. This might be something to think about. The media has her net worth listed as somewhere between 10 and 35 million dollars. I doubt you will ever know what she is paid by her various endorsements but if she is paid anywhere near what I assume she is, she should be worth substantially more than that. I know that I have managed to keep my head above water and she should do far better than I have.
the problem with Suzie Orman, is , she has NO credentials of any kind as a financial expert,,,,,,,,,,NONE,,,,,,,,,,,that is the problem,,,,,,,,,not that some of her advice is good, or that she is a great entertainer,,,,,,,,,,,,she has NO CREDENTIALS, of any kind,,,,,,,,she is a fraud,,,,,,,,,,,,why do all of the shows she is on,,,,,,,,,,,not check out her credentials???????
Hi Michael – While you might be right on all counts (though I don’t think she’s an outright fraud), the media is more interested in soliciting the opinions of people who have a large following. Popularity matters in the media, even more than credentials. They’re trying to draw people to themselves, and one of the best ways to do that is by showcasing people who already have a following, and qualify as a household name. Suze Orman qualifies on both counts.
Like a lot of professions, it really boils down to honesty. She is not honest. Like when you go to the dentist or auto mechanic and they tell you that you need work done that is totally unnecessary. That happens all the time.
I think her being on public television frequently is a NET PLUS. If she was not on public television, replaced by other programming having nothing to do with your finances, I think that would be a big loss. Her basic message of thinking-about, and trying to take charge of, your own finances is essential. Note that she’s targeting people who are not yet doing that.
I could list numerous gems of things she has said. But the main point is that your finances is “a thing to think about”, “a thing to form strategies about”, “a think to take action about”. I know too many people in the low 2/3 of the American economy who just don’t.
Now, in partial agreement with this webpage, some of her more-specific solutions to individual people’s problems don’t apply generally to a lot of people, and in a few cases might not be the best for the particular person.
Also, she doesn’t emphasize trying to get into higher paid jobs, or working 2 jobs if your health can handle it, and you can manage transportation to the 2 jobs.
She could improve her presentation by occasionally saying when things wouldn’t apply to others. The public television show itself could help substantially, but having a short add-on with a panel of 3 finance advice people, who are neutral in how they feel about her, that would follow-up with “I agree with X, but for Y advice such-n-such would be better” and “she forgot to mention that the person should _____ in addition to what she recommended.
Even better, if she had one or two other finance advice people on the stage, that would add things, or remind Suze of things, that would help.
But, she has gems like:
“Take a look at your Debt. Do something about it.”
“Your priorities should be: People, Your Money, and Possessions, in that order.”
“The best thing you can do for your children is to display financial responsibility, not give them things you cannot afford.”
Yes, many of the things she says can be found on the internet. But many of the people she’s reaching watch cable or radio-waves TV, and don’t try to learn things on the internet.
I have mixed feelings regarding Suze Orman. On the one hand, she’s rich — and there’s something to be said for her ascent; albeit on the consumer’s back. But hey — nobody rags on Papa John’s wealth as he denies healthcare benefits to his workers; et al. Sadly you pretty much can’t become a reeeely rich capitalist if it’s not, to some degree, at others’ expense.
On the other hand, I was through with that bitch when she slut-shamed Octomom – on Oprah – into saying that it was a mistake to have all those kids. That might be true — but who would encourage any woman say that on national tv when her kids were watching?
On the third hand lol, someone once asked her why she always wore the same earrings and necklace; to which Orman replied, “I have earrings. I have a necklace. Why do I need more.” Hearing that simple answer hit me like a ton of bricks and changed the course of my entire financial life. God bless her for that — I am rolling in dough, today.
I agree with the commenter who said folks will take what they can use from her and toss the rest. Those who don’t are most likely and sadly, easily led in other aspects of their lives, too.
Some folks still think Obama was born in Kenya. What can you do? Suze gets paid for telling people what they want to hear just like every other true, profiteering, heartless capitalist — and I don’t see how I can blame her for that.
