Suze Orman is allowing us to download another one of her books from Oprah's website without cost. I have to say - and this might shock those of you who know that Suze's over-the-top-super-intense behavior scares the crap out of me - I thought today's show was the most effective of Best Life Week thus far. After all my belly-aching about the past few days being clogged with the same-old-same-old information, I actually heard something I didn't know in this most recent episode. I guess this helps me see that people might hear new things in those diet/exercise shows that I find so boringly repetitive. I guess I just happen to be more educated in that area of life than in personal finance, where I'm a bit at sea. But, I expect most of us are, in this culture. I learned that once you pay your credit cards down, you shouldn't cancel them. I've been harping on Jim forever to get rid of the cards we don't use. But, I found out that the less debt you have, in comparison to your credit limit, the better your FICO scores. So, cool beans. We'll hold on them...but I might hide them from myself.
I thought I'd add something I've been feeling about Oprah...while I don't necessarily always appreciate her methodology or her presentation, I do appreciate her eagerness. I really do think she's trying to help. I know there are cynics out there who will probably hold me to task on this one, but after watching every single Oprah episode for a bit over a year now, I do think she's got the best of intentions. And yes, I know that old adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but I think it's worth noting that even Oprah's most misguided attempts at helping people are still attempts to help people.
I guess, if I look at things like this, then I can relate to her. My job is all about being of service to other people. Now, I can't control if my students think I'm a good teacher or the yoga-equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, all I can do is my best. I think Oprah is always just trying to do her best as well. So, our work couldn't be more different, our lifestyles, our communication methods, and our skill sets are like comparing apples and oranges. But, I think I've found another rare commonality between Winfrey and myself. Somehow, when I find these connections, I become less annoyed with her when she acts like she still has any sense of what it's like to be "one of us."
Ok. Having said that. I imagined that today folks might get a little irritated with Oprah repeatedly saying that it's her core belief that no matter how much we have in life, we all have enough, we have everything we need. Now, I do agree with this somewhat, and I understand what she was trying to communicate, in theory. Still, I did cringe to imagine a jobless person, sitting in a FEMA trailer in the Gulf Coast hearing this lesson come from a woman who has more homes than John McCain.
I believe this is where acquiescing to her experts might come in handy for Oprah. You know, allow THEM to be the experts that they actually are. She doesn't need to qualify everything they say with an affirmation that she has known the same information FOREVER and she hopes the rest of us come to understand it as well. Allowing them to dole out advice regarding their area of expertise might be received a bit better. Plus, it might be a sign of trust in her panelists. She can be the captain of the ship, without stepping in to navigate, hoist the sails, organize the galley and swab the deck as well. (Ok - how about a shout out for a sassy nautical metaphor coming from a gal who has lived in the midwest for 15 years?!)
Tomorrow is the final day of Best Life Week. It's a day of sex advice with Dr. Laura Berman. My fingers are crossed that I will not hear the "word" vajayjay come from Oprah's mouth. And I'd also like to hear (which I probably won't) Oprah mayyyyyybe mention her own sex life. Hey, she told us her weight, her dress-size and what medications she's taken in the past year. Why not a little pillow talk?
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12 comments:
LO, I agree with you that Oprah sincerely wants to help people. It’s very difficult to become as successful as Oprah unless you are passionate about what you do. I think Oprah has a genuine interest in helping people and has since childhood when for years she wanted to be a 4th grade teacher like Mrs Duncan. Even Dr. Phil said that Oprah has a genuine interest in helping people, that’s what motivates her. Indeed if it didn’t motivate her she would have retired a long time ago as she certainly doesn’t need the money.
As for Oprah saying that no matter how much we have in life, we all have enough; what Oprah’s really saying is that we don’t need money to be happy. She should know. She started life in extreme poverty and now she’s the richest African American of all time. She’s experienced both extremes of the financial spectrum. I actually think it’s an extreme humble thing for a billionaire to say, because what she’s really saying is that the guy pumping gas has just as much as she has, that her life is no better than his. Oprah understands that true happiness comes from within, which is why she’s always telling people to be grateful. She herself doesn’t always have the discipline to be grateful all the time, especially during periods of stress, and can sometimes get depressed, but gratitude is the goal she sets for herself and her viewers.
I love Suze Orman days! I think finances are one area where prescriptions and to do checklists are exactly the solution for financial issues. Do people really have a hard time not spending money for one day? Really? I think we went the whole week between Christmas and New Years without spending anything. We sometimes go for months without buying anything but groceries and I don't feel deprived or anything.. I sometimes wander around shopping at stores and enjoy looking at the shiny new things, but I don't have to go home with any of it...
Restaurants though... We always eat out at modest restaurants about 2 times a week. Sometimes I just need to get out of this house for an evening!
Oprah absolutely is a good person who often has excellent advice and genuinely is trying and many times succeeding at helping people. In many ways I feel so much luckier than Oprah because I don't live under any of the scrutiny she does. It is easy for me not to care about my old shoes or jeans that are saggy around my butt because no one is watching me for my style and sizing me up all the time.
I'm with you, LO - Suze Orman scares me. I can't watch her because I become too anxious. I think she's full of good advice, though.
