# Suze Orman: can you afford it?



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Has anyone here ever watched any of her programs? I've seen a few of them through the years and always found her to be bright, articulate and well-spoken. My favourites are those call-in shows where the caller gives a financial summary (she even did this on a couple episodes of Oprah) and then Suze reviews it in real time and answers the question 'Can you afford it?'

IMO, society needs people like this to educate its citizens because schools and parents are clearly doing a poor job of teaching people how to manage their money. More people like Suze!

Discuss.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

um, yeah, it is overly simplistic. nice for good old americanism, but really, let the teachers and parents do a poor job. it makes the rest of us relatively rich!

I like profiting from their spontaneous purchases...


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## stinsont (May 29, 2009)

sprocket1200 said:


> um, yeah, it is overly simplistic.


agreed!


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## moneymusing (Apr 3, 2009)

There's a big difference between being able to afford something and it whether or not someone should buy something. 

I just finished up Freakonomics. I know the original has been out for some years now, but it really makes some interesting points around the idea of incentives.

An example I see a LOT of are people going to work in Alberta and coming home with new trucks, bikes, and more debt than when they left. They are worse off then they were before they left.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

moneymusing said:


> There's a big difference between being able to afford something and it whether or not someone should buy something.
> 
> I just finished up Freakonomics. I know the original has been out for some years now, but it really makes some interesting points around the idea of incentives.
> 
> An example I see a LOT of are people going to work in Alberta and coming home with new trucks, bikes, and more debt than when they left. They are worse off then they were before they left.


It would be nice to have a thread on the Freakonomics.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I read something else one time that just like you have an internal temperature you also have a set money point as well. 

If you find yourself broke all the time you have to raise your "money thermostat" before you can save. 

i have seen lots of people like this. No matter how much they make they are always broke or worse in the red.


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## bigcake (Apr 3, 2009)

moneymusing said:


> There's a big difference between being able to afford something and it whether or not someone should buy something.
> 
> I just finished up Freakonomics. I know the original has been out for some years now, but it really makes some interesting points around the idea of incentives.
> 
> An example I see a LOT of are people going to work in Alberta and coming home with new trucks, bikes, and more debt than when they left. They are worse off then they were before they left.


They got more debt might because they had better expectation of future income.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

Just for fun, I watched one. The guy wants to buy a new $120K Corvette. He would take out $120K off his $150K savings. Maybe the guy has been told he has only a few months to live? It would explain why he does not care about his finances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BwEtcnpFsQ


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I used to be a fan of Suze Orman, but I find that lately she has become trite and too full of herself and lets her personal opinions weigh far too heavily on the "Can you afford it" segments. For example, on one episode she told one couple, with fairly modest means, that they could afford an extremely expensive kitchen makeover and told another fairly wealthy couple that they couldn't afford some relatively modest priced item (I forget what it was - just remember that it was well within their budget). With the first couple, I would have advised them to go ahead with the kitchen reno but in a more economical fashion (I think the cost was in the neighborhood of $50000). With the second couple, I don't think it is up to her to judge the appropriateness of an item because getting pleasure from an expense can be very individual. She should only judge whether they can afford it.


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## bean438 (Jul 18, 2009)

Berubeland said:


> I read something else one time that just like you have an internal temperature you also have a set money point as well.
> 
> If you find yourself broke all the time you have to raise your "money thermostat" before you can save.
> 
> i have seen lots of people like this. No matter how much they make they are always broke or worse in the red.



I think they call that lifestyle inflation. I have friends that earn 3-4 times what I do, and other than having a bigger house, and "nicer" (define nicer?) cars, they haven't got the pot to **** in.

Earning big coin is nice, but like all things, it will come to an end someday.

I am thinking of the hockey player player who earned over 40 million and has nothing left.


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## Kalynn12 (Apr 20, 2009)

I must say that I find the segment of the show very entertaining but I have found that Suze has changed her rational of approving ppl since the markets tanked (especially her massive emergency fund requirements). 

I think that some people out there really need a show like this to keep their head on straight, like the lady who was on unemployment wanted to upgrade her wedding ring to a tune of 15 grand! 

I don't agree with some of her theories but again, any show that gets people to starting thinking about what they are spending, how they are spending and giving general financial education that people obviously haven't learned along the way to a huge audience that usually wouldn't be reached any other way can only do some good.


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