Suze knows her stuff! She has given me excellent financial advice and knows what she is talking about. She has helped millions of people and does it all out of kindness and caring. If you have the chance to have her give you advice, I advise that you take it!
She is also one of the kindest, most honest and caring people that I know.
Orman has been launched by another very rich huckster of persons and snake oils, Oprah Winfrey
Actually, Suze does recommend individual Municipal Bonds for people who don’t like risk. Although not referred to in the article, she does steer people away from scams like costly life insurance for young people and reverse mortgages. What she gives is advice only, like any financial adviser; you certainly don’t have to follow it. I’ve found the advice given on her shows is specific to the questions put to her. I don’t agree that it is very general. I think some people are just jealous of her success.
You sound like sour grapes.
I am an avid Suze follower and have taken the advise she has given and followed it for my own circumstances and done very well. The one thing I did that she would not approved of – buying an annuity I did not fully understand – ended up having disadvantageous clauses I did not realize. My current Financial Advisor is always surprised at what a good job I did preparing the money I had to be invested for my retirement.
I just always wonder that the government has not done something to shut Suze down because if people were as wise as she advises, it would slow down the economy, which depends on mindless, rampant, consumerism at the expense of security of the individual.
Stop whining, and have a little faith that those of us who follow Suze can modulate her advise to suit our circumstances.
Re: Point 9, about advising stocks but investing in mostly muni’s herself. Well, look: she is in her 60s. This is not the time for someone her age to be investing in something risky. She needs stability with her money, even if the yield is likely lower. And second, she’s rich, and the benefit of municipal bonds is that you don’t have to pay income tax on money earned on them, and her tax bracket is likely quite high.
As I approached my 50th year of life, 2 children and 1 failed marriage, I cant help but think of the actual words of advice that Suse gave me during a information seminar that I attended a little more than 3 years ago. I took vicarious notes throughout… as if my life depended on it. and like everyone else that was there, I thought it did at the time. But, I withstood the high level of pressure to purchase
her near $500 financial freedom Financial package. My reason…. I wanted to think about it. And that was the actual reason I stalled on making that decision. Anything that will cost me more than $50 or more, I feel requires forethought or meditation after the fact of learning of the need or supposed need to purchase it. I decided not to buy it, simply because I knew I could get it on Ebay for more than 60% – 80% of it’s retail value. Or at least, it’s retail value as Ms. Orman saw it! After reviewing most all of her DVD program, and might I add that I did so in less than two days, I found that the information I got from my local library, for free, was just as information as her package was. When one invests in the thoughts or teaching of just one person, then don’t be surprised if your bottom line increases, only marginally if at all. Side by side, I bulleted the main financial points and or advice, from her package, in comparison to that of approximately 7 other contributors, from their books or contributing columns. Side by side, unfortunately Ms. Orman’s advice only added 3% to my liquidity, 5.5% to my overall bottom line. The same issues and directions that I wanted to go in, based on the advice of those other sources, was stark in it’s difference to that of Ms. Ormes, 11% and 14% respectful to the above. Quite a huge difference! Why do people trust in the word of one person? It’s my belief that Ms Ormes theatrical presentation created a drive for many in attendance to choose her advice as God Like. It whipped those folks up!! And the pens were pressing heavily on all those checkbooks. A room full of people glowing in the presence of the mighty Ms. Ormes. Now don’t get me wrong, I liked her. I enjoyed her scripted presentation. Her storytelling skills.
In hindsight, it’s clear much thought and marketing prowess went into it these seminars. But of course that’s to be expected! Even if one watches her pander her program on public TV, causing one to think that much of the proceeds are going to the arts of public Television , they are NOT. Public TV might reap 20%. Nice inexpensive advertising for Suse, wouldn’t you say? As always…Let The Buyer Beware !! Do your research. The World Wide Web gives us everything for free. Use it, and save your money. There is so much more that can be learned, if only one would see the wisdom in comparing advice. Compare warnings, and see you future bottom line…increase!
