Podcast Episode - Ask KT & Suze Anything: I Have To Face It, To Erase It

On this episode of Ask KT & Suze Anything, Suze answers your questions about crypto currencies, stocks to consider investing in, ETFs, Series I Bonds and more.

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Podcast Transcript:

Suze: December 21st 2023. Welcome to the Women and Money podcast. As well as everyone smart enough to listen. This is the Ask KT and Suze Anything edition. This is where you write in to Ask Suze podcast at gmail.com

Suze: And you ask your question, keep it short. And if KT likes it, it will be chosen to be answered on this podcast.

Suze: How are you today, KT?

KT: I'm good because today is the winter solstice. I used to always love that day. I'm not a big fan of winter and everyone knows that. That's why I lived in Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Florida. I'm a hot sunshine girl.

Suze: But I thought you were gonna say you're a hot...

KT: I like the hot sunshine, but I love the idea of winter solstice fireplaces, warm and cozy cuddling a little aqui v if you have some Norwegian friends like us, right?

Suze: But tell me how cute. I look in my little sweatshirt.

KT: She's real cozy and cuddly. We're, we're here in the Bahamas on the island. It's chilly Willie. It's really, really cold. We have a cold front.

Suze: I love it when it's cold.

KT: Because she gets all dressed in her boots and winter gear and she has on a very colorful fabulous sweatshirt hoodie.

Suze: Maybe I'll give you a post of it. But the reason that I like winter when it's cold is I'm one of those women who give better cold dress

KT: You look better in winter wear.

Suze: You know how, when it's summer and then you have to expose your arms and da da da da. I just like to kind of cover up and be cool.

KT: I'm a bathing suit girl.

KT: All right, I'm gonna start this podcast. No comment, Suze, I'm gonna start the podcast everyone before she says anything about that. So, what I wanna do today is a little bit different. I've got a whole list of like rapid fire, really short questions, but I want to start was something that touched me and it moved me and it summed up in my opinion, what Suze Orman is all about and what sets her apart from any other personal finance advisor or expert or pundit really sets her apart. So this is from Julie.

KT: Hi Suze and KT. Thank you for all the great info and advice. Thanks to you. I ended a toxic situation this past January and I'm so grateful. I'm 52 years old with zero savings and 16,000 plus in credit card debt.

KT: After listening to your podcast on Thursday's episode, I realized I not only have issues with worth when it comes to money and worth in general, but also issues with shame. I suppose it should have been obvious, but sometimes we are too close to our own issues. I've recently taken your course, Suze, conquering your financial fears.

KT: So just for everyone, just a little sidebar for those of you that don't know if you go to the women and Money app. Look on Suze shop and you can see a number of things that we offer, but one is a conquering your fears little um course and it, it's worth it. It's like $27 or something. But um take a look at that if you're interested.

KT: So what Julie's saying is she took the course and I made progress, but I realize I need to work on the worth aspect of it.

KT: Then Thursday, the shame issue hit me between the eyes is sharing with everyone my situation and standing in my truth the best way to move past this or since the issues stem from childhood, do I need more help than that? There is a lot more to my financial situation that contributes to the shame.

KT: I live with my mom and we share her car. She covers most of my living expenses, including medical as I am now a two time cancer survivor. It's hard to even write this, which is why I am. I know this isn't who I was created to be and who I am striving to become.

KT: I have a desire to make an impact on people, specifically women's lives and know that my story can help. But it's time to, as you said, face it to erase it. Thank you for any guidance and advice, Suze God bless and Merry Christmas Julie.

KT: So she isn't sharing all the details except she's facing it to erase it. And I think that's important. So what are your thoughts on that?

Suze: It's so fascinating to me that you chose this particular email as all of you may know, I read all the emails that come in just to make sure I'm just monitoring you and then it's up to KT to choose which ones as she's reading them. She wants to do on the podcast. But I came across this one KT and I wrote her back and I said, we'll answer on Thursday hoping that you would do so. And if you didn't pick it, then I would have answered her directly on an email. So I find it fascinating that you chose it,

Suze: Julie, you have to listen to me as well as everybody else. There are three internal obstacles to wealth: fear, shame, and anger.