I counsel homebuyers for a living, as well as people in foreclosure or people just wanting to repair their credit, and I'm learning new stuff all the time. Did you know that if you make TWO payments on your credit cards, 10 days apart, by the due date, you will raise your credit score much faster? And you can call your credit card companies to have your credit limit lowered, which will also raise your score.
morepower, if you don't work in PR, you should. and oprah should hire you. i'll write your letter of recommendation. :)
iamsusie, jim and i are the same with restaurants. we are good with money otherwise, but eating out is our one luxury. we don't even own a car because it's easier (and mroe economical) for us not to in the city. we just enjoy it so much that i don't know as we'll stop. sometimes we don't go - if we're saving for holiday gifts, for instance, but otherwise, we're not going to skip out on our thai food.
paula, AWESOME! thank you so much for the advice. i had no idea.
xoLO
Hi! I just discovered your blog a week ago and am enjoying it. I wanted to respectfully disagree with what Paula said about lowering your credit limits. I took a class several years ago online from The Motley Fool and your debt ratio is an important component to your FICO score so lowering your limit, especially if you're paying off a balance, would actually hurt your FICO score. Here is also another explanation http://frugaldad.com/2008/04/03/card-issuers-cut-limits-lowering-fico-scores/ I do agree with the two payment method that Paula suggests. If you cannot make two payments then sending the payment due as soon as you receive the statement instead of waiting for the due date is a big help as well.
I also agree that Oprah genuinely is interested in helping people. While some of the shows this week tended to ring hollow for me (I really liked shows of the past with Gary Zukav, Seat of the Soul author, etc) I thought today's show was good and that Susie toned it down a bit while still getting her point across.
I also think there may be something that Oprah still needs to heal from her emotional and sexual abuse from her youth which may affect her weight. Sometimes extra weight can be a protective layer whether a person is conscious about it or not. It would interesting to look back at what was happening in her life at the time her weight started creeping up again. Maybe there is a clue there. Anyway, just a thought.
Your writing and thoughts are valuable. To yourself, Oprah and friends as well as to us.
Cool.
Oh, about credit; took my partner from poor credit to excellent credit within about a year. One of the things to do was to keep credit cards that have low interest rates and perks. Closed unused credit cards; it's not only a temptation to use them for lots of reasons I'm sure you can think of but it's more baggage; if you keep the rest of the credit progress ongoing, closed credit cards aren't going to make a difference when all is said and done. It's of simplicity that I speak.
Hey, love you column and read it everyday. You'r into your flow.
Cool.
I got the most useful advice I've seen from Suze Orman, I've always liked her as a guest, but she made so much sense this time round.
Almost everything she said stayed with me which takes a lot of doing as I'm very easily distracted and have the memory of a.... thing with quite a bad memory. :)
I like how both she and Oprah tended to make us feel that it was going to be okay, no matter what our current financial situation.
I liked today's show too. I'm usually annoyed by Suze's agressiveness, but I felt like she had so much to say today that she didn't get weighed down with long rants or speeches. I did learn some new things.
As far as making payments early or making two payments, I'd just warn everyone to review your next payment due date carefully each month. A couple of years ago I paid a bill early (perhaps consistently) and it moved up my due date by several days. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally paid it late (which really bothered me since I'm very good about being on time).
I missed the show, but I love Suze. In my 20s, I carried some debt for nearly 5 years. I read her "9 Steps to Financial Freedom," did what she said, and paid off everything in 9 months. 10 years later, I'm completely debt-free (not even a car payment!) except for my mortgage.
I know her over-the-top style is not for everyone (I personally love it -- I pay attention!), but she makes sense, and she explains things in plain English.
LO, thanks for the tip on the free download! Just got it. -ms
I really enjoy listening about finances, and I actually like Suze Orman. Maybe I like her because I'm not too scared; I don't have debt, except for school loans, which I'm not paying off at the moment. I guess my parents taught me well, not to spend money I don't have.
I liked Orman's advice as well. It was really straight forward. For the first time I felt that Suze gave a step by step plan to being debt free/saving. You know how usually experts tell you what you should do, but they give so much info that you end up not knowing how to start.
Her expense sheet, that's on Oprah's site is also helpful for those who don't have an accounting system for their finances. http://www.oprah.com/article/money/personalfinance/pkgyourmoney/20081119_expert_suzeexpense
Pat, you're correct that the debt ratio is important, and you should not use more than 25% of your available credit. If you're lowering your credit limit while you have a high balance on that card, it will lower your score. Pay down the card to below 25% of available credit, and then call to lower the limit. It is better to have small amounts on 2 or three cards than one large amount on one card, but I don't recommend opening more cards to achieve that. Rather, pay down so that you can pay in full each month.
Anonymous, you are correct that in the process, small movements downward of your credit score are not going to matter because the general trajectory of what you are doing will bring it up. If you have a long row to hoe, it is discouraging to see those downward tics. I encourage people to leave lines of credit open, even if unused, if they reflect a good history. Destroy the card if you don't want to be tempted, but leave the line open if you need to show some good credit. If you're applying for a mortgage, the loan officer will tell you if that is hurting you, and then you should close them.
I have a question, why is it necessary to have someone making sure that the audience claps at certain points during a talk show?
Why should they applaud if they're not naturally moved to do so?
It's annoying because half the time it doesn't make sense.
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