Did any of you see Suze Orman tonight? I'm still watching it here in Texas, but the segment they just had on BLEW MY MIND. This woman named Dawn in California was on, talking to Suze, asking for help and suggestions as to what she and her husband can do about their $230,000 in credit card debt. BESIDES that debt, their big beautiful dream home is mortgaged to the hilt. Bottom line is that between the two of them they bring home $9,000 a month ... but their monthly expenses are $19,000!!! (Suze actually said this is probably the worst case she's ever had on her show.) Dawn kept smiling and making jokes while Suze was trying to drive home to her the gravity of her situation; AND, when Suze told Dawn that she and her husband need to (a) put their home AND everything in it on the market immediately and pray that they can sell it for enough to pay what they owe on it, (b) get second jobs TOMORROW, and (c) move into an apartment and stay there until their credit cards are paid and they have money SAVED ... Dawn said "That's not going to happen." She said she cannot and will not give up her home and her lifestyle!! She said her husband wants to file bankruptcy but she doesn't want to, and Suze told her they probably make too much money to file bankruptcy so it's really not an option. It was really something else to see ... talk about a woman in denial!! It was really quite sad, but SO frustrating at the same time. It just makes me wonder what sort of miracle solution Dawn thought Suze could come up with. I mean, she didn't even consider one piece of advice Suze gave her! She freely admitted that she's addicted to diamonds, and that just last night she was upset because a ring she's been wanting had been sold to someone else! I'm flabbergasted, absolutely stunned. She was something else.
Saturday Night's Suze Orman Show
November 16th, 2008 at 05:40 am
November 16th, 2008 at 06:36 am 1226817391
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November 16th, 2008 at 01:28 pm 1226842088
November 16th, 2008 at 01:48 pm 1226843328
I think when Suze said "sell EVERYTHING -pay off the CC and start over"...the woman thought to herself- "What??! start over AFTER paying $200k??! That's IMPOOSSIBLE! We will NEVER be able to start over again!" So she wants to just continue on the way she is and "at least have something to show for her life."
BTW- Dawn thinks she is going to make up a $10k deficit every month by getting a job...what job pays $10k a MONTH??
November 16th, 2008 at 02:41 pm 1226846471
How the heck do you get yourself in a situation where your monthly expenses are more than double your income? And how did this woman end up on Suze? Don't people have to write or call in to be selected for the show? What kind of help was she looking for exactly?
This reminds me of the woman on the Oprah Debt Diet series who was spending something like $700/month getting her hair done. She just didn't have even a hint of a clue.
I'm a firm believer in personal responsibility, but I will admit that at some point, the banks and credit card companies shoulder some blame, also. How was a couple that only earns $108,000/year allowed to run up over $230,000 in CC debt and a mortgage (I don't know how much that was for)? At some point, much before this stage, one of those companies should have said NO, WE AREN'T LENDING YOU ANY MORE MONEY.
November 16th, 2008 at 02:51 pm 1226847093
An extreme example of too many people at the minute, all overspent and greedy, and now wanting to be "bailed out". I'm sick of this whole sorry affair at the minute - and I hope this woman gets what is coming to her, I have no sympathy - it's people like her who've put the economy where it is today.
November 16th, 2008 at 04:23 pm 1226852628
Dawn.. YOU KNOW NOTHING!
November 16th, 2008 at 04:42 pm 1226853755
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November 16th, 2008 at 06:30 pm 1226860206
I agree with DisneySteve that the banks and creditors need to take some responsibility too. Surely they knew that this family could not afford the credit they were applying for.
I feel sorry for their daughter. She's only 7 and has probably learned from her parents that material goods are what matters. I wonder how they'll explain to her that they are losing the house and all of their stuff because they were very irresponsible.
November 17th, 2008 at 03:00 am 1226890828
Credit to this couple is like heroin to an addict. Get any (credit or heroin) and they use it, and they will use it until they cannot physically use it anymore. To an addict it might mean death. To a credit addict ... who knows what it means?
I think disneysteve touched on an important point - the responsibility of the credit industry itself. In a weird sort of way, we might be cheering this woman on to push the credit system as far as it will go, perhaps break it and force some restraints. Most of us show responsibility and personal restraint and can be controlled by the credit industry. This couple? They will take any credit offered and buy something. Declare bankrupcy? We've heard all the stories on how bankrupt people are offered credit soon after. If the credit industry does this - this couple will take the credit. Again.
It'll be interesting to follow this. Who will win? The irresistible force (this couple) or the immovable object (their creditors).
November 17th, 2008 at 12:21 pm 1226924473
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November 24th, 2008 at 06:01 pm 1227549661
My wife and I were also just completely stupified by what we saw. How in the hell can someone think they can afford that sort of a lifestyle. They bring home $9K a month. Assuming nothing goes to retirement savings, that's close to $150K combined, approximately. We make roughly double that, and we could not afford what they think they can afford. What sort of a second job does she think she can get that pays her $175K annually? I hope she's thinking of never seeing her daughter again, cause she'll be working two 10-hour jobs to climb out of her hole.
I started getting angrier and angrier as I watched this delusional idiot, because it started to dawn (bah!) on me that it's the rest of us, who DO pay their mortgages that end up paying for hers, too. Banks take their profits off the interest rates...her foreclosure (it's coming, make no mistake about it) is coming out of MY pocket, at least parts of it. And it's people like her and the banker who keep lending her the money who made up the current financial crisis.
Her daughter will probably also end up a deadbeat. That's the truly sad part abuot this.
November 24th, 2008 at 06:22 pm 1227550930
I am at a loss to understand why Suze Orman would waste her time on someone like this. Watching this moronic money-clueless woman only makes people angry and frustrated. Suze should focus her money makeovers on people who are actually coachable, who can serve as examples to others. This family is so in denial and out of touch that they DO NOT typify the average, debt-strapped family. They are on their own planet.
November 24th, 2008 at 09:15 pm 1227561305
November 25th, 2008 at 12:35 am 1227573334
Suze may have profiled this woman to show people what CAN happen if they continue to live beyond their means. Sadly, like Dawn, a lot of people don't "play the tape" far enough ahead to see what position they'll be in if they continue to charge everything. I think most people would get a clue sooner than Dawn (especially if they can do basic math!!), but maybe a lot of people who saw this will see themselves in Dawn to some degree and put a halt to their spendy ways before they are in that deep. I know it would put the fear of God into me!!
Suze might also have thought that MAYBE she could get through to Dawn during the interview. And maybe in the time since then, Dawn has had time to really think about what Suze told her and take it to heart. I truly hope to see a follow-up with her down the line and learn that she and her family are living in that 2-bedroom apartment and working to pay off their debt. Do I think that will be the case? No, I don't ... judging from her attitude, I seriously doubt she will change a thing about her lifestyle until she is forced to. (Imagine her reaction the first time her credit card is DECLINED ...!!)
November 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am 1227659837
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February 4th, 2009 at 01:24 pm 1233753880
It really seems like these folk need to get their debt management under control, but easier said then done I guess, especially if you don't think you have a debt problem in the first place!