Suze: And when you come from those places there is absolutely no way that you can live a life of worth and wealth. You just can't.

Suze: And so I've talked about this over and over again. If you go to back podcasts, somewhere in the over 500 that we've done, you'll see an entire podcast on this. But Julie, you ask the question, is it just as easy as telling everybody and sharing it and facing it to erase it or do I need to get help? Because these issues go back to my childhood.

Suze: You have to decide the answer to that because I don't know what issues you're actually talking about. However, when I hear this and when I read this email, I think part of your shame comes from at 52 you're still living with your mother.

Suze: At 52 you have no savings at 52 you have $16,000 of credit card debt and that you have shame over that to me. I'm like, oh, how lucky that you have your mom that you can live with. How lucky are you that she's able to help you with your insurance? Because you have survived cancer twice.

Suze: There is no shame in living with a family member. I honestly think one of the travesties that have happened, especially in the United States of America is that you grow up and you're supposed to move away, you're supposed to be independent. What happened to the inner family, to the nuclear family? I remember my mom and my aunt, they all kind of lived together in the same apartment building or they lived just a few blocks away. And even as they got older, they absolutely lived in the same building just a few floors away.

Suze: And my granny lived there and it was such a fabulous feeling of growing up with family.

Suze: And so this thing about you have to be independent, you have to have your own apartment, you have to do this, your own car. I don't know where that came from. But that Julie, in my opinion is not what gives somebody worth. What gives somebody worth is when you can feel so appreciative and lucky that you have a mother that wants to live with you and there will come a time when you will have to take care of your mother most likely.

Suze: So I would not think about changing that. I would show gratitude towards that every single day because there's nothing wrong with it on any level.

Suze: Of course, you don't have any savings. Of course, you have $16,000 of credit card debt. Why? Because you recently ended a toxic situation which means you got out of somehow an abusive relationship or in a relationship that you felt was abusive to you or you would not have used the word toxic.

Suze: So when you allow yourself to be in a relationship that is toxic, money will come in and money will go out because you are being so disrespectful to yourself. And if you can't respect yourself, you cannot respect money and therefore you waste it on things. Just feeling like those things that you buy or going out to eat will make you feel better. So you are starting all over again, girlfriend, and you can start with the present and the future and just let your past go. Don't hold on to it. I actually don't know what happened to you when you were younger, but you can overcome it by just being grateful that those things happened. Because when you're grateful for everything that has happened in your life, then you become grateful for who you are today. Because those things that happened to you in the past have made you stronger whether you know it or not.

Suze: So if you can start from there, I promise you that then you can proceed and that however you are making your money right now. Like when I read your email, I did read that you do have a little business that you do from home and that you're doing pretty well with it.

Suze: Once you start to value who you are, the world will value what you do.

Suze: And when the world values what you do, you also then start to value who you are.

Suze: So your gift to yourself on the Christmas of 2023 on the New Year's of 2024 is one where every single day, you will create and write a new truth for yourself. And that new truth is I value who I am. I believe in who I am. And I am a woman who has self worth. Just write that down 25 times a day. Say it to yourself silently 25 times a day. Scream it in the mirror, looking at yourself 25 times a day, do that every day for six months and just watch what happens. My most worthy Julie.

KT: That's so nice.

KT: See, Suze, that's why I picked that. Who gives advice like that? No one but you, here's what I did. Now, the rest of this podcast, I picked one liners. I want to do a little rapid fire with Suze. These are simple one liner. I'm not even gonna tell you who they're from. I just extrapolated the question. So let's see how fast and good Suze is. And then we have a nice question to end with. So Suze, you recently did a post on Bitcoin? Are you buying Bitcoin or Ethereum again?

Suze: So funny. I knew the other day on the women and money community app that when I posted the projections for Bitcoin that all of a sudden I was going to start that up all over again. First of all, I just have to state that you do not invest in things like Bitcoin or Ethereum with money that you cannot afford to lose. That's number one Ok. Number two, I do think that Bitcoin is on the projection of continuing to go up that includes Ethereum as well, but particularly for Bitcoin because Bitcoin is about to approach what's called a halving.

