Top 110 Suze Orman Quotes

The foundation of a financial fresh start actually has nothing to do with money or specific financial dos and don’ts. The first, and most difficult, step is to absolve yourself and your spouse or partner of any guilt.

Here’s my gift-giving rule: Respect your current financial situation.

If you can’t afford the upkeep of your home, it makes no sense to do a reverse mortgage. You will just end up having to sell eventually when you realize you can’t afford the home, and whether you have any equity left after the sale depends on the size of the reverse loan that must be settled.

If you are worried about job security and do not have an adequate emergency fund (ideally eight months’ worth of living expenses stashed away in a federally insured bank or credit union), you need to focus more on saving money than paying down the balance on your credit cards.

The advantage of online banking is that you can pay bills superfast, and your account is automatically credited or debited for each deposit and payment, making it easier to stay on track.

Opt for a fixed-rate rather than an adjustable-rate mortgage.

Sometimes your mind lets you do things with your money that make no sense.

If a child, a spouse, a life partner, or a parent depends on you and your income, you need life insurance.

Anything that gets people to think harder about their financial security and take some responsibility is a good thing.

True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share.

Money is such an amazing teacher: What you choose to do with your money shows whether you are truly powerful or powerless.

If you’re going down the street and you’re going the wrong way, remember – God permits U-turns.

Financial advice needs to change according to what is happening in the economy.

People have got to learn: if they don’t have cookies in the cookie jar, they can’t eat cookies.

Consider a 15- or 20-year fixed-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year, if you can afford the monthly payments – they may not be as high as you think.

You must recognize, embrace, and be honest about what is real for you today and allow that understanding to inform the choices you make. Only then will you be able to build the future of your dreams.

If you pay off your mortgage before retirement, you take a huge financial load off your shoulders. You also become eligible to take out a reverse mortgage once you turn 62.

If you wait until your children are high school seniors to spring it on them that there’s not a whole lot of money for school, they won’t have too many options.

Give a portion of your money to others. By releasing an anxious grasp on your money, you will open yourself to receive all that is meant to be yours.

People often panic when the markets go down and sell off their stocks – but then they aren’t in the game when the markets are doing well.

The foundation of a financial fresh start actually has nothing to do with money or specific financial dos and don’ts.

Time is key to building your financial security.

Money is kind of just like air – if you don’t have air, you can’t breathe. If you don’t have money, I don’t think you’ll want to breathe – you won’t want to live.

When you lose something in your life, stop thinking it’s a loss for you… it is a gift you have been given so you can get on the right path to where you are meant to go, not to where you think you should have gone.

I want to be clear here: It does not matter what you say in your will or trust; the beneficiary document attached to your IRA accounts and your life insurance policy overrides what you say elsewhere. If you want to change the beneficiary, you must change the beneficiary document.

I want to work with the Philippine people and make life better there; there are systems I can work with.

If the only way you can build an emergency fund is to pay the minimum due on your credit card, that is what you need to do.

Owning a home is a keystone of wealth – both financial affluence and emotional security.

Raise your auto and home deductibles to $1,000 or more, and your premium cost falls at least 10 percent.

If you make any trades during the year, keep a record of each transaction for at least three years.

If you make time each month to give your money some attention, you’ll start the next year in fabulous financial shape.

You must trust yourself more than you trust others. Pay attention to your inner voice – it will tell you if how and in what you are investing is right for you.

They got married, they got divorced, and half their money goes out the window.

Credit unions are often a better deal than banks and tend to pay higher yields on deposits.

I love the Roth IRA. Tax-free income in retirement is a truly great deal.

Give to yourself as much as you give of yourself! This means you have to put yourself first.

The key to making money is to stay invested.

Cut back your spending now.

The middle class has disappeared. We have a highway to poverty and no roads coming out.

Get rid of debt now.

Never invest emergency savings in the stock market.

Remember: If the IRS suspects you haven’t reported income, it can challenge returns from the past six years. So if you are self-employed or have multiple income sources, hold on to six years of files to be absolutely safe.

I get so frustrated when people tell me it’s unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund, or have money saved for a home down payment, or pay off their $5,000 credit card balance.

The way to build your savings is by spending less each month.

Success is not how many zeroes your bank account has. It’s about making the most of the life you have.

A pile of bills and statements – whether paid or not – is a sign that someone is clueless about what’s coming in and going out.

Rather than saying, ‘My checking account is a wreck,’ change it to ‘I will learn how to track my spending and balance my checkbook.’

It may take you months or even a few years to build up an adequate emergency savings fund. That’s okay.

Private student loans should be avoided at all costs.

To enjoy a long, comfortable retirement, save more today.

We women know how to take care of everybody so well. But the one person we have written out of the equation is us.

Credit card issuers and HELOC lenders are like fair-weather friends: They cozy up to you in good times, but when the economy heads south, they abandon you faster than Usain Bolt runs the 100 meters.

Courage is not always about action. It takes courage to do nothing rather than do something that you do not believe in or understand.

Find $50 a month for savings. No excuses!

Make this the year you tackle that credit card debt once and for all.

The chances of a bank going out of business are extremely slim, but it’s always a good idea to spread around major sums so every penny is backed by insurance.

I am a big believer that orderliness begets wealth. A pile of bills and statements – whether paid or not – is a sign that someone is clueless about what’s coming in and going out. When you consciously open, read, and file away your bills and statements, you are connecting with your money and taking control of your life.