Investment advice can turn out to be right or wrong. Hers is usually poor. BUT…in her life story she reveals that she has trouble with math. She sure does! An audience member asked if she should delay applying for Social Security. Suze said if you don’t need the income today, postpone! She said “where else can you get 6% on your money?” Um, Suze, the 6% greater monthly payout if you wait a year is NOT a gift of interest. The Social Security actuaries have correctly calculated that if you do not get the first year of SS income, giving you 6% more for the remaining years makes you just break even on total SS income when you die at the average age of death in the USA. So, Suze, if you die before then, you lose. Suze also advised someone to pay off their 21% interest credit card first, UNLESS they had student loans, which should be paid off first because the 6% COMPOUNDS ! Um, Suze, the 21% on the credit card also compounds!
She isn’t licensed to give advice. Period. She has no liability no relationship to the SEC or a fiduciary duty to her audience. Therefore, her word is not backed up in any way, besides all the points this article makes. No one should be following her advice, period.
As far as her advice goes, some is good, as she’s been a late catcher-on to the advice advisors have been giving for years, and some is horrid. None of it is great. And yes, and entertainer and she’s there to advertise her own product lines she is promoting, much like all the rest of them, including Ramsay & Tony Robbins. The first move in sales is to bash the competition and she does that great, then there is the snake oil. And yes she preys on the uneducated and poor. Her bias is her own piggy bank/portfolio that reflects none of the products she promotes. How Orman gets away with this and not Martha Stuart is only in the fine print. She is as well connected as Congress who also does their own insider trading. Madoff is not much different, only he stole from the rich.
And yes, there is more money in fee based than there is in commission for advisors, thus a national push for fee based (and the private entity issuing the CFP that is not state or fed. certified.) And yes, great advisors sacrifice their bottom line for their ethics in order to do the right thing for clients and end up taking a pay as a result, fee based or not. It’s a profession that is so over regulated at the bottom and so unregulated at the top–most advisors working with the average client are closer to humanitarians in that so much of what they do goes unpaid. No other profession does so much for their client for next to nothing and often absolutely nothing. Being a priest actually pays more.
As many people have found to their cost – both in expensive commission and to their bottom line – a license or relationship with the SEC does not guarantee anything whatsoever…..Period. Financial advisors = humanitarians; “Priestly” indeed – what a truly precious remark!
I am a financial advisor and am very offended by her implication that my clients don’t need my help, they simply need to ‘look in the mirror’, and listen to her advice. 95% of what she says is common sense and not the advice of a brilliant financial guru. She is loud and obnoxious and can be demeaning at times. Financial planning is complicated and ever changing, and it is difficult for the professional to keep up, never mind the average person. She may have started out on the right foot with the best of intentions, but she is nothing more than a wealthy entertainer, and quite frankly I don’t find her all that entertaining.
I work extremely hard for my clients, but don’t make the big bucks in this profession. And quite frankly the industry is making is harder and harder for financial advisors, who service the average middle class client, to make a living at all.
Suze, you’re time is up…you need to retire !!!!!!! And we all know you can afford it !!!!!
I have to agree with Dino3721. I am young and broke. I have credit card debt, but I also have time on my side. I was raised in a poor, low-income family my entire life that never touched the stock market. While I may not agree with everything Suze says, I have been listening to her financial shows via podcast every day for the past few weeks, and it gives me confidence to actually invest a little and put money into retirement accounts (something my parents never did). For beginners like me, Suze AND Dave Ramsey are helpful. I like that they break things down and explain what everything means.
I think haters are going to hate. To say that you shouldn’t listen to any PF gurus advice is foolish.
