Suze is the best ;)

at dispensing useless financial drivel for the un-informed

I don't get the continual trashing of Suze Orman by you, Dave and qdognj. That's pretty presumptious of you qdognj to assume that because you find her information "useless" that other people will too. Just because both of you are so sophisticated and wealthy that Suze's information is useless to you, did you stop to consider that not everyone is in your position and may learn a thing or two from her? She's not a complete moron. And I'm sure she's probably doing a little better financially than either of you. "And the moron laughs all the way to the bank!"

sephia, you hit the nail on the head:

And I'm sure she's probably doing a little better financially than either of you. "And the moron laughs all the way to the bank!"

and the REASON is the people that PURCHASE her drivel..And moron is your words,not mine,but if the shoe fits....

And i'll save you the cost of her next book, stop eating at restaurants,have 1 year of savings set aside in case of layoff,stop drinking COFFEE ,as you have already taken her advice of stop drinking Lattees,so she needs a new piece of advice,lol..

qdognj - I don't understand how you can speak for other people. Did it ever occur to you that there are people in the world who think differently than you? That there are people who may not be very financially saavy? Apparently there are people who do need the advice that Suze advocates - otherwise credit card debt wouldn't be sky high, people wouldn't be using their HELOCs to get by, etc. Right or wrong, not everyone has the smarts to stop eating at restaurants, to have a year of savings set aside, to stop drinking lattes, etc., and to know to address their credit card debt first.

You know, I don't like how Suze delivers her message - her show does have too much drama for me, but I think the basic underlying message she tries to convey is valuable for folks who just aren't very knowledgable about their finances, for whatever reason. Those are the people Suze is hopefully helping.

I referred to her as a moron because that is what your attitude attempts to portray her. She must be doing something right - she found a niche that you nor I have found.

Where can I find a nice spot like that (at an "adequate" rate of pay)?

But - I wouldn't last - not dramatic, glitzy, etc. enough, I fear.

Heck - some of us even give it away here, for free.

o j

OJ,you provide more info in your posts then Suze does in her 1 hour show,lol...

I know of several folks who would benefit from what Suze says, if they would just take the time to listen to what she has to say. Yes, I could tell them the same things, but they would likely think, "What does Sue know anyway?"

These are folks I know who have never realized that all those little things that "don't cost that much" all add up in the end. These are folks who do not have their priorities in order, ie "People First, Then Money, Then Things." They stay in a constant state of being broke because 'things' have been more of a priority than 'money'.

I can remember back when I was a teen, and always broke. My excuse was that I didn't make enough money to be able afford to save anything. My boss at the time, who was quite motherly to a lot of us youngsters, suggested I start into buying savings bonds via the payroll savings plan. As she explained to me, if the money was deducted before I received my paycheck, I would likely not even notice it was gone. She was right, and I bought bonds for as long as my employer had the bond plan in place. Years later I was able to cash them out and the money helped a lot at paying for the house I had built. Btw, with all the savings I was able to gather together, and having a small mortgage, the house was paid off in less than 15 years...maybe even in 10.

Sue

Suze Orman threads make for interesting reading and discussion on a forum, but it's like Global Warming - you believe it or you don't and never the twain shall meet.

For those who need Suze, she's certainly out there. For those who don't, the reasons why are always regarded as impolitic.

My only fault with her is the huckster-like atmosphere; the pep rally empowerment by "speaking your name and discovering who you are"; the seminars at a cost with a full compliment of books and tapes - and, I don't care if Oprah gives them away free or they can be downloaded, yadda, yadda.

Really useful advice, really useful financial "mentoring" comes from what Sue described in her employer's suggestion of the over time, payroll deduction purchasing of Savings Bonds. Sue had a house in the end rather than a Mason jar filled with latte money.

Did anyone click thru to one of the other links on that article? See below, I found it amusing.

I don't mind Suze at all. I think she has a place and if she has what appeals to the masses who need it the most, that's a good thing. I have seen her enough to know that she does say the same thing over and over and you don't need to see that much of her to get the gist if you're actually paying attention.