Understand and accept the cycles of money. The setbacks you may have today or next year will not keep you from financial freedom. If you hold on to your goals and dreams, you will get there.

The most important loan to pay is your student loan. It’s more important than your mortgage, car and credit card payments. You cannot discharge student loan debt in the majority of cases.

Like your home’s closets, your financial clutter needs an overhaul every now and again, and the payoff will go far beyond the psychic satisfaction of neatening up.

Recast your current problems into proactive goals.

Focus on what you have.

Structured settlements are a common way for people who have been injured to receive an insurance payout. The periodic payments provide ongoing income and reduce the risk of blowing a lump sum through poor financial choices.

It’s easy to underestimate the real cost of home ownership.

For seven years after college, I was a waitress at the Buttercup Bakery in Berkeley, and from there I got a job at Merrill Lynch as an account executive, from where I went to vice president of investments for Prudential-Bache Securities. I started my own firm in 1987.

I get mad when people give me presents. I don’t want them, I don’t need them.

I always knew that I would have to make it on my own somehow.

I think they’ve been baby bummers.

The less you have to think about how to spend every dollar, the more likely you are to spend wisely.

Pay off your mortgage before retirement, and that’s one less bill you’ll have to worry about when you’re on a fixed income.

There is nothing more beautiful than a confident woman.

It’s not what you make, but how you feel about what you make and what you spend.

Remember what I always say: people first, then money, then things.

The world needs another vehicle to get people to pay in cash.

While a reverse mortgage can indeed be a viable way to generate income, it is very important to understand that after you take out a reverse mortgage, you will still be responsible for paying the property tax, the insurance premium, and all the maintenance costs for your home.

One journalist estimated my liquid net worth at $25 million. That’s pretty close. My houses are worth another $7 million.

You should keep a copy of your tax return indefinitely, but you need to save supporting documents for only three years.

I have never been a fan of bond funds. Unlike a direct investment in an individual bond that you can hold to maturity and be assured you will get your principal back (assuming no default), a fund has no finite maturity date and most funds are actively traded.

I’m a big advocate of a work-for-pay setup rather than an allowance that isn’t attached to chores – it’s a great way to impart the value of money to your children.

Many people are in the dark when it comes to money, and I’m going to turn on the lights.

If you’re financially responsible, your children have a much better chance to grow up financially responsible.

The prenup needs to be drawn up months before the wedding, not days – it’s not something you slap together and sign in the car on the way to the ceremony. A shotgun prenup might not hold up in court.

Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.

Money you won’t need to use for at least seven years is money for investing. The goal here is to have your account grow over time to help you finance a distant goal, such as building a retirement fund. Since your goal is in the future, money for investing belongs in stocks.

If you’re saving for the long run, it’s actually a good thing when the market is down because the more shares you have, the more you can potentially make when markets rise. And over time – decades, not months – the markets rise more than they fall.

Who would you want to be giving you advice? Somebody who doesn’t have any money?

Once your kids are grown and you know that you’re completely healthy, consider canceling your life insurance policy.

We never had it as rough as the kids have it today. Look at the price of a gallon of gas or a piece of real estate or a college education.

I generally encourage people to make good on debts when they have enough money to repay them. But once a delinquency has been reported to a collection agency, paying it off won’t help your FICO score. The damage has already been done, and the blemish will remain on your credit report for seven years.

If you’re not staying on top of your money, you are putting your financial well-being at risk.

It pays to be a fee fiend.

The only way you will ever permanently take control of your financial life is to dig deep and fix the root problem.

It’s impossible to map out a route to your destination if you don’t know where you’re starting from.

My greatest pleasure is still flying private. I spend between $300,000 to $500,000, depending on my year, on flying private.

Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward your emergency savings.

Those carrying a credit card balance should scale back to making the minimum payment each month so they have more money to put into savings.

A cash advance on a credit card is one of the worst types of borrowing because the interest rate is typically 21 percent or more.

Estate planning is an important and everlasting gift you can give your family. And setting up a smooth inheritance isn’t as hard as you might think.

Happiness is not a luxury. It is a necessity. When we are happy, we are in the best possible place to be good to ourselves and those we love.

Take free money. No matter how in debt you are, if your employer offers a matching contribution on a 401(k) or other retirement vehicle, you must sign up and contribute enough to get the maximum company match each year. Think of it as a bonus.

A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life.

In order to create lasting security you must learn to stand in your truth.

I do not think I am successful just because I have money. I’m successful because I love who I am and I have no regrets, and I’m successful because I have a great heart and I have compassion and I care and I would be happy with or without money.

So many financial dreams are thwarted by the failure to act upon good intentions.

Sometimes poverty is the greatest gift you can ever be given. Sometimes loss is the key that leads you to gain.

Thoughtful financial planning can easily take a backseat to daily life.

The last thing family and friends want is for you to spend money on them that you don’t have or that you can’t really spare.

There is no law saying you have to die before your assets can be passed to loved ones. In fact, gifting earlier can be a lovely way to witness how your money helps your family thrive.

If you’re going to live in the house make it your goal to just pay off your mortgage.

Cash – in savings accounts, short-term CDs or money market deposits – is great for an emergency fund. But to fulfill a long-term investment goal like funding your retirement, consider buying stocks. The more distant your financial target, the longer inflation will gnaw at the purchasing power of your money.