Suzy Orman's financial do's and don'ts

It makes for interesting reading but I don't agree with all of her advice and I view her more as an entertainer than as a financial advisor.

I learned quite a bit from the FIRE folks and the FIRE calculator.

https://www.firecalc.com/
I have to admit that I was a failure and didn't actually stop working until I turned 51.

IMO we should take the time to read and listen to everything that we can about retirement finances and then select the information that makes sense for our personal situation.
 
Some of these I totally agree with, some I totally disagree with and some I had to laugh at. "Don't be too quick to buy and house", "Don't become a landlord."

I did both of these. Bought my first house when I was 21 and I'm currently a landlord. Both of these have stood me in good stead through the years.
 
@Uptosnuff - I mostly agree. I was a landlord for most of my adult life, since I was 23. It's a good way to make money, and not painful if you get good tenants, but some of them are the pits. I owned multi family houses, where I rented one unit and lived rent free in the other unit. I stopped when I retired and now just own my single family home. I prefer owning stocks, you can sell the losers and the winners instantly, no waiting months or even years to get rid of them, and no bad-tenant headaches.

Of course, you can still own properties without the tenant headaches by hiring a management company. This is what one of the posters in the article had to say =
"Is she saying don't invest in real estate or become a landlord? There is a difference. I invest in real estate but hire a property management company to deal with the tenants. My rental portfolio out performs my stocks when you factor in cash flow, forced appreciation and tax benefits. I think owning tangible real estate is important for a well rounded portfolio. "
 
Another way of investing in real estate is by buying REITS (real estate investment trusts), which is a form of stock, ETFs. I own 3 and they pay good dividends. The trick is to buy them during economic downturns when the shares are low. I own Vanguard's VNQ reit and real estate etfs RWX and PEAK (nursing homes etc for the aged). And I don't have to put up with tenants or pay for a management agency.
 
I disagree about number 6 and number 12 other than that she’s pretty right on.
I agree with you. One should retire as soon as possible, UNLESS you love your job so much that you would be unhappy not doing it.

I retired at 63. One guy that worked at my company retired at 65 and died one month after retiring. You don't know how long you'll live, and lots of people die before they hit 70. As far as the money angle goes, this is what one of the posters said =

" Seems like decent advice, EXCEPT for taking social security early. If you start taking it at 70, and somebody else started at 62. It would take you until age 80+ to make up the difference that you lost. In other words, both you and the guy who took his at 62 will have received the same amount of money at age 80. Average life span is under 80, so chances are you will not see any benefits, meanwhile, the guy who started getting his at 62, got 8 more years to enjoy his or her money. "
 
I agree with you. One should retire as soon as possible, UNLESS you love your job so much that you would be unhappy not doing it.

I retired at 63. One guy that worked at my company retired at 65 and died one month after retiring. You don't know how long you'll live, and lots of people die before they hit 70. As far as the money angle goes, this is what one of the posters said =

" Seems like decent advice, EXCEPT for taking social security early. If you start taking it at 70, and somebody else started at 62. It would take you until age 80+ to make up the difference that you lost. In other words, both you and the guy who took his at 62 will have received the same amount of money at age 80. Average life span is under 80, so chances are you will not see any benefits, meanwhile, the guy who started getting his at 62, got 8 more years to enjoy his or her money. "
👍
 
@Uptosnuff - I mostly agree. I was a landlord for most of my adult life, since I was 23. It's a good way to make money, and not painful if you get good tenants, but some of them are the pits. I owned multi family houses, where I rented one unit and lived rent free in the other unit. I stopped when I retired and now just own my single family home. I prefer owning stocks, you can sell the losers and the winners instantly, no waiting months or even years to get rid of them, and no bad-tenant headaches.

Of course, you can still own properties without the tenant headaches by hiring a management company. This is what one of the posters in the article had to say =
"Is she saying don't invest in real estate or become a landlord? There is a difference. I invest in real estate but hire a property management company to deal with the tenants. My rental portfolio out performs my stocks when you factor in cash flow, forced appreciation and tax benefits. I think owning tangible real estate is important for a well rounded portfolio. "
Cat lady, if you've been a landlord since age 23, you have done very well for yourself. The longer you have properties, the better. I wish I had my properties longer than I have, only a few years. And we are seriously thinking about selling the houses. Tenants can be a pain in the butt. My husband wants to try flipping, but I wonder if that ship has sailed to be earning good money at that. But I'm glad we did the rental thing if only for a few years. Real estate is a good investment.
 
I agree with most, except #16, I buy new cars but keep them for more than a decade, I think it's worth it. Four of my five autos were brand new, the first was used and a lemon.
I'm an Orman fan. She has basic, often common-sense approaches to all things money. Yes, there are a few things one can argue --- keeping cars, not being a landlord. The not-retiring-early and not-taking-ss-too-soon are always arguable. But, the list in the posting at least gets everyone thinking.
 
