Personal finance expert Suze Orman is a two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, a best-selling author and she’s been called a “one-women financial advice powerhouse” by USA Today. So whether you need suggestions for paying off debt, strategies for getting a jump-start on retirement planning, or a dose of financial reality, she tells it like it is, and doesn’t apologize for her no-nonsense approach.
Suze’s advice is direct and duplicatable, and her philosophy is simple: “people first, then money, then things.” This quote is one of her most recognizable pearls of wisdom, but she doesn’t stop there.
No matter your financial life stage, these six quotes by Suze Orman can put you on the path toward a brighter financial future.
1. “Spend half of what you earn.”
Suze advises living off half your income and saving the rest — which is such a simple concept, yet one of the hardest things to do. Living beneath your means makes it easier to save an eight-month cash reserve, pay off debts and better prepare for retirement. This strategy makes perfect sense, but it often falls on deaf ears, with many people spending far more than 50% on their income every month.
Make Room, a non-profit group focusing on rental affordability, “estimates more than 11 million families, or 1 in 4 of the 42 million U.S. renter households, spend at least half their income on rent.” Add in the costs of utilities, food, insurances, etc., and living expenses for some of these households can easily skyrocket to more than 100% of their income.
2. “Look at what you have, not at what you had, such as a job, a house, a hefty 401K account, etc.”
Life knows how to throw us curveballs. We can be at the top of our game with a cushy salary, a nice house and money in the bank. But it only takes one pink slip to flip our financial world upside down and lose everything we’ve worked so hard for.
Getting back on your feet after a setback requires getting your head back in the game, but it’s hard to pull yourself together when you’re angry, guilty or embarrassed about a situation.
You don’t have a magic wand to rewind the hands of time. You can, however, stage the biggest, baddest comeback ever and rebuild your life. Attitude is everything. So stop focusing on what you don’t have or what you used to have. Focus on what you do have — and what you can have in the future.
3. “Not knowing when to let go can destroy you.”
And while we’re on the topic of financial ups and downs, Suze offers straight-forward advice for keeping your head above water as you bounce back from tough times: know when to let go.
[wp_ad_camp_3]
We know you love your house, your cars and vacations. But it’s much harder to pull yourself out of a financial hole when you’re hanging onto a lifestyle you can’t afford.
4. “Invest in yourself.”
You have more power than you give yourself credit for. So if you hate your job, or the fact that your credit card is your primary emergency backup plan, do something about it.
Some people devote all their time and energy to helping their employers thrive and get very little in return. If you’re sick of the rat race and the paycheck-to-paycheck rut, flip the script and start investing in yourself.
Whether it’s going back to school, starting a business or getting into a routine of paying yourself first, the first step to getting ahead is making yourself a priority.
5. “No one rescues us – except ourselves.”
Some women patiently wait for prince charming to come along and make it all better, and others think an inheritance will solve their money woes. To each his own — but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
If your credit sucks and your credit cards are maxed out, it’s ultimately your responsibility to fix your own financial messiness. You can’t undo this type of damage overnight, but you might make headway with financial education, a realistic plan and patience. Plus, when you acknowledge your mistakes and become a problem-solver, you’re less likely to repeat the past.
6. “Good people everywhere will like you for who you are, not for what you have.”
You can be a strong-mind, independent woman, yet deep inside you might feel that living in a particular neighborhood, driving a certain type of car and shopping at specific stores is your VIP pass to hang with the “cool” girls. The labels you tote and wear might impress or catch the eye of some people, but no lifestyle is worth draining your savings account or getting into debt. If people only like you because of what you have (or what they think you have), it’s time to widen out and make new friends.
I don’t always agree with what she has to say, but that is great advice. Investing in yourself is so important.