KT: A what? Halving?

Suze: A halving. H-a-l-v-i-n-g. It's this thing that if you listen to podcasts in the past, you would know what I was talking about.

KT: Is it "halfing" "halving?"

Suze: I can say but it's called halving,

KT: Right, but it's pronounced "halfing."

Suze: It's pronounced "halving."

KT: Robert, tell everyone how it's pronounced.

Robert: Ok. It's pronounced "Having"

Robert: "Having" like: have you listened to Suze's advice? It's spelled H-a-l-v-i-n-g. But it's pronounced "having."

Suze: Anyway. So, and when that happens, Bitcoin usually does go up. However, for me personally, I am not buying Bitcoin or Ethereum, I am buying the stocks and have purchased the stocks that have to do with the engineering of how Bitcoin and Ethereum and all of that works. And the two stocks are Mara - MARA as well as that. These are the symbols of them, MARA and Riot. They've gone up significantly right now. So you might want to wait, maybe they'll pull back a little bit. But that's personally how I'm investing in there.

KT: Are those risky too?

Suze: Well, everything to do with Bitcoin and Ethereum, high risk, right? But they're more than what is Bitcoin. How do you explain what Bitcoin is? No, but it's, it's out there. But these are the platforms, the engineering, the, the technology that it all runs on.

KT: These are the folks that made it really confusing.

Suze: No, they're not the techies.

KT: So that's how maybe I'll buy a little bit of that.

Suze: No, we had own enough of it. KT. Trust me on that. Right. They have gone up significantly. But if Bitcoin continues to go up and these should do very well, but only, this is only for money that you can afford to lose everybody and be careful because they have gone up considerably. So maybe you want a dollar cost average. All right. Go on KT ok.

KT: Next question, Suze, do I have this right? I should not be buying any more Series I Bonds next year.

Suze: Yeah, you got that right.

KT: So why tell him why.

Suze: Well, as I've been telling you for the past two resets of the interest rates for Series I Bonds that started in May of this year as well as November of this year is that I really believed that inflation was going to come down. I also believed that it would be far better for you to put your money in a place where there weren't restrictions. Remember in a Series I bond, you can't touch your money for at least one year. No matter what, you cannot touch it in years. Two through five, there is a three month interest penalty if you want to take your money out. And what I was afraid of is that if you had to wait one year and you had a three month interest penalty when the interest rates were still relatively ok in series I bonds. So the three month interest penalty would be kind of significant if you needed to come out that you would also miss the high interest rates that you could have locked in in 20 or 30 year treasury bonds or for instance, the 18 to 23 month certificate of deposit at Alliant Credit Union.

Suze: That's why. And so, no, I would not have bought them this past year. Sorry for those who are Series I Bond freaks. There was a time when it was at 7.2% 9%. It was up there. That's no longer the time things have changed. There are alternative ways to invest right now and I'm just not into locking up money for a long period of time. All right.

KT: Next question. So, Suze, what is that URL of the place I can get a discount on my dental procedures?

Suze: And it was so funny because the other day, I was thinking I need to go get x rays and a yearly exam. And I was thinking about that again, the best way to save money on dental procedures more than any other thing out there. Really? Everybody is a dental savings plan. You should look it up. Go to dental plans.com and those plans will cost you maybe 100 to $200 a year, maybe $200 for your entire family. And you can save anywhere from 10 to 60% on dental procedures if your dentist in fact takes it and if they don't go to a different dent, there you go. All right. Go on.

KT: Ok. So Susie, I can get a 10 month CD at 5.8%. Why isn't that better than the Alliant 18 to 23 month one at 5.3%?

Suze: That's actually a good question. And what's also funny is I saw that ad the other day.

Suze: Listen, it's easier to give a higher interest rate for short periods of time.

Suze: Look at the treasuries and their returns. They're giving you a higher interest rate for a three and six month than they are for a one year than they are for a two year. So the shorter the period of time, they can give you a higher interest rate because they know that when that matures most likely you'll just reinvest at whatever interest rate they're giving you at that time, which will be considerably lower because they also know that people tend to not change financial institutions. Oh, you're there. What difference can it make? I'll just re up again after 10 months.