I have watch Suze Orman for 14 years. I think in time you outgrow some of her advice. What I think you are missing is this: So many people are beginners. She gave me the courage to invest, actually look at how much debt I had, and her tips (similar to the latte tip) made me see that I have more money then I thought. She is gifted at explaining the stock market, mutual funds, etc. to those of us that clueless where to begin. 14 years later, I am debt free, perfect credit rating, have a will and trust, and I am a saver- I have to credit her for helping me learn, and think about money differently.
I will say, I am uncomfortable with her selling products. I think you do outgrow her advice. When I was young and broke I went to a major investment player and the little money I had, they gave me the worst advice possible. It burned me and scared me to invest. Now I am more in control, and smarter with my money. I also think your article does not look at – the people on her show send the show documents – they are vetted before going on the show. I would expect someone with mass wealth to invest differently then middle or lower income people would or could.
I will always be thankful to her, and listen to her, but like any good teacher- there is a time to go out on your own. I think your article may be true to an advanced investor, but not really fair to beginners.
I will say one thing that drives me crazy about her- she is way to easy on people that claim bankruptcy, or houses in default. I have never heard her say you need to get a 2nd job. That is my biggest gripe.
“But you should never mindlessly take action based on someone’s advice, least of which that of a financial guru.”
Here here. You need to do what is right for you. I am waiting to invest $200K in the stock market the next time there is a stock market adjustment. Everyone needs to decide their own timing. Enough said.
Love this! Do one on Dave Ramsey please.
My problem with the “financial gurus” is that they’re not relevant to the people they are trying to teach. Sure, at some point in their life they may have been but not now.
Suze’s prepaid debit card is to make money off the poor. And yes, all of her advice is so generalized.
The same goes for Dave Ramsey though. He bought a multimillion dollar house. He’s not in my shoes and I don’t want advice from him. Especially after reading his dumb ass comments here http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/dave-ramsey-comments-on-my-post-about-his-new-house-his-debt-philosophy-and-giving/
I’d rather read personal finance blogs from others in my shoes over taking advice from these money hungry “financial gurus” any day of the week!
Well, I know that she’s a well-known finance “expert”, but personally speaking, I never listened to her, ever.
Your advice is spot on! In most cases she is awful. In fact doing the opposite of what she says in terms of investing is typically the way to money.
You could also add a #15 and #16 to the list.
#15 being her 401k advice. A 401k is not a tax advantage. In fact it is one of the worst places of all time to put your money in terms of taxes!
#16 being her “magic of compound interest.” This kind of ties in with you saying she thinks small, such as a latte factor. If your audience is mostly broke people, and their interest is compounding like you want it to, it doesn’t equal out to much because they don’t have much to invest! Someone with a $1,000 saved that manages to double it through stocks is now at… $2,000. Someone like her who has a million saved, buys the same stocks and doubles her money is now at $2,000,000. Even though both gained the same percentage and doubled their money, one person ended up $999,000 ahead following the same advice!
Yes I think #14 is a given as people need to be more knowledgeable about investing. Trust in your abilities to learn because in the end it’s for your benefit.
Love this! I still enjoying watching and reading Suze, but during the last 10 years or so she has clearly lost reach of her audience. In addition, there are so many times that her advice is just WRONG. It is a shame, because she helped so many people in the 90s and early 2000s.
The article is missing # 15: Suze Orman is a man-hating lesbian.
When a husband mentioned that he is helping his wife pay off her student loans, Suze is thrilled and happy. But, when a wife mentioned that she is helping her husband pay off his student loans, Suze’s response is, “Don’t you dare help him pay his student loans!”
In addition, whenever a woman calls and complains about her husband, Suze first inclination is to bombast the husband by responding as follows:
– Divorce the bum.
– If you could go back, would you have married him? If you say yes, then you are lying to yourself.
– What? Your husband said he won’t help you pay off your credit cards? Is this the kind of man you want to be married to?
Now, Dave Ramsey might go overboard with his religious rhetoric, but at least he doesn’t have a deep hatred for half of the population.
