Product Description

Financial expert Suze Orman is changing the way America thinks about money. Orman outlines a revolutionary approach to the way we save money, handle debt, and plan for our retirement. By examining and understanding our earliest attitudes toward money, we can honestly confront where we stand financially and take the necessary action toward financial freedom. Orman deals with managing money responsibly, handling credit card debt, planning for our retirement, trusts versus wills and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84659 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.com
Suze Orman's seminar-format video offers a financial pep talk to accompany her book of the same title. Though a good deal of her nine steps are nothing new or revolutionary--plan for the future, cut your credit-card debt, organize your estate, respect money, and take charge of your own money--she makes a few noteworthy points. Using psychology to flush out attitudes about money, she asks the members of her audience to think about their earliest memories of money and how it shapes their relationship with it now. She recognizes the feelings of shame and guilt associated with money and tells us to get over it--that these feelings are the very ones that paralyze our path to financial freedom. Her basic formula of financial freedom seems difficult to achieve since it requires us to factor in self-esteem, organization, dedication, and feelings of entitlement. She also feels strongly that "stating your goal will make it happen, no matter how impossible it seems," which is reminiscent of the psychology behind the "Little Engine That Could"--a bit simplistic when it comes to the complicated but still accessible world of finances. Orman's target audience is both one that needs a financial pep talk and one that isn't necessarily well versed in financial jargon. A person of any age can find something useful in her helpful, if urgent-sounding, reminders. She uses some statistical scare tactics--such as mentioning that one in three people over the age of 65 will end up in a nursing home, so you'd better get long-term care insurance--to drive her points home but then buffers them with an "everything happens for the best" and "your self-worth is more important than your net worth"-type philosophy. Orman ends the lecture with an enlightening question-and-answer session that elaborates on points not covered by her speech, such as how to find a good financial planner and the differences between retirement funds. Those looking for a specific formula to financial freedom may have to look elsewhere, as Suze Orman's philosophy is that we ourselves can and should be our own best financial advisors since we know ourselves better than any financial writer or planner ever could. --Gilia Angell

Customer Reviews

Good reading! Learned a lot that will save me $$$$$$!
This book is simple to understand- well put! This is a must read for everyone--makes you look at your money in a whole new light.

Suze's mistake
As I have read many of Suze's books, I have tried to look for the common sense approach. While I have found this in many of her books, I have also seen a very broad blanket statement being told through out her books. That statement is to not trust Financial Advisors. While it is true that there are some financial advisors that are not honest. This is true of any profession. But this does not mean that every advisor is out to just make a commission.
I have been an advisor for quite some years now. I have my Series 7, 65, 63 and Series 6. I am licensed in Life, Health. I also have the designation of CFP. I specialize in estate planning and wealth accumulation strategies. One of the biggest issues that I have with my profession is when some one "whips out the Suze Orman Fan Club Card". She makes blanket statements that many people do not understand. It makes my job 10 times as hard to help my clients. When they do repeat a statement that Suze has said, I many times have to go back and re-educate them as to the meaning of what she said.
Now is Suze just spouting non-sense? Of course not. Some of her advise is very good for the very common, starting from the bottom person. But it does not provide good sense for everyone.
If you are going to work with an advisor, do your home work. Ask them what they are licensed in. Ask them to explain to you why this is the best option and how it's going to benefit you. Ask about what their commissions are. They legally have to tell you. Do the research on each one and if they don't pass the "sniff test", kick them to the curb.
But please, do not believe everything that Suze writes. Not all of it is true and much of it is taken out of context. Your best bet is to educate yourself with someone who has been licensed (Suze is not licensed in securities) and has written books.

An Excellent Book For Anyone to Read
The book has some very valuable information for everyone. From beginning to save with a 401K or any savings plan, to Wills and other necessary documents one should and must have drawn up, its very informative. Suze refers to situations in her experience which can show us why we do or do not prepare for retirement as we should and how emotions from the past cause us to deal with money. I recommend this book for everyone to read.