Some time back I made some remarks on my main site regarding some of Suze Orman’s advice. Long enough ago that it now has been moved to The Archives. A regular reader of mine wrote that those posts appeared to be mean spirited, and I edited to change their tone a bit and also stopped with new posts in that direction.
Now, I just had the opportunity to see a CNBC special she did for Martin Luther King Jr. day when my recorder is set to record Kudlow & Co. I must say, she was right on the mark with one great answer after the next.
- Do I pay off the small balance or high interest credit cards first? She replied,”Anyone who tells you to do anything but pay the high interest cards first is an idiot!” Well, right on, Suze. I’ve said this is the one flaw of the ‘debt snowball‘, and I’m glad you agree.
- She advised to deposit enough to one’s 401(k) to capture the company match. Again, I’ve been preaching the same message.
- She advocates Roth for those starting out and how it can serve double duty as an emergency fund, exactly as I remarked last month in my post ‘Roth Magic‘.
- Lastly, she stated most emphatically, that the only people Variable Annuities were good for was the salesmen who sold them.
- I’ll also admit that even though I disagree that one should ever invest 20% of their money in gold, Suze called it right in her advice of July 2006. Gold was about $640 then, $925 now.
I don’t know if she changed her approach a bit or I just happen to catch a good show, but today I liked what I saw.
JOE
I like Suze when she sticks to finances. Her advices seem to differ from others’ mostly in the details, but overall she’s always struck me as down-to-earth. One perhaps couldn’t get rich after her tips, but would definitely not become poor.
Now, when she steps into “counseling” the callers, whether about what they should buy or about who they should marry, she’s a terrible bore.