Suze Orman

[mackwall4]

I love Suze, but agree that the income level has been extremely high lately, with high bills to match. It's the have more spend more, American way. I understand that, we downsized with our last move and it's hard, but our Roths are maxed, we have a 529 plan, and a 20 year instead of a 30 fixed... so in the long run it will be worth it. I do miss the extra rooms, but I don't miss cleaning them!!!

I too want to revisit the $230k debt lady, unbelievable...maybe she wants a bailout

[Odette]

Originally Posted by barcreperie

I guess it depends on how people calculate 'take home' pay. My husband and I have a lot of things taken out of our paycheck before it gets to us - 401k contributions, health insurance, dental insurance, $ for health care reimbursement account, disability insurance, life insurance, and probably one or two other things I'm not thinking of right now. And taxes... As Lori points out, the area they live in is pretty important information as it relates to their income and expenses, but I guess that's too personal of information to reveal on the show. Flora, the woman who wanted the Hermes bag was on a month or so ago, but that was more of a "Can I Afford It NOW" type call. She'd called in a year earlier and was denied, but when she called in the second time, she was approved.

Yeah that's how I would look at take-home pay. I bring home about 68% of my gross pay after taxes, 401k, FSA, health/dental/vision insurance.

[wisnowbird]

Originally Posted by ImASadGiraffe

Yeah that's how I would look at take-home pay. I bring home about 68% of my gross pay after taxes, 401k, FSA, health/dental/vision insurance.

It varies so much depending on where you live - I only bring home 60% & I'm not even contributing to a 401k right now :( In NYC we have to pay city taxes in addition to state & federal - that hurts.

[Allisonfaye]

Originally Posted by lorihmatthews

I too would love to see more on her but she's in such denial about her situation that the next time we see her she'll be watching the bank sending over people to clear out her house for auction. She did say she was going to get a job to help with the shortfall, but who knows given the economy.

I don't know what that lady does but I am doubtful she is going to find a job making $120k AFTER taxes to cover the shortfall. That doesn't even include paying back her debt of $230. The interest rates on her debt averaged 20%!!! That's $56k in interest alone. I am guessing she and her husband are big time enablers of each other, otherwise how on earth would you get into such a mess? Usually one spouse gives the other a dose of reality. Not happening here.

[lorihmatthews]

Originally Posted by Allisonfaye

Usually one spouse gives the other a dose of reality. Not happening here.

They need more than a dose of reality, they need serious therapy. Remember how Suze was telling her that she really didn't own anything, because it was all bought on credit? She just didn't "get" that concept at all. Everything she had was really "borrowed."

Of course the real tragedy in all of this is that the couple had a daughter and she was going to be on the short end of whatever stick they have when all of this explodes in their faces.

[Allisonfaye]

Originally Posted by lorihmatthews

They need more than a dose of reality, they need serious therapy. Remember how Suze was telling her that she really didn't own anything, because it was all bought on credit? She just didn't "get" that concept at all. Everything she had was really "borrowed." Of course the real tragedy in all of this is that the couple had a daughter and she was going to be on the short end of whatever stick they have when all of this explodes in their faces.

Yep. That little girl will be affected by a double whammy from the fallout of her parents excessive spending and the way they are raising her to handle money as a grownup. They can't teach her to do anything right since they are completely clueless.

[barcreperie]

I think that woman with the $10k monthly deficit was probably chosen to go on the show because she is an absolute textbook case of someone who is "living a lie" as Suze puts it. She seemed dead set on not giving up the life she portrays to her friends/community, as though her whole identity and sense of self was wrapped up in appearing wealthy.

The thing that didn't make sense to me was that she agreed to go on the Suze Orman show at all, as this pretty much announced to the world that she's faking her lifestyle, and is broke.

When she mentioned getting a job to bail them out of their situation, like some have posted, I thought "huh?". What could she POSSIBLY do that would bring in that kind of income right from the get-go???? She'd have to make a quarter of a million dollars a year to take care of that monthly deficit and make the minimum payments on that credit card debt with her after-tax income.

Meanwhile, the woman who was on this last show was the polar opposite. The first thing they did was cancel club memberships and give up the stuff most visible to her peers. And they weren't in nearly the dire straights that the 'woman in denial' was in!