Is there anything (radio, tv) fairly mainstream that does delve into deeper financial details? I admit I haven't looked and everyone here always seems to have great knowledge...my issue with Suze is once you've done A,B,C she's got nothing for you. At least not right now since she is so busy doing that kind of counseling for the moment.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Gravest Risk to Your Retirement is Oprah

S.O. has a few personal finance management 'truths' that she preaches in a manner that is either educational, inspirational, entertaining, forgetable or just plain irritating.
Personally, I prefer to read and listen to Ric Edelman for more in-depth financial advise.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ric Edelman

Eric Tyson is my guy (For Dummies series). I would guess a lot of the same info but without the show biz hype. However lots of people need the glitter to sustain attention. These are not sophisticated people to begin with. So if Suze is a kind of flashy financial mommy (see chemocurl's post) who gets the message across to at least some people, what's wrong with her method? We all whine a lot about non-savers dragging the rest of us down...so anything that helps them helps us. Re Suze we should sit down and shut up unless we want to get out there ourselves and do better somehow. So just don't watch it.

Talking the talk is one thing ...

... walking the walk is something else!

Question: What's better than putting our money into the bank?

Answer: Buying the bank ( ... well, a piece of it) ...

... well, usually.

Actually, might be a good idea, even now, if it's Canadian.

Dollars were at par a while ago (Canadian Dollar overpriced, then) and about 78 cents U.S. buys a Canadian Dollar, now - many of us think underpriced, now.

Canadian banks about the solidest in the world, large drop in price from about 18 mos. ago, pay 5 - 8% div., good poss. of capital gain, plus good poss. of exch. gain, as many feel U.S. Dollar manipulated to look good vs. gold, other currencies.

Time will tell, won't it?

For disclosure ... I own shares in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (symbol: CM.TO on Toronto exchange), bought 42 years ago for about $4.17, paying about 12 cents annual div.

Price about June '07 $107.00 ... but they were heavily and doubly involved in the U.S. funny-bunny Mortgage Mess, price slid down through 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, into 40s ... now about $44.00. Div. increased fall '07 to $3.48, quite probably will be maintained: they want to avoid any more murder of their stock.

I'm considering buying a Canadian bank's shares (not that one).

I've been told myself, numerous times and have told others, lots of times ...

... that we can't take it with us.

I hope that you're enjoying your week.

ole joyful ... 80% invested in stocks or equivalents at 3 days short of 80

Quite a clique going on here. You are either disdainful of or condescending to those who find Suze helpful. Smug as a bug in a rug here. I like watching Suze because I learn things. Yes her message is repeated, but I was once a new viewer and every day someone is a new viewer. And sometimes basic lessons need to be repeated and re-learned. Actually I first saw Suze on a PBS fund raiser, and I learned you could pay your mortgage off early..you could actually call your mortgage company and change terms. In this forum you'll either pity me or condemn me for my stupidity. Everyone is stupid about something. Suze addresses the masses of people who do not know beans about money. Why this financially savvy clan even discusses Suze, I do not understand.

I don't watch Suze but have heard of her.

Cube, I believe you might have been referring to a rate adjustment - that's what we did - the terms of the mortgage stayed same, only the rate changed for the better, to lower fixed rate then what we had.

I wish I'd known about this sooner (wished I'd seen that episode - lol) - we found out about it quite by accident when a loan officer early last year (he looked young and new) exasperated at our attempts to refinance for reasonable terms, made casual mention of this.

It's not something the banks like to advertise though and we had to push really hard to get one with our current loan officer - but for a small fee, oftentimes you can be in good standing with your mortgage (rather then behind on payments) and still have the the rate ammended in your favor.

I also asked about our HELOC and also got a rate reduction as well. So that was a small victory, but a victory nevertheless.

We're planning on taking the amount we save and applying it against the principal of the mortgage.

So, you never know what you can learn on these shows...

She's an interesting character on TV, a big funny loudmouth. Fun to watch in the middle of the night when the only other thing on is infomercials. I wouldn't buy her books or want to see her in person, get it?