
Let me start off by saying, Suze Orman is my hero. If you are not familiar with her, you may recognize her from her
website. She is a financial wizard and is able to break it down in a way that I understand. Hence the reason I think she is wonderful ;)
Several years ago, I was having issues falling asleep and on Public Television I saw a special where she was talking to a large audience about their finances. This is always a difficult subject matter and I think pure confusion on the topic has lead this country down a road of foreclosures and empty pockets at retirement. Anyway, her motto was "People First, Then Money, Then Things". Basically she is say to protect your family, then your money then assets. It's quite simple when she explains yet all of my life, I got the sweats when I even thought about 401Ks, CDs, savings, Money Market Accounts...you name it. Why are so many women in the dark when it comes to money and financial issues?
I have yet to cross a male in my life that does not have somewhat of an understanding of where his money is invested and why. When I think back, I realize that I never was taught about this in school or by my father. In the past, was it just assumed that it would not be my issue to address? Maybe there are a lot of males in the dark on this topic but just don't express it. I am really not sure, I would like to hope males are not expressing their lack-of-knowledge because that would make me feel better from a female standpoint.
Recently, Suze spoke to an all female audience about debt and finances, and it scared the s**t out of me. There were so many women in the audience who were co-signers on homes and cars, had debt coming out of their ears and basically had no plan for the future or retirement. After hearing their questions and comments I realized I was not the only one in the dark and it triggered me to do something about it. I bought her book
"The Young, Fabulous and Broke" and took a long hard look at my money. Although I am married and my husband has his own investments and stocks through work, that was not enough insurance for me. I wanted to have my own. I educated myself on Money Market accounts and now have a series of investments, which I contribute to monthly. Let me tell you, it feels wonderful and since the money is taken out of my bank account at the same time every month, I don't even feel it missing. I also realized that once you're educated, it is not that scary. It is important to ask people, get several opinions, review websites and books but at the end of the day, make your hard earned money work for you and your family.
If you do not have time to read up on this topic now, let me give you the Cliffs Notes from what I learned from Suze-
1) Think about your money - you work hard for it and it should be there when you need it
2) Be smart with credit cards - think long and hard about paying $200 for a $50 pair of shoes after interest. Sometimes things are worth the wait
3) Don't be made to feel guilty about co-signing or loaning people money - I understand your boyfriend may really want that car or your son may want to get this great condo but if you are responsible, that can ruin your life and credit for a long time
I would like to hear about where you learned about investing?
Do you know about investing?
Do you have your own investments for retirement or are they combined with your spouse?
Do you feel it is not important to have a 401K or a zero balance on your credit cards?