[barcreperie]

Originally Posted by Allisonfaye

You probably just missed it. She said it was worth $2m and it was paid for so I am guessing you are probably right about what she will have to do. It's sad. My husband was saying at this point, there is no way she can afford life insurance on this guy. It is essentially going to cost a $1 for every $1 of insurance that they get. Kind of a dumb move.

Ah, I did miss that - thanks Allison! Yeah, I think Suze talked about life insurance on the husband, and said it would be cost prohibitive at his age. She did mention something about maybe considering a 5 year or so term policy, but she didn't really seem behind that idea either. Good that the wife has the home's value to fall back on, and that it's paid off.

[bhurry]

what channel does suze orman come on?

[lorihmatthews]

Originally Posted by bhurry

what channel does suze orman come on?

She's on CNBC, but of course the channel will vary based on the city where you live.

Here's her website:

http://www.suzeorman.com/

[Florasun]

Originally Posted by wisnowbird

It varies so much depending on where you live - I only bring home 60% & I'm not even contributing to a 401k right now :( In NYC we have to pay city taxes in addition to state & federal - that hurts.

I'm contributing to a 401k - I think I bring home just over 50%. I don't pay state income tax, but do have some medical and union dues deducted. I just signed up for catch-up payments to my 401k - it will be interesting to see how that affects my take home.

[LindaP]

Regarding her website, has anyone tried the offer of saving $100 each month for a year in that account and getting a bonus of $100 when that year is over? Did they come through? Do you think it's risky? I know so little about these things.

Linda

[cafire]

Originally Posted by LindaP

Regarding her website, has anyone tried the offer of saving $100 each month for a year in that account and getting a bonus of $100 when that year is over? Did they come through? Do you think it's risky? I know so little about these things. Linda

I did open a Save Yourself account at TD Ameritrade after seeing Suze Orman live at the "O You" (Oprah yearly event) that was held in San Francisco this year. When I joined, you only had to deposit $50 a month for a year to get the $100 at the end. Now you need to deposit $100 a month to get the $100 at the end. I am 4 months in so far. I was a little wary but so far so good, and she definitely made it very convincing by saying, "When else are you ever going to be guaranteed a 17% return on your money?" and it's true...definitely not gonna make that in interest any time soon!!!

Since seeing her live I have been TiVo-ing her show religiously every week and have been borrowing all her books from the library. Love her!!

I too would love to have that $230K in debt and $10K shortfall a month woman on the show again - talk about denial...it was almost painful to watch but it was still incredible to see that level of 'lying to yourself.' Particularly when she was like, "I like the things I have" and Suze responded by saying, "But you don't HAVE anything. You owe so much money that technically you don't OWN anything that you have right now." Wow.

The woman on this week's show had a REALLY good attitude, despite the loss of so much money (a loss of $5 million is a LOT to swallow). I wish them the best. I know that I am afraid of making financial mistakes with investing and things like that...but it does just go to show you that nobody cares about your money more than you do, and it's really hard to gauge who you can trust. That's why I really appreciate having someone like Suze Orman giving advice, because you really feel you can trust her as she doesn't have a vested interest in what you do with your money (ie. making a commission off it, etc).

I've tried to watch Dave Ramsey. Just can't get into his show.

[Bagpuss]

Did you see her (230k) weatherized plasma TV's out on the patio?
I don't think she'll be coming back for another show.
I watched Suze's webcast on Oprah.com on Thursday night- she got attacked by an unhappy restaurant owner for telling people not to eat out for a month. I thought she held herself well and by the end of the conversation had him smiling again.

[Allisonfaye]

Originally Posted by Bagpuss

Did you see her (230k) weatherized plasma TV's out on the patio? I don't think she'll be coming back for another show. I watched Suze's webcast on Oprah.com on Thursday night- she got attacked by an unhappy restaurant owner for telling people not to eat out for a month. I thought she held herself well and by the end of the conversation had him smiling again.

Haha. We'll just start referring to that lady as "$230k".

Suze was on 20/20 the other night recommending that EVERYONE divulge how much they make. I thought it was kind of stupid. Her rationale was that it would clarify things and there would be no shroud of mystery and there would then be equitable pay. I have to disagree with this. I think it would make for hard feelings. While I agree that there is still a variance between women and men's pay rates, I think that the majority of pay discrepancies can be attributed to factors that are harder to quantify. Suze told us that she made $6m last year and expects to make $10M this year. Personally, I think she just wanted to brag about what she made. Well, she DID get her start on Oprah, afterall.