Photo courtesy of Glennia
"I'm proud that I make money, that I work hard, that I've created what I've created. But I can tell you this: I haven't hurt one person getting here." - Suze Orman
Oh really Suze?
I usually don't do this. I usually don't 'go after' someone in the public eye. But Suze Orman has pressed my final button, so I just have to get this off my chest.
Orman is considered to be the most recognizable personal-finance expert in the world. And quite possibly the most polarizing as well.
Now anyone who follows this blog knows that I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey's methods for eliminating debt and managing your finances. Not because I have a 'thing' for Dave, but first and foremost because he uses the Bible as a foundation for the principles he teaches. There is proven truth to what he says... he doesn't sugar-coat it, he doesn't water it down.
Suze on the other hand seems to "play to the crowd" a bit too much for my liking. She wont tell you what you NEED to hear all the time, because it may alienate you from being endeared to her.
I just read an article about her on Time.com called "The Queen of Crisis". I highly recommend checking it out. But I digress...
My biggest problem with Suze is that she's not afraid of credit. She wants credit to be your friend in turning your woes into wealth.
Last week I caught the 2am replay of Oprah. (Please don't ask...) Suze Orman was the guest of honor and she was answering every one's "tough" questions about this economy and their money. Questions like: "We're getting married this summer and we want to spend no more than $50,000. After our expenses each month we have about $500 leftover. How can we afford to make this happen?"
Suze told them that they couldn't afford it, but she then went on to tell them HOW they could afford it!
Oh, and how about the couple that wanted to remodel their kitchen and bathroom by taking out a $76,000 Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)? Suze said "Go for it!"
Whaaaa? Excuse me? Have you seen property values lately?
To me this is reckless! While we're facing the worst economic situation in the last 80 years, The world's foremost financial expert is on a show with possibly the widest viewership into the 'average American home' and she refuses to be a voice of reason against the mentality of trying to afford what you cannot afford?! Really? At a time like this?!
In the quote at the start of this post, she says she hasn't hurt one person getting to where she is... but I beg to differ. With advise like the variety she gave on Oprah, I shudder to think how many people she hurt in that hour alone. How many people did she just empower to continue to run their finances into the ground?
Ok, and one last question...
Why does she charge $80,000 per speaking engagement? Is her advice really that valuable? As I said before when it comes to the economy, our loss is apparently her gain.
Till next time,
@W
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