The Biggest Waste of Money - Suze Ormn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Now I am very conservative with both. It is rare I buy a cup of coffee when I can make excellent coffee at home for a fraction of the price. I am picky about where I eat out and don't do it often, but it is a joy not to have to cook and to enjoy something I don't know how to make.

My parents were really frugal. Now so much money is getting thrown out the window as my sibling, random relatives and others try to get handouts and I can't prove cognitive decline enough to stop it.

Enjoy life within your means!

+1. Same situation. Parents never ate out, rarely bought new clothes, drove old cars, didn't travel until their later golden years. Now their money is being frittered away by their least productive children, on expensive clothes, food, drink and entertainment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Suze Orman, with a net worth over $75 million, says the biggest waste of money is eating out. She never eats out and will never buy a cup of coffee.

Isn't this quite shocking, even for a financial guru?

She "knows her audience."

[Anonymous]

People don't seem to be able to think. If you had $75M, wouldn't you hire a chef or maybe a team of such people to cook for you? An assistant to carry your food around? Why would you want to go a restaurant populated by the poors?

[Anonymous]

I did read the article but I’m not a follower. She was making a good point which is spend money on things that add value to your life and not on things that don’t. She’s not a fan of eating out but she is a fan of flying private. We don’t eat out very often but we do spend an obscene amount of money on three clubs. I shop at consignment shops but we fly first class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the same article she says her splurge is “private air travel.” I can eat out 1,000 times and still save more than she spends on one private air trip. On top of that, what exactly is she doing for food on all those trips with private air travel? Oh, right, eating out.

+1. She gets a meals included on those private flights, unlike the rest of us in coach that have to pay or bring our own.

The cost of that meal doesn't make up the difference in ticket price, obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the same article she says her splurge is “private air travel.” I can eat out 1,000 times and still save more than she spends on one private air trip. On top of that, what exactly is she doing for food on all those trips with private air travel? Oh, right, eating out.

+1. She gets a meals included on those private flights, unlike the rest of us in coach that have to pay or bring our own.

The cost of that meal doesn't make up the difference in ticket price, obviously.

It does if you really work hard in the lounge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suze Orman, with a net worth over $75 million, says the biggest waste of money is eating out. She never eats out and will never buy a cup of coffee.

Isn't this quite shocking, even for a financial guru?

Her choice.

But she isn't wrong. You can spend $.50 to make a great cup of coffee at home or pay $7 to get the same thing made for you. That's almost $200 savings per month per person.

I can shop at Whole Foods and make an extremely nice dinner for 4 for $30 (and a basic M-F dinner for $15 for 4). That same dinner in a restaurant would be $250 plus 20% tip.
Nice bottle of wine for $40-50 at home, same bottle would be $120-150 in restaurant.

Many rich people are surprisingly frugal. They don't just waste money because they have it.
They actively make decisions of what to spend their money on.

If you're rich and can't enjoy some food and wine at a restaurant, I don't even know what the point of being rich is. Just be poor in that case.

I think in her case, she's pointing out that those two things are places people "waste" money. And it is wasting money if you are not financially secure.
So sure, if you are rich go for it if that's what you want to do.

We are rich, and I still make coffee at home 99% of the time. I don't want to get dressed and walk/drive to get my coffee most days. I want to wake up, lounge around in PJs and make my coffee and enjoy it. I also realize I can make better coffee than 95% of the coffee shops (we order high quality coffee online that is roasted the day we order it, then we grind it ourselves as we use--we invested in a quality machine and grinder years ago that has long ago paid off), so sure I could afford to spend $400/month for us to drink coffee, but I'd rather put that towards dining out or flying first class or several bottles of wine or many other things that bring me pleasure. Basically, it seems like a waste of money to me to buy coffee from a coffee shop, so I only do it once in awhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suze Orman, with a net worth over $75 million, says the biggest waste of money is eating out. She never eats out and will never buy a cup of coffee.

Isn't this quite shocking, even for a financial guru?

Her choice.

But she isn't wrong. You can spend $.50 to make a great cup of coffee at home or pay $7 to get the same thing made for you. That's almost $200 savings per month per person.

