by Suze Orman
I never wavered in my enthusiasm for this project. When I approached my publisher a year ago to discuss the idea for the book I was eager to get rolling. When I wrote Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan during the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, I saw myself as an emergency room doctor; I needed to act fast to get you out of harm’s way. The message for that time was about survival, in the short term. How to get through. But I knew even then that I would soon want to follow up that crisis management book with a more expansive discussion of how to move forward once the worst of the crisis was past. To use the hospital analogy just one more time: Once you make it out of the ER and ICU, the next phase is often long-term rehabilitation, which takes a more holistic approach to how to live the best—most healthy—life going forward.
The Money Class is that long-term rehabilitation plan. The focus and intent of this book have not changed conceptually from those early planning days. But I soon became bogged down in the enormousness of what I was going to ask you. The financial advice wasn’t the problem. I knew exactly what I needed to teach you. But I began to realize that the overriding message of the book was anything but easy to digest. The death of the American Dream as we know it is not exactly the sort of uplifting, inspirational message that has always been the powerful undercurrent propelling my financial advice.
I was always clear that the New American Dream was the right message. I knew that if you agreed with the premise—that the new realities of life in these times require a reimagining of the dream—and followed my advice you would begin to shed your anxieties and fears and build a life defined by calm and confidence. But what slowed me down was that I was well aware of how incredibly difficult it was going to be for many of you to get from here (old, broken dream) to there (new, realistic dream). The attitude reform and the specific measures I was going to ask you to take were more drastic than anything I had ever suggested before. We are long past the days when trimming the cable bill and stretching out the time between haircuts was enough. As you now know, The Money Class asks you to contemplate far more life-altering changes.
Granted, I am not exactly shy when it comes to telling the truth. As my friends who work on The Oprah Winfrey Show like to say, I am not afraid to deliver a Suze Smackdown when necessary. But it’s all in the service of what I see as my mission: To help you be the best you can be. To help you to live the life you not only want to live, but deserve to live. Am I direct and honest? Guilty. Do I react passionately? I sure do. But I think you appreciate that it is done with the best intentions: to help you fix what isn’t working, quit habits that aren’t empowering, and gain the confidence to know how to move forward toward a better life. In The Courage to Be Rich I wrote of how to create a life of material and spiritual abundance. More recently, Women & Money was about creating the power to own your destiny. Abundance. Destiny. Such powerful words. And if you’ve read those books you know the power I place on the words we choose: Your thoughts, your words, your actions—all must be in harmony.
Yet here I was, sitting at my computer, writing a book that pronounced the American Dream dead. Not exactly a fabulous truth to share. I worried that the power of those words would be crippling to the traits I prize so very much and rely on to power us through: optimism, courage, hopefulness, clarity. I worried that the message I had to deliver would affect your very ability to dream.
My breakthrough came when I finally reminded myself to take the advice I dispense early in this book. I had to change my perspective. Yes, I was telling you that an outmoded version of the American Dream was over and that its demise—no matter how good for us in the long term—would create a period of difficult transition. But the real message I had for you was not about that death, but about the rebirth each and every one of you can experience once you let go of the dreams that are broken.
I came to see that the New American Dream I am asking you to embrace and build for yourself and your family is in fact my most inspirational message ever. The steps I have laid out for you in this book, the truths that I have presented, and the truth I am asking each of you to locate within yourself will propel you into a future that is so much more hopeful and enjoyable than what I know many of you feel right now.
Will the transition be difficult, will it test your strength and commitment? Yes. I am not going to sit here and pretend that walking away from a home is easy, or that accepting a job that pays 15% less than your previous job is a snap. The road ahead no doubt has its bumps, potholes, and pitfalls. But navigate it you will. I have to ask you: What is the alternative? Do nothing, change nothing, and you will get nowhere. Commit to making change and you have the power to get it right once and for all.
I hope you are spared the months of angst I went through and can, right here, right now—as you read these words—train your perspective on what you are moving toward. Take your eyes off the rearview mirror. I ask you to let go—surrender what is no longer relevant to your well-being, so that you can step into that better future.
With time I also came to see that the central message of this book is not in fact hard or beyond your grasp. And that, too, released me from my writer’s block. “Stand in your truth” is my clarion call that you have faith in yourself. To have faith that what you choose to do with your life—the conscious choices you decide to make—is what brings abundance and allows you to control your destiny. And I know that each and every one of us has that ability to turn inward and trust ourselves to take care of ourselves far better than anyone else.