Suze: When you're looking at the Alliant Credit Union 18 to 23 month, you choose your maturity, everybody, if you look at the Alliant Credit Union 18 to 23 month maturity at 5.3% or 5.35% for $75,000 or more.

Suze: That is a longer period of time. Number one, number two. So it's almost twice as long,

Suze: right? A 10 month versus a 20 month or a 21 month. So that yield is for eight months to almost 10 months longer than a 10 month one that matures. If you compare Alliant to the two year Treasury note, it's almost 1% higher.

Suze: So the Alliant Credit Union longer term certificate of deposit is giving you one of the highest interest rates for a longer period of time. So you don't really have to worry so much if in three months or six months or one year, interest rates start to come down, which they probably will at that time because you're still locked in for a whole another year. Essentially, that's why I was gonna say what's his name or her name?

KT: But I'm not giving you any names.

Suze: That's why everybody now, I just have to say something else. Even though interest rates are starting to come down, they're starting to come down slowly.

Suze: So sometime next year is when you will see them really start to come down. Although you have seen the 10 year Treasury note seriously come down, which is why mortgages are about to go under 7%. Remember just a little bit more, they were at 8%. Ok. But that doesn't mean that a year or two or three from now. They might not go right. Back up.

Suze: That's why I also want you to have 18 to 23. I hope you do the 23 by the way, because it's 23 months all the way through. So it's really almost a two year certificate of deposit. That's why I want you to do some on the shorter end of about two years and some on the longer end. So you've covered yourself no matter what happens. All right, KT.

KT: So next question, Suze, if I have money that I really want to speculate with, what are the two stocks under $10 that I would buy if I can afford to lose it all? I can't believe this is a question. I don't know who you are that you can afford to lose money, but I have a lot of money and I never want to lose it.

KT: So, what do you have? Do you have stocks under 10 bucks?

Suze: I do. I actually do. I hate to say it.

KT: All right, give me 2.

Suze: One is Hims H I M S is the symbol is it. It's this company that is starting to sell health things online and very well may come out with something that they can sell online that is kind of for weight loss. So that's Hims.

KT: H I M S is it for men?

Suze: It's actually Hims and Hers.

Suze: The name of the company is Hims and Hers and the other one, believe it or not is Fubo Fubo. It's like three bucks a share or something like that. The other ones like at about $8 a share, but it's a TV thing and blah, blah, blah. And I don't want to spend time on this.

KT: Those are two Suze. Do you still like Reits? Is it Reits or Reits?

Suze: Real estate investment trusts

Suze: I do. And I do think as interest rates start to come down and everything reits are the way to go. One of my favorites still is Care trust ctre The other one that I had been recommending to you. O reality income has really gone up now, 10 to 15% already from where I started to tell you all to buy it. So again, just be careful there. OK. Go on.

KT: Suze. This is my last big question.

KT: So Suze, now you're recommending Pfizer and Verizon both have hit their all time lows of the year. Wait. So why should we buy stocks heading downhill rather than those magnificent seven? I don't get it.

Suze: KT...

KT: Oh no, here it comes.

Suze: Quizzy time. I have a quizzy for you, but I'm just changed my mind.

Suze: Tell everybody what are the magnificent seven.

KT: OK. I have to remember everyone. The only way I can remember this is the, the, the tip she gave me Ant Mama. All right.

Suze: So the magnificent seven, everybody are seven stocks that this year truly skyrocketed and moved the whole, the whole market, right?

KT: So here we go,

KT: Apple and NVIDIA T Tesla and then the next four easy for me, Mama Microsoft Amazon, Meta and Alphabet. By the way, everyone which is really Googled.

Suze: Ding, ding. I'm so proud of you. KT. Here's the thing. Let's just turn back the clock of time. And where were those magnificent seven stocks one year ago today?

Suze: And let me just give you an example. Apple was about 100 and $29 a share today. It's at 200 NVIDIA I think was about 146 today. It's about 500 Tesla was about 120 today. It's about 260 Microsoft was about, I think it was about 224. Today, it's about 375. Amazon was at about 84, 85. Today, it's about 155. Meta was at about 96. When on this podcast, everybody, KT said, I think I should buy it because, and she did and I said I wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole that just gives you an idea. I am not always right.