Could you please site her show(s), book(s) or website where she suggests this advice? I have watched her show regularly for many years and must have missed the episode where she gave that advice.
She jokingly made that statement during her “Suze Orman/Financial Solutions” seminar. About 20 – 30 minutes into the program.
All great points! I think she’s much more entertainer than expert. I’ve just never been a big fan of her style or her advice. I think there are many” experts” out there that are much better at both.
Those are some of the flimsiest, weak reasons not to like Susie Orman’s advice I have ever read! Talk about trying to market someone out and yourself in! Anyone with a shred of sense knows investing has to be personalized to your own financial situation, and if you have heard or listened to many of her shows or read any of her books your would know she always makes that point and she always asks your financial situation before advising. Yes, she generalizes when speaking………how else would any advisor do it? I pulled my wholle portfolio from a large bank, studied (with some help from Susie and others) for a month and then put my own portfolio together which in three years has grown over 65%. Investing is not rocket science, you just have to read/study some good advice and then make the best choices you can. I also talked with financial ivestors that were truly mentors to me. No one knows what the market is going to do and I have heard Susie Orman make that statement more than once. I much prefer her to a financial investor who is using your money to make himself money and has little regard for your financial welfare. It is your money, you should know what is being done with it, how it is being invested and many people do not have the interest or time to do that in many instances much to their demise.
If you love her so much, you might want to learn how to correctly spell her name.
I enjoy watching Suze but I think a lot of her advice is unreasonable. If a young family, or any body wants to buy a house, and get away from renting,according to her you must have both 20 percent down AND an 8 month emergency fund based on the new house payment . I agree those are both great things, PMIs are to be avoided but we were able to prepay ours down when we did our financing and roll it in so our pmi was hardly anything over the life of the loan, maybe five bucks a month , and if most familys had to come up with both 20 percent down and an 8 month emergency fund, few families or anyone following that advice will be able to buy a house.
I think it is more important to get into the house, in many places, like our town, rents are way more than the mortgage payment even with taxes , insurance and pmi, and by hundreds. We closed on a house , 104 grand , payment of 697 a month, three beds and one bath, quarter of an acre, and a one car attached garage with that financed pmi and 5 percent down and a friend and her family rents a rat trap apartment, and I mean really old and run down, smaller than our house and upstairs , but with an extra bath, no car port or storage other than a tiny outside closet, for close to a grand. So, as much as I love Suze and agree it is wise to have an emergency fund, and put a good down payment on your house, sometimes you have to do what you can to get into a house that is better and cheaper than rent and gives you some control over your own life and often gets you into a better area, if you have the good credit to do so. That is just my opinion of course, but I think she is really out of touch !! I do like her show though and enjoy it, but sometimes do question her advice !!
I believe in indexed funds and followed motley fools on our retirement accounts and are doing well, we just have to up our amounts we put in. .
We all need to listen to advice if it makes sense, but then learn and make our own decisions in the end !! It is our money and I agree that millionaires cannot possibly understand what middle Amercia needs or wants.
great article , thanks Jeff !!
Great tips, battle buddy. And I agree…let’s apply most of this to any financial guru…even some of it applies to us idiot bloggers to some degree.
PT, Is Suze going to be a speaker at FINCON14? LOL.
The one that has always made me never take her seriously is number 12, that she is an entertainer. It kills me that people will presumably make life affecting decisions by a two minute bit on a TV show. That’s not enough time to get a fair assessment that can lead to her advice being sound.
So true and I did that. Dang.
As I read your article this morning, I couldn’t help but think how you could change almost every instance of Suze Orman to Dave Ramsey and still be absolutely correct. These gurus do not know our individual circumstances and should not be blindly followed!
Absolutely love #1…couldn’t be more true. Even your own parents, who have raised and taught you from infant to adulthood, may not give you the greatest advise. Listen to what everyone has to say, but use your gut when ultimately deciding what to do.