The Biggest Waste of Money - Suze Ormn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1

I got on the road to financial health thanks to her book about women and money. There wasn't anything ground-breaking in there, and very little I didn't already know, but it inspired me to make choices and set goals and follow through. I'm in a better place financially because of her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She probably has someone who cooks for her at home. No way is Suze cooking up a grilled cheese for dinner.

This -
She has staff and they cook and serve her. She probably gets taken out to eat on others' dime.

[Anonymous]

I'm too poor to eat out much but if I had the money I would eat out a whole lot and I would also fly private. I still wouldn't drink coffee, I never have.

I'd say she's right as far as the average person's budget is concerned. It amazes me how much people I know eat out or order food delivered and waste money on Starbucks coffee while they are trying to figure out how to pay the rent.

[Anonymous]

The worst thing you can do for your net worth is to enjoy yourself.

Now imagine how much you would save if you lived in mom’s basement, are nothing but beans, rice, and gruel, never took a single vacation and didn’t socialize. At my meager low-six-figure salary I could make myself a millionaire in just a couple of years.

[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.

+1 with a lol

What even is the point of life? Eating out is an experience annd way to get to know the world and other people and cultures. Imagine also never eating out while traveling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be shocking, but it sure is stupid. I’m enjoying a beautiful view of the water as we speak, for the price of a cup of coffee. They weren’t going to let me sit here for free!

that's why you don't have 75mil i guess

Seriously. It’s funny all the people on here putting her down and calling her stupid, as if their accomplishments are greater.

She got to 75 million by selling her advice, not taking her own advice (cf "Where are the clients' yachts?").

My great accomplishment is not telling people that something they enjoy and can afford "Isn't worth it." Suze will have have that.

[Anonymous]

Starbucks is over priced it should be no more than 2.5 for one of the fancy coffee drinks or else it's not a good use of money

[Anonymous]

I actually agree. So many 20yo’s using Ubereats because they are too lazy to cook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks is over priced it should be no more than 2.5 for one of the fancy coffee drinks or else it's not a good use of money

The problem with Starbucks is not what it costs its customers. It's how poorly it treats its employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks is over priced it should be no more than 2.5 for one of the fancy coffee drinks or else it's not a good use of money

The problem with Starbucks is not what it costs its customers. It's how poorly it treats its employees.

I have a friend who works a couple of shifts at a Starbucks for a second job who really enjoys it. Whatever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop giving terrible companies like Starbucks money. Coffee should be a few pennies

Drip coffee is $6 at coffee shops around me. Don't go to Starbucks---their coffee sucks, it's bitter. It's that price because min Wage is almost $20/hr.

But yes, I can make an excellent cup of coffee for 25 cents at home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm too poor to eat out much but if I had the money I would eat out a whole lot and I would also fly private. I still wouldn't drink coffee, I never have.

I'd say she's right as far as the average person's budget is concerned. It amazes me how much people I know eat out or order food delivered and waste money on Starbucks coffee while they are trying to figure out how to pay the rent.

This is exactly her point. Whether it's coffee or dining out, you need to be aware of how much money you are spending on everything, but most importantly Extras. If you can barely pay rent, have CC debt, or are not adequately saving for college/retirement, then these are two simple areas that are definately EXTRA that could be trimmed. If both members of a couple get a coffee daily that's almost $200+ per person per month. They could spend $20 and make the coffee at home and save almost $400. Sure, treat yourself a few times per month, but if you are not Fully saving for your kid's college, then these are simple ways you can find a bit extra to direct that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She probably has someone who cooks for her at home. No way is Suze cooking up a grilled cheese for dinner.

This -
She has staff and they cook and serve her. She probably gets taken out to eat on others' dime.

+1000

And she doesn’t have kids. She’s never had to work a 8:30-5, pick up kids from aftercare, then rush home to throw together taco night while the other spouse totes the kids around to sports practices.

So splurging on take out from Uber eats on a Sat. night after the kids go to bed while we watch a Netflix show is how we unwind and enjoy a date night at home. It’s also a drop in the bucket compared to all the years of daycare/preschool costs and what we throw into their 529s.

Lol at maybe $300 a month on takeout having a noticeable effect on our finances compared to childcare, housing, and college savings. Also that $300/month keeps us from totally burning out.

And we do make coffee at home (no Starbucks) but that is because we had the funds to buy one of those fancy machines that makes lattes, espresso, etc. So I would never begrudge someone splurging on an $8 drink on occasion just because they can’t afford an $800 coffee maker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That might be click bait overstatement, but she had a point. Eating out is a waste of money, but not the biggest.

You need to eat. How is it a waste of money to eat food made by someone else sometimes? You're obviously paying for more than just the ingredients.

Or, I guess, to put it differently - what beyond the barest essentials isn't a waste of money, in that case? Only things that you can sell if you need the money?

I made an omelet the other night that would’ve been nearly $10 at a breakfast place. It is nice to go out to eat every once in a while but some people are blowing tons of money on it and then claiming they are poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She probably has someone who cooks for her at home. No way is Suze cooking up a grilled cheese for dinner.

This -
She has staff and they cook and serve her. She probably gets taken out to eat on others' dime.

+1000

And she doesn’t have kids. She’s never had to work a 8:30-5, pick up kids from aftercare, then rush home to throw together taco night while the other spouse totes the kids around to sports practices.

So splurging on take out from Uber eats on a Sat. night after the kids go to bed while we watch a Netflix show is how we unwind and enjoy a date night at home. It’s also a drop in the bucket compared to all the years of daycare/preschool costs and what we throw into their 529s.

Lol at maybe $300 a month on takeout having a noticeable effect on our finances compared to childcare, housing, and college savings. Also that $300/month keeps us from totally burning out.

And we do make coffee at home (no Starbucks) but that is because we had the funds to buy one of those fancy machines that makes lattes, espresso, etc. So I would never begrudge someone splurging on an $8 drink on occasion just because they can’t afford an $800 coffee maker.

I, on the other hand, totally do begrudge someone their $8 fancy drink if they're not also taking care of their financial future. I'm the poster who said I read Suze in my 20s. I never, ever hit Starbucks during that decade of my life. Nor did I drink any alcohol at all. I went out with my friends, but my bill was always lower than everyone else's, because I had paid myself first, and thus I had less income left over with which to splurge. I worked my whole lifestyle around what was left after I saved for my future. A big reason why I did this was the education I received from reading Suze Orman.

Today, our HHI is high and we blow lots of money. After saving for retirement and contributing to the kids' college, we use our income to do fun things like eat out. We belong to a country club. I do hit Starbucks a couple of times a month. I do feel entitled to all kinds of luxuries now that I've worked for decades and sacrificed many of life's little pleasures when I was younger in trade for the great feeling that building a solid financial foundation brought me. Now HHI is high enough that what's left over after saving is still a lot.

I have kept several friends from my teenage years. We are now in totally different financial spots and we're at the age where they're getting nervous about it. I remember feeling incredulous and silently judgy when I'd watch how they spent when we were young. Lots of dining out, lots of drinking, lots of fancy coffee, vacations. Again, don't begrudge anyone these things, as long as they're buying them with the money that's left over after they've saved an adequate amount. That's Suze's point. And that $300/mo that is negligible to you can actually build great wealth for someone who starts saving it early. $3600/year saved for 45 years at 8% growth becomes about $1.4 million. That's a lot more than most people accumulate, and it's because most people waste too much relative to their income.