What we collectively experienced over the past two decades has ultimately been a hard lesson learned. And in an odd way, that is why I am so hopeful that you are ready to act on the lessons I have shared in The Money Class. We now understand that change is necessary. We are motivated to rethink our ways, because, well, we’re feeling anything but abundant and in control of our destiny.
The authentic, sterling values of old are ready to make their comeback. Our grandparents and great-grandparents had a pretty good handle on standing in their truth, and that is what propelled us individually and as a nation for so many generations. It is time to turn back to them for help in making our way forward. The payoff is not merely a better life today and next year, but a life of lasting integrity and honesty whose effects are far-reaching—for us, our children, our community, and beyond. Most important, we will all be back on track, creating an enduring legacy for future generations. And that, my friends, is the greatest dream of all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SUZE ORMAN is a two-time Emmy Award–winning television host, #1 New York Times bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today.
Orman has written eight consecutive New York Times bestsellers and has written, co-produced, and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books. She is the seven-time Gracie Award–winning host of the The Suze Orman Show, which airs on CNBC, and host of the forthcoming Money Class on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. She is also a contributing editor to O: The Oprah Magazine.
Twice named one of the “Time 100,” Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people, and named by Forbes as one of the 100 most powerful women, Orman was the recipient of the National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign. In 2009 she received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in 2010 she received an honorary doctor of commercial science from Bentley University.
Orman, a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, directed the Suze Orman Financial Group from 1987 to 1997, served as Vice President—Investments for Prudential Bache Securities from 1983 to 1987, and was an account executive at Merrill Lynch from 1980 to 1983. Prior to that, she worked as a waitress at the Buttercup Bakery in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1980.
Table of Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
How to Enter The Classroom
Class 1: The New American Dream
Class 2: Stand in Your Truth
Lesson 1. Finding Your Truth: A Personal Financial Accounting
Lesson 2. Living Truthfully: How to Stand Tall in Your Reality
Lesson 3. The Foundation of All Truthful Living: The Power of Cash
Class 3: Family
Lesson 1. How to Build Honest Family Relations
Lesson 2. How to Raise Young Children to Stand in the Truth
Lesson 3. How to Create A Financially Honest College Strategy
Lesson 4. How to Help Adult Children Facing Financial Challenges
Lesson 5. The Conversation Every Adult Child Should Have with His or Her Parents
Lesson 6. Advice for Grandparents: How to Build A Lasting Legacy
Class 4: Home
Lesson 1. The Truth About Home Values
Lesson 2. When it Makes Sense to Rent
Lesson 3. The New Rules of Buying A Home
Lesson 4. What to Do If You are Underwater
Lesson 5. How to Reduce Mortgage Costs
Lesson 6. The Dangers of Home Equity Lines of Credit
Lesson 7. Reverse Mortgages
Lesson 8. Investing in Real Estate
Class 5: Career
Lesson 1. Advice for the Employed
Lesson 2. Advice for the Unemployed
Lesson 3. Starting (And Running) Your Own Business
A Note About the Retirement Classes
The Money Navigator: A Special Offer for Readers of The Money Class
Class 6: Retirement Planning: Getting Going in Your 20S and 30S
Lesson 1. Time is Your Greatest Asset
Lesson 2. Retirement Accounts Explained
Lesson 3. How Much You Need to Save for Retirement
Lesson 4. Investing Your Retirement Money
Class 7: Retirement Planning: Fine-Tuning It in Your 40S and 50S
Lesson 1. Deciding When it Makes Sense to Pay Off Your Mortgage
Lesson 2. Have A Realistic Plan for Working Until Age 66–67
Lesson 3. Delay Your Social Security Benefit
Lesson 4. Estimate Your Retirement Income: How are You Doing?
Lesson 5. Saving More, and Investing Strategies in Your 50S
Lesson 6. Plan for Long-Term Care Costs
Class 8: Living in Retirement
Lesson 1. Home Finances: Stand in the Truth of What is Affordable for You
Lesson 2. Coping with the High Cost of Healthcare in Retirement
Lesson 3. Stick to A Sustainable Withdrawal Rate
Lesson 4. Avoid Long-Term Bonds and Bond Funds
Lesson 5. Earn Higher Yields by Investing in Dividend-Paying Etfs and Stocks
Lesson 6. Double-Check Your Beneficiaries and Must-Have Documents
Class 9: The Ultimate Lesson
About the Author