Suze: However, today it's at about 353 way to go KT an Alphabet. One year ago, Google was at 89 today. It's at 142. Now, why do I tell you that?

Suze: I tell you that because one year ago, nobody wanted to touch these stocks. They were going down and down and down and down and all of a sudden now they're the magnificent seven. And while I do think they will continue up. I have told you, I don't think they're gonna go straight up from here,

Suze: as you know, I also said to you, Apple is one of my favorite, if not my favorite stock and I'm waiting for it to go down at least 10% before I even buy more.

Suze: But they'll go up, but they could also go down, but they're not gonna go up, I don't think to the tune of what they went up last year. So now we have Pfizer Verizon both giving you approximately a 7% dividend, both who just recently paid their dividend and raised it a little bit again, that are at almost their lows. Don't you wish you had bought the magnificent seven at their lows?

Suze: So that's why I am recommending Pfizer and Verizon, especially for those who are looking for a high yielding dividend stock. Because if you think about it, 7% approximately is a whole lot higher than what the money market funds are paying and so on and so forth. And over time, it might be a year two or three, those stocks should be significantly higher. What else you got?

KT: I have one last question in keeping with the Holiday Spirit. And this is from me, Suze, what is your advice for gift giving at Christmas if I haven't purchased gifts yet?

Suze: Why did you ask me that? You know what I would tell people?

KT: You go ahead and tell them all.

Suze: So, first of all, if you've been listening to us for a while, you know that our family tradition has always been, you do not buy gifts, you're going to give gifts, you have to make them.

Suze: And that started especially with our niece and our nephew, Sophia and Travis when they were young and they used to kind of live with us and they would have to make the Christmas tree we love the gifts they made, they had to make the Hanukkah menorah. They had to make little gifts. And once I walked in and my entire living room floor, 1000 cranes of Origami, they took little pieces of paper and folded them and made cranes out of them and made a Christmas tree out of cranes on the floor.

Suze: And that was our gift was fabulous. Remember they, they also, when we lived in New York City, they sent us a roll of paper that we rolled down the entire entire um apartment hallway, which was huge and that one happened to be for my 60th birthday and they gave me 60 reasons why they, why they loved me. And I have to tell you, I still have that role to this day. I still have those cranes the day. Do you still have your Christmas gifts that were purchased for you? 10 years ago, 20 years ago, even last year, do you or don't you? So that would be my answer? Would be make gifts, give gifts of value. However, here is my warning to you.

Suze: We are essentially four days away from Christmas if you have not purchased because you do purchase them holiday gifts for those that you want to give to. I am asking you don't do it now.

Suze: And the reason is if you wait till the last minute, normally you wait to the last minute because you don't have the money or you don't know what to really get somebody or you don't really want to do it, believe it or not. So, what do you do? You go into a store you rush in and the very first thing you see you go, oh, that's good. And you buy it and then that item ends up in the closet with the people never wearing it or using it. How do I know that? I know that because all the years that I did the Oprah Winfrey show and she had me go into homes to redo their finances. And so to redo your finances, you have to go through the things that you hold on to. So the first place we would start would be the closets that would be full of stuff with tags to them. Right. And I'd say, what are those? And they go, oh, those are all the Christmas and birthday gifts I've been given over the years

Suze: and I go, why didn't you return them? And I couldn't hurt their feelings or whatever it may be. So, therefore, if you really want to give a gift this holiday season, if you haven't already purchased one or every holiday and birthday celebration from now on, give a gift that all the money in the world could never buy. All right, KT that's a wrap.

KT: So today, Suze, wherever I go, I will create a more peaceful, joyful and loving world.

Suze: And I just have to say something about that.

Suze: I've lived with KT now for almost 22 years, if not longer actually.

Suze: And I can tell you there is not a day that passes that she doesn't do that.

Suze: And so in the same way that because of that KT is unstoppable. If you say that every day, if you do that, every day, you too can be just like KT and be unstoppable.