Why I Follow Suze Orman's Financial Advice (...But Not Everyone Does!)

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Suze Orman is the author of several New York Times Bestsellers, including:

As a columnist, motivational speaker, and popular talk show guest of the likes of Oprah and the Today Show, Suze Orman is a force of celebrity proportions.

Suze Orman’s Financial Advice

Suze’s motto is simple: “people first, then money, then things.” This is the advice she gives when counseling people on what should be most important in their lives.

What she means when she says this is that people should focus on having meaningful relationships before money. Still, money is the key to take care of your needs, so you need to next make enough money to buy the things you need.

I Follow Suze Orman’s Advice

We all know that Suze Orman is knowledgeable about what she speaks.

I strictly followed her advice in the late 1990’s on getting out of debt, and I can tell you that her method of paying off your smallest bill, and then rolling those payments into your next smallest bill, and so on is the most efficient way to become debt free.

A prolonged period of spousal job loss has me following those same rules again. I have great confidence in Suze Orman’s system.

However, sometimes her medicine can be difficult to swallow.

She tells people to sell their belongings.
She tells them to leave their homes and to move into one bedroom apartment with their children.
She advises against using credit.
She tells people to default on their credit cards if they have to choose between food, shelter, and credit.

Not Everyone Agrees With Suze Orman’s Advice

Suze Orman has many fans. She also has a few enemies who feel her advice is limiting at best.

Some feel that Suze Orman may be out of touch, stressing that just because her investment plan works for her, it may not work for her followers.

Orman’s help only goes so far, and she has always been iffy when it comes to investment advice, advocating a “sell after small declines” strategy that is coupled with a “buy things that have been on the rise” concept, leaving investors in a position to sell low and buy high. Her push for paying off mortgages to the exclusion of everything but retirement-plan savings matched by employers could leave consumers with too big a chunk of their net worth tied up in real estate. And her suggestions of how to divide your money between asset classes tend to be so conservative that financial planners worry that consumers would fall short of reaching their goals. — Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch

In short, Chuck Jaffe says she invests “like a grandmother.”

Suze Orman’s Goals & Intentions

Whether people agree with Suze Orman’s advice or doubt that she practices what she preaches, she has made great strides in improving the self esteem of women who had no money knowledge and encouraging them to take ownership of their finances.

While it is Suze’s intention to teach people how to handle their money, it is her heart to teach them how to handle themselves.

In her book 8 Qualities of a Wealthy Woman, she emphasizes harmony, balance, courage, generosity, happiness, cleanliness, beauty, and wisdom. It is clear that while finances are the goal, a full life and happiness are the path.

Stay tuned for future reviews of Suze Orman’s individual books and products.

Andrea

I have been a certified tightwad striving for financial freedom since I became pregnant with my first child — and I decided to find a way to stay home with him full-time. I enjoy sharing my personal experiences in my journey back to financial health and planning for a future — which will include sending 2 kids to college and early retirement.

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