Money Book for the young fabulous and Broke

**missmanny** · 07-27-2008, 09:30 PM

I am usually a fan of Suze Orman, I like her TV show and generally don't mind her ideas, while I do think that she is a bit too credit focussed, when she talks to people she does advocate paying down their debt.

I will say though that I am not a fan of this book, there were chapter after chapter about how it is ok when you are young to finance college on Credit cards and student loans and then worry about paying it back later, with no real thoughts on what you should do to pay it back.

surely this isn't just me and it isn't very sound advice?

**Greebo** · 07-27-2008, 09:45 PM

I do not think it's very sound advice at all - she's a financial adviser who sees debt as a tool, while ignoring the inherent risk of having debt.

I think she has an excellent message to women about managing money, but I think in terms of specifics with credit, she's still off base.

One thing she does do is advocate 1 year emergency funds - and if you're going to keep having debt, well then you need a bigger emergency fund so you can keep making all those extra payments, I guess.

**missmanny** · 07-27-2008, 11:55 PM

Greebo, I agree with you,

I do like her concepts about women being more financially aware and protecting them selves especially if they don't make a wage and rely on their husband.

I do often find myself wary of her appraoch to credit and using it as a tool, I've also been a bit shocked with her suggesting that you should refinance your home if you have equity to include student loan debt si that if you claim bancruptcy you never have to pay them off...

I appreciate Dave Ramseys argument that not paying for things you get is tantamount to stealing and encouraging people to pay off their debts rather then thinking of ways to get out of paying them.

This is not to say that some people have legitimate reasons to claim bankruptcy, just that it strikes me as wrong to suggest that people do this sort of thing in preparation for this sort of situation so that they can get out of paying for things that they would have had to otherwise.

Having said that I will probably still continue to watch her show as a reminder to me of the things I need to do, so that I don't get into the situations that a lot of her callers do.

**FreebieGirl25** · 08-04-2008, 01:45 PM

Hmmmm.... I have read Suze's Young, Broke, and Fabulous... And she does NOT say to finance college on a credit card. She is referring to what to do if you did finance college on a credit card. Suze would NEVER recommend financing college on a credit card, because it is extremely bad advice.

**DJ1972** · 08-04-2008, 01:58 PM

I have read a couple of her books, eehh they were ok. I much prefer Dave Ramsey......of course, his voice doesn't remind me of fingernails on a chalk board like hers does either, so that could be part of it. Come to think of it, I liked her alot better before I heard her speak.

**Sonnenwende** · 08-06-2008, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by missmanny

Greebo, I agree with you,

I do like her concepts about women being more financially aware and protecting them selves especially if they don't make a wage and rely on their husband.

I do often find myself wary of her appraoch to credit and using it as a tool, I've also been a bit shocked with her suggesting that you should refinance your home if you have equity to include student loan debt si that if you claim bancruptcy you never have to pay them off...

I appreciate Dave Ramseys argument that not paying for things you get is tantamount to stealing and encouraging people to pay off their debts rather then thinking of ways to get out of paying them.

This is not to say that some people have legitimate reasons to claim bankruptcy, just that it strikes me as wrong to suggest that people do this sort of thing in preparation for this sort of situation so that they can get out of paying for things that they would have had to otherwise.

Having said that I will probably still continue to watch her show as a reminder to me of the things I need to do, so that I don't get into the situations that a lot of her callers do.

Eh, the student loan thing is slightly understandable. In normal cases in the US, student loan debt is absolutely not dischargable in a bankruptcy. The only way to get rid of it is to 1) Pay it off. 2) Die. 3) Become a vegetable. That's it. The standard of disability is so high that almost no one gets the exception. Since magical thinking gets you nowhere fast, it is best to have a back-up plan.

I am not saying you should skip out on your debts at all, just student loan debt is exceptional debt.

**Greebo** · 08-06-2008, 08:43 PM

The problems with student loans:
1) Risk - they aren't bankruptable - and if you don't finish school (not uncommon) you still owe the money. Imagine failing med school and owing $100,000+ in student loans for a degree you never got?
2) What the hell is the good of going to school for a degree for a job that pays $30,000 and coming out with $60,000 in student loans that will take you 20 years to pay off?

IMO, if education is an investment in the future, a student loan damages the investment significantly.

**missmanny** · 08-06-2008, 10:56 PM

Sorry Guys, I didn't mean to come across as being contraversial.

Freebiegirl25, I didn't say that she suggested it was a good idea, but she diefinately did say that it was OK as long as you were carefull, My thought was only that this is an irresponsible chain of thought. Imagine starting off your life fresh out of college with not just student loan debt but also crippling credit card debt.

I thought that she could have used a bit more imagination and come up with something out of the box instead of her tried and true, debt is your friend as long as you use it wisely.

these are just my feelings, and I appreciate that other people have different ones, I didn't mean to imply that her message was get debt and get through college, but more that it is OK to do this if you can't come up with anything else.