I can shop at Whole Foods and make an extremely nice dinner for 4 for $30 (and a basic M-F dinner for $15 for 4). That same dinner in a restaurant would be $250 plus 20% tip.
Nice bottle of wine for $40-50 at home, same bottle would be $120-150 in restaurant.

Many rich people are surprisingly frugal. They don't just waste money because they have it.
They actively make decisions of what to spend their money on.

Example?

[Anonymous]

Eh, it's whether or not you overdo it. I think it's a waste to get Starbucks every day but the person I know who did made more than I did and lived alone. Maybe this was her outsourcing something whereas I outsource housecleaning and make my own coffee and tote it to work each day with my homemade lunch. But I like to meet a couple of my friends at Starbucks occasionally to visit. It's cheaper than a restaurant and the point is getting together. I have one friend who is too focused on never spending money and that gets annoying too and in the way of plans, like you always have to go on free admission day, etc. It's good to enjoy yourself too.

[Anonymous]

Does she cook at home? Or does she have helpers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suze Orman, with a net worth over $75 million, says the biggest waste of money is eating out. She never eats out and will never buy a cup of coffee.

Isn't this quite shocking, even for a financial guru?

Her choice.

But she isn't wrong. You can spend $.50 to make a great cup of coffee at home or pay $7 to get the same thing made for you. That's almost $200 savings per month per person.

I can shop at Whole Foods and make an extremely nice dinner for 4 for $30 (and a basic M-F dinner for $15 for 4). That same dinner in a restaurant would be $250 plus 20% tip.
Nice bottle of wine for $40-50 at home, same bottle would be $120-150 in restaurant.

Many rich people are surprisingly frugal. They don't just waste money because they have it.
They actively make decisions of what to spend their money on.

If you're rich and can't enjoy some food and wine at a restaurant, I don't even know what the point of being rich is. Just be poor in that case.

I think in her case, she's pointing out that those two things are places people "waste" money. And it is wasting money if you are not financially secure.
So sure, if you are rich go for it if that's what you want to do.

We are rich, and I still make coffee at home 99% of the time. I don't want to get dressed and walk/drive to get my coffee most days. I want to wake up, lounge around in PJs and make my coffee and enjoy it. I also realize I can make better coffee than 95% of the coffee shops (we order high quality coffee online that is roasted the day we order it, then we grind it ourselves as we use--we invested in a quality machine and grinder years ago that has long ago paid off), so sure I could afford to spend $400/month for us to drink coffee, but I'd rather put that towards dining out or flying first class or several bottles of wine or many other things that bring me pleasure. Basically, it seems like a waste of money to me to buy coffee from a coffee shop, so I only do it once in awhile.

We aren't rich and I make most of my coffee at home too - but there is no one for whom getting a coffee makes the difference between flying first class and not.

I think it's great advice to tell people to cook more, to save money. But she doesn't need to save money, so her saying SHE doesn't eat out because it's wasteful just sounds like a downright joyless way to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it probably is the greatest waste of moneys for many of the poors.

I myself have been fortunate to make bank and have feasted in many of the world’s finest eateries, and I can tell you that I do not begrudge myself one single poached lark’s tongue. It was all paid for.

Why do you write “the poors?” Why can you not just write “the poor?” Whenever I see someone use the term “the poors” I have a strong suspicion that they are a Grade A jackass.

[Anonymous]

Buffet eats out every single day. He eats breakfast at the exact same McDonalds and gets an egg McMuffin. I saw it on a documentary about him, in which he participated, and they went through the drive through together, and they all knew him at the McDonalds.

He's an extreme creature of habit and also super cheap/thrifty.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know if she’s the BIGGEST waste of money, but yes, Suze O is a waste of money.

[Anonymous]

Suze Orman is great. Her target audience isn’t the rich; it’s the average Joe. I started reading her books in my early 20a and found a lot of inspiration and useful advice. I’m in my mid-40s now earning seven figures and net worth of multiple millions. I don’t read or listen to Suze as often now, but I will always appreciate what she does for financial literacy. She (along with David Bach and Ric Edelman) was the reason I began investing for retirement with my very first paycheck. Her work has positively impacted many.