When it comes to personal finance Suze Orman It's clear: you're the best person to take care of your financial future. In an episode of the recent Women and Money podcast, she reminded listeners that “the government cannot save you” and encouraged everyone to be responsible for three key areas: debt, income and expenditure, and investment.
This is how Orman breaks it and what action she suggests now.
Don't miss:
Allman divided debt into two categories: good and bad. Good debt may include a mortgage or a car loan – especially if you need a car to work. Bad debt, on the other hand, usually comes in the form of high interest credit card balances for non-essential expenses.
If you are dealing with credit card debt, Orman recommends organizing your card at interest rates (from highest to lowest). Write down the minimum payments payable for each item and then total those minimum payments to 20% of the total. You will make payments for the minimum payments for all cards, but apply an additional 20% to the cards with the highest interest rate. Once you get a return, you aggregate all the amount you paid onto the second highest card, and so on until the debt disappears.
She also encourages keeping your credit limit, warning that closing the card can lower your FICO score.
Trend: Can you guess how much $5,000,000 nest eggs are retired? Percentage may shock you.
Orman says the next area to evaluate is your cash flow - what is going on and what is going on.
Orman proposes a simple exercise: look at your spending over the past year and divide that number by 12 to get the average monthly cost. Then compare that number to your post-tax, post-retirement contribution income. If your income doesn't pay for you - or just barely spend - you have some work to do.
“You either have to make more money or you have to spend less,” she said. “Or you can do both.”
Orman stresses that your relationship with money is more than just reaching a specific dollar amount. It's about how you value money - and yourself. Be proactive in income and spending now can help you avoid painful surprises.
See: If you are 35, 50 or 60: This is how much you should save vs. Invest now
Finally, Allman said that if you don’t need money for at least five to ten years, you should continue to invest steadily, especially in retirement accounts like 401(k)S or 403(b)S.
Her advice is to stick to the average of USD costs: invest the same amount regularly, regardless of market conditions. When the price is lower, when the price is lower and less, this strategy can help you buy more stocks, thus calming the impact of market volatility.
And, if you are over 50, don’t forget: You can donate $8,000 to the IRA in 2025 due to chasing donations.
Allman’s message is simple, but powerful: economics, markets, and government plans may be uncertain, but your personal finance is not certain. Focus on eliminating bad debts, understand your spending and investing in your future.
After all, as she said, “No one cares more about your money than you.”
Read the next article:
Image: shutterstock
Next: Change your deals with Benzinga Edge's unique market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights This can give you the lead in today's competitive market.
Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga?
Debt, Income and Investment in this article: Suze Orman says we should all focus on these because "government can't save you" originally appeared on benzinga.com
©2025 benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. all rights reserved.