Cat lady, if you've been a landlord since age 23, you have done very well for yourself. The longer you have properties, the better. I wish I had my properties longer than I have, only a few years. And we are seriously thinking about selling the houses. Tenants can be a pain in the butt. My husband wants to try flipping, but I wonder if that ship has sailed to be earning good money at that. But I'm glad we did the rental thing if only for a few years. Real estate is a good investment.
I've had a few properties but didn't keep them long, I moved around a lot. I made a profit on some or sold them without a profit just to get rid of them. The best thing I did was live rent-free on all of them. I now prefer to invest in real estate with REITs or ETFs, I still have my fingers in real estate but avoid all the nasty headaches.

As to flipping houses, that is good at the beginning of an up economic cycle, we're overdue for a recession. Just my opinion here, I'm no expert.
 
@Uptosnuff - I mostly agree. I was a landlord for most of my adult life, since I was 23. It's a good way to make money, and not painful if you get good tenants, but some of them are the pits. I owned multi family houses, where I rented one unit and lived rent free in the other unit. I stopped when I retired and now just own my single family home. I prefer owning stocks, you can sell the losers and the winners instantly, no waiting months or even years to get rid of them, and no bad-tenant headaches.

Of course, you can still own properties without the tenant headaches by hiring a management company. This is what one of the posters in the article had to say =
"Is she saying don't invest in real estate or become a landlord? There is a difference. I invest in real estate but hire a property management company to deal with the tenants. My rental portfolio out performs my stocks when you factor in cash flow, forced appreciation and tax benefits. I think owning tangible real estate is important for a well rounded portfolio. "
You can also invest in REITs.
 
I'm not an Orman fan. Most of her advice is just common sense. I like Clark Howard better.
It's common sense to some of us. I'm always making snide comments to the wife when I watch Suze on a TV show and I see fellow seniors furiously taking notes for financial facts we knew in our 30's. Financial ignorance is rampant and the major reason so many seniors are going to do badly in retirement. I can't fathom how so many people don't understand compound interest and how not paying a cc off just increases their debt exponentially, for one example.
 
It's common sense to some of us. I'm always making snide comments to the wife when I watch Suze on a TV show and I see fellow seniors furiously taking notes for financial facts we knew in our 30's. Financial ignorance is rampant and the major reason so many seniors are going to do badly in retirement. I can't fathom how so many people don't understand compound interest and how not paying a cc off just increases their debt exponentially, for one example.
So very true. Living right up and over the top of your lifestyle early in life can put you in debt for many years. Marrying the wrong person can, too...lol. A Polish neighbor of ours in Cleveland, many years ago told me seriously "young lady remember...start out in a mansion, end up in a bungalow...start out in a bungalow, end up in a mansion."
 
It's common sense to some of us. I'm always making snide comments to the wife when I watch Suze on a TV show and I see fellow seniors furiously taking notes for financial facts we knew in our 30's. Financial ignorance is rampant and the major reason so many seniors are going to do badly in retirement. I can't fathom how so many people don't understand compound interest and how not paying a cc off just increases their debt exponentially, for one example.

It all comes down to self discipline, the ability to tell yourself "no", not allowing the desire for material possessions rule your life and thinking about the future.

I suppose some people just figure they should live for the present and the future be damned, so they spend, spend, spend on things they think make them happy but can't really afford.

Others are content to be happy with simple things and don't need to bolster their self image with new cars, expensive clothes and yearly vacations or cruises to exotic places, etc, etc.

As for Orman, I think she's a self promoter. I hold her in intense disdain and whenever she's on during PBS fund raising drives I steer clear of my local PBS station until it's over.
 
i used to like her mis-information about 401k loans . she used to tell everyone they are double taxed which of course is bull ... but i guess if it scares her bunch of mis-fits then she has poetic license to make up stuff .

much of her stuff in not very practical .. she would tell everyone to delay ss to age 70 . which most americans can't afford to do unless they work to 70 or have other means of support .... which is why only 2% of men and 4% of women take ss at 70 . YOU NEED MONEY TO LAYOUT AND LIVE ON WHEN YOU DELAY . most Americans don't have that money .
 
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"....much of her stuff in not very practical .. she would tell everyone to delay ss to age 70 . which most americans can't afford to do unless they work to 70 or have other means of support .... which is why only 2% of men and 4% of women take ss at 70 . YOU NEED MONEY TO LAYOUT AND LIVE ON WHEN YOU DELAY . most Americans don't have that money .
Well, that's the catch-22. Most Americans are financially ignorant and never tried to educate themselves. That is what she is trying to do (even if there is some misinformation in her presentations). The thing is, of course, it's really too late if you haven't saved/invested and now find yourself in your 50's and start to wonder if you'll ever retire. I'm sure you've seen articles that state 2/3rds of the population cannot pass a very basic, financial literacy test. Anyway, to me, we boomers lived in the greatest economic expansion in history which meant enormous opportunities in the stock market, and missed it by putting their money into spending.
 


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