Suze Orman on the financial mistakes women make, why she doesn't order coffee

Personal finance expert Suze Orman talks with Mika Brzezinski about how women can avoid making financial mistakes after the age of 50 and the state of the U.S. economy at the 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi.


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Suze Orman on the financial mistakes women make, why she doesn't order coffee

#KnowYourValue #SuzeOrman #MSNBC

[sarahblade]

Besides Starbucks, Alcohol is also a waste of money, bad for your health & risky.

[nancykoeppen]

Starbucks at one time was a wonderful employer with health care for even part-time employees. I stopped buying Starbucks when they stopped treating employees well.

[frenchiesaparis]

Buying a cup of coffee from a local cafe supports local businesses ☕️

[everydaytwiceonsundays]

What breaks my heart every time is what happens to women who gave decades of their lives to take care of their family when their husband dies or decides to split, and they are now alone, with nothing to their name, no savings, sometimes homeless.

[nancykoeppen]

Why isn’t Suzie calling out the price gauging by mega corporations?

[tbnwovc]

I wish Suzie would acknowledge what is actually happening, it's called Corporate Greed!!! The corporations are the reasons why prices are high at the grocery stores, etc.

[grod]

There are hundreds of worse things to spend your money on than Starbucks. And this is me talking as someone who only goes there once a year or so. I bet Suze spends more getting her hair done than most people spend at Starbucks

[eponymousIme]

Suze makes some very good points. But I think the "Starbucks" take-away is: be realistic and mindful about your guilty pleasures. Suze may not pay for coffee or restaurant meals, but she obviously likes nice jewelry. That's fine! She chooses one thing over another. I recall former NYC Mayor/billionaire Michael Bloomberg also saying he preferred to "brown bag" his lunches instead of eating out. He really ticked off the NYC restaurant owners. 🙂

When I stopped to figure out how much I was spending on dance lessons + dances, I was shocked. However. . . I was getting good cardio exercise 3-4 times a week, challenging my brain as I learned new steps and routines, was making social connections and new friends, and basically enjoying the heck outta myself. (All of which also contribute to good health, which saves medical expenses in the long run.) Dancing frequently was cheaper than a gym membership and also improved my sleep. I make my own coffee and meals at home, and I volunteer at arts organizations, which means I can see the shows and concerts for free. It's all about the trade-offs. Kinda like where you're going to "spend" your daily calorie allotment. ;-)

Bottom line: _know_ how much you're spending on coffee, dining out, travel, transit, entertainment, etc. And then do the calculations to determine if you really need a luxury car + frequent dining out + costly vacations + expensive entertainment. Be brutally honest about whether your spending choices are serving you well for your future needs. Suze alluded to it, but didn't say it explicitly: your ruminations about the future should really embrace worst-case scenario thinking by the time you hit your 50s. What IF I'm all alone, my friends/partner/spouse/family are gone, I no longer have a steady paycheck, and I have serious and costly health issues? What if I lose my housing? What would I do? What are the options?

Money may not buy happiness, but it certainly helps smooth out a bumpy road when life hands you surprises.

[whitmichelletv]

I’m not going to stop going to a coffee shop. I manage my money well, and invest money intensively.

[thihal]

It’s ok to buy Starbucks and other indulgences once in a while especially if you don’t have much indulgences

[yveeriksson]

As a European, I must say Starbucks is not good. If you love coffee make your own, but sometimes buy is at an Italian or Spanish bar / café. Yum!

[LD-pwoq]

Will listen to Suze's podcast. Thank you Mika for this great interview! You're wonderful! Women, listen up for your future financial protection! These women are on your side. :)

[janebishop]

Far from wealthy and would never buy Starbucks. If wealthy I would never buy it. Nor do I buy beverages with a meal because they are way overpriced when looking at the restaurant's cost.

[casamequite]

The biggest financial mistake women make is getting pregnant by a deadbeat father.

[gnirolnamlerf]

Now, could Ms. Orman explain _why_ nearly half of Americans can't afford to pay in cash for even a relatively minor emergency? How is it possible that the overall economy is doing great but most Americans are not? I mean, when she talked about individual suffering, I almost shouted, "Duh!" But does Trump have it right that it is poor people and immigrants who are sucking all the wealth away from middle-class Americans? Really? If that's not correct, then what is? The average productivity of each American adult is $100, 000 a year. Is that what everyone is making? Why is the hedge fund manager becoming a billionaire while nearly half the country doesn't have a spare $500? Why, indeed, is Suze Orman worth $75 million? What exactly does she do that is more important to the nation than what the family farmer or bus driver does? If she doesn't have the answers to those questions, excuse me, but of what use is she as a financial expert? Exactly what skill besides promoting herself, just like Trump, does she have?

Ms. Orman is just pointing out the obvious. How did we get to the point where there is such unequal wealth distribution? How did we get to the point where we don't need family farmers but we need hedge fund managers? And under what system, apparently not capitalism and not communism, both of which are failing or have failed to provide for all the people where each has been tried, can we do better?

It would be nice if Ms. Orman would stop telling us the obvious and saying she doesn't know why it's happened. Worries about war? That's not exactly rocket science either.

As for not wasting money, did that outfit Ms. Orman is wearing come from her own efforts at her own sewing machine? If not, why not? Wasn't it a waste of money to buy it in a boutique? American women used to make the clothes for the family. If she made all her own clothes, how much more money would she have today? Is that what she thinks American women should have to do, like 100 years ago? If so, why should most American women and not Suze Orman? If she had to make all her own clothes, would she have as much free time to write, lecture, show up in Abu Dhabi and accumulate $75 million? She doesn't buy coffee out? Fine. Does she do all her own cooking or does she have a maid? Isn't the maid a waste of money? If she did all her own cooking and cleaning like most Americans have to do, would she have as much free time to write, lecture, show up in Abu Dhabi and accumulate $75 million?

[donnaallgaier-lamberti]

I am now age 73 and I NOW know exactly where I made my mistake and that was to leave my 24-year-marriage at age 46 with no financial support. I had stayed home to support his career and to raise our two sons, born in 1973 and 1975 21 month's apart I was emotionally bullied and brainwashed by this man into thinking that I cold go out and make a big salary without years of experience. I had $10, 000 saved from my small homebased business and knew I needed a new roof and I had to choose between putting on that roof or paying for a lawyer. I choose the roof and a non-contested divorce. This has effected the rest of my life. This was 1985 and there were few resources for helping a woman get a fair square deal after such a long marriage and my ill health (disabling endometriosis.) I paid a huge price for my inexperience and lack of knowledge.

[casamequite]

$5 per day at Starbucks is $150 per month. If you decided instead to put your $150 each month into an S&P500 index fund from age 25 to 65 you would end up with $1, 500, 000. This is why I make Folgers at home for 5 cents a cup. Clear enough????

[dianagross]

I rarely get Starbucks and don't order coffee at the restaurant if it's expensive. Water is my preferred drink at restaurants

[B]

She is delusional. I go without everything . No television no coffee, nothing. My truck is twenty years old ect. It doesn't help. Now I have nothing to look forward to. No credit cards. I think she lives in a fantasy world.

[dianesmith]

Love hearing rich people telling poor people how to live.