Suzie Orman is recognized as an authority on all things financial for a simple reason: She always makes it simple! Anyone who has ever experienced the opportunity to listen to Suzie in a live lecture will probably attest to the effectiveness of her coaching and the manner in which she advises. The following article highlights some of the wisdom shared by Suzie. There are a few links in the article to provide our readers with as much info as possible. We also encourage you to visit Suzie’s website, one of the few AFE Recommendations offered in the Member Resources section of the AFE website.  

When it comes to financial decisions, sometimes it’s best to get back to basics. Whether you are looking to improve your credit score or your financial literacy, there are many positive steps you can take to build your net worth.

Financial expert and bestselling author Suze Orman is known for her easy-to-follow, no-nonsense money advice that can help people find financial freedom. She is known for saying, “You are never powerful in life until you are powerful over your own money.”

According to Orman, there are several steps you can take to assert control over your finances. It is never too late to get started. Orman’s advice is beloved because it is uncomplicated. The simplicity helps for people to be able to follow it and meet their financial goals in a reasonable amount of time.

Here are some of her best basic money rules to get you started.

Rule 1: Tackle Your Credit Card Debt

Orman frequently speaks about living within your means. One way to do that is to tackle your credit card debt. She recommends that individuals call their credit card issuer and ask for the interest rate to be lowered.

She notes that the average interest rate on credit cards is around 22%, which is high. So, a good money rule of thumb is asking for a reduction to help save you substantial amounts of money each month. 

She also suggests seeing whether you qualify for a “balance transfer deal.” In some cases, you might be able to snag a zero-interest rate for a 12- to 18-month period. Over that time, you can work to pay off your balance without having to worry about the interest.

Rule 2: Establish an Emergency Fund

Another area that Orman regularly recommends is to have a healthy emergency fund. She often recommends that you should aim “to have an emergency savings fund that can cover up to 12 months of living costs.”

An emergency fund can help to ensure you can withstand any financial hardships that come along. 

Rule 3: Create an Action Plan

Orman firmly believes in creating a financial action plan, such as her 5-Step Financial Action Plan on Oprah.com. In it, she suggests that individuals pay off their credit card debt and raise their FICO scores before creating spending, savings and retirement strategies. 

Your spending action plan begins with separating all of your expenses into wants and needs. Next, you identify all of the wants. Then, you eliminate the wants if you do not have sufficient savings or are carrying large amounts of debt.

Rule 4: Automate Your Savings

Orman also routinely recommends you automate your savings. Her reasoning behind automation is it “is a proven way to stay committed to a savings goal.”

She notes that it doesn’t necessarily matter how much you are moving over, as long as you are moving it over consistently. She said, “Having money zapped from your checking account into your savings accounts is free, too. The ‘set it and forget it’ approach is how you will reach your savings goals.”

If you are looking for ways to start doing this, you could try something like the 50/30/20 rule, which is a budgeting option to break down and allocate your paycheck into percentages. For example, each month, you could automatically allocate 50% of your funds to cover things you need, 30% to things you want and 20% can get directly deposited into a savings account.

Rule 5: Open a Roth Account

Finally, Orman said individuals — particularly young adults — should open Roth accounts. She even suggests that parents set up a Roth account for their children if they can.

Outside of real estate, investing in retirement accounts should be one of your biggest money moves. Make sure to do the maximum amount of contribution if possible. 

Caitlyn Moorhead, Independent Freelance Writer contributed to the reporting for this article.