Podcast Episode - Ask KT & Suze Anything: I Don’t Trust My Husband With Money. What Should I Do?

On today’s Suze School, Suze is joined by Keith Fitz-Gerald for a lesson in Palantir.  We’ll learn what the company actOn this Ask Suze & KT Anything edition, KT ask Suze questions from you about GICs, student loans, and financial advisor fees. Plus, KT’s favorite: Roths and so much more!

Listen to Podcast Episode:

Podcast Transcript:

Suze: June 12, 2025. Welcome everybody to the Women and Money... Don't make me.

KT: Why are you laughing?

Suze: I don't know.

KT: I'll tell you why she's laughing, everybody, because this is take three. She read this beginning three times with the wrong date, so I'm looking at her and I'm saying I'm shaking my head. No, Suze, it's the 12th, not the 11th, not the 10th, it's the 12th of June.

There we go.

Suze: All right, so you feel better now.

KT: It's almost Bastille Day.

Suze: Do y'all feel better now? You're good. All right. So this is the Women and Money Podcast, and Everybody Smart Enough to Listen.

And today is...

KT: Ask KT and Suze Anything.

Suze: But it's obvious that KT is going to tell me everything today. I can tell you she's just a little whatever buster already and it's early and she's very rambunctious already. Is that because Colo comes home?

KT: No, it's because you're taking me out today on the boat.

Suze: By myself?

KT: Just you and me, baby, you and me, just you and me.

Suze: How are we going to explain that to Colo?

KT: I'm telling him he has other things to do. We're going alone, just you and me.

Suze: Is there a reason why?

KT: Yeah, cause we can. But let's start this podcast.

Suze: Wait, can I tell you a story? All right. So as you know, yesterday, right, Mr. Davis came over to say hi to us. Now Mr. Davis...

KT: Love him.

Suze: Love him. He's the godfather of this island. He's the best fisherman ever, ever. So it's funny, KT, because yesterday I was telling him how you and I are going to start going out on the boat by ourselves, and he said, you know, Suze, you've come so far. I remember like 10 years ago, I would be going out fishing, and there you and KT would be in your boat with your little fishing rods catching the tiniest little fish...

KT: On the dock.

Suze: No, we would be at Mrs. Boo, in front of Mrs. Boo, and we would go every single day, you guys, to this spot. Because we were afraid to go very far.

KT: Twelve feet of water we would anchor and it was a big deal to anchor. I'll never forget.

Suze: And we caught these little tiny fish and we would be so excited and then we would go to the filet station. KT would filet them. But he said every day he would see us there.

And he said, "You girls have come a really long way." But don't you love that he told that story? All right, you have questions for me.

KT: I do.

Suze: What are they?

KT: Are you ready?

Suze: I hope so.

KT: OK, everyone, here we go. Buckle up. Hello, Suze. Thank you for helping women with their finances. I am a new senior, and I understand about stocks and GICs.

Suze: Do you know what a GIC is?

KT: Yeah, guaranteed investment certificates.

Suze: How did you know that?

KT: Because it says it right here. It says it on my email, but I still don't know what a GIC is.

Suze: I'll tell you.

KT: I know what a geek is, but I don't know what a GIC is.

Suze: I'll tell you... Read me the question.

KT: I do not understand why bonds are necessary. Also, there's so many bonds. Would you recommend bond ETFs, which types, and what should be the goal for bonds? I know it's the fixed income part and the income would be my goal. Why would bonds be better than GICs? Suze, you're a geek. Tell him why.

Suze: So a GIC is what again KT?

KT: Guaranteed investment certificates.

Suze: And they are usually offered—so this person must be from Canada—because they're usually offered by Canadian banks and trust companies.

KT: Why?

Suze: Because that's just... they like them. And so when you purchase one, you're essentially lending a bank or a financial institution money for a fixed period of time.

When you do that, that bank guarantees your interest rate and everything back—kind of like a bond—but because it's all kind of guaranteed, up to $100,000 by the way, they give you a lower interest rate than a bond would. So that's essentially what a GIC is. Did that not explain it?

KT: So which is better, a GIC or a bond?

Suze: So the thing about a GIC, for those of you who would ever come across them, you get a lower interest rate. It's fixed normally depending on what kind of GIC you buy—'cause there's three or four kinds of different ones—then you usually don't get your interest rate till it matures. It's not like a bond, that if interest rates go down, the value of the bond goes up, that you can easily cash out of and things like that.

So here's the answer to your question. What is this person's name?

KT: Elisa.

Suze: So here's the thing. The disadvantage of a GIC is that you generally get a lower return in comparison to a bond. You don't have as much liquidity as you do with a bond, and again, obviously your interest rate earned is taxable to you.

So I personally like bonds because you can buy and sell them any time you want. The interest rate is higher than a GIC, and it just gives me more flexibility. But if you like that your principal is protected, you like the guaranteed return, you like all of those things, then just stick with your GICs. All right.

KT: Now listen to the next question carefully, everybody—and Suze. The reason I picked it, it's from Russell. Russell from Louisiana. But this is why I picked it. Here's his subject. This is the title of the email: Should I pay off my annoying student loan?

Suze: Well, there you go. The answer is yes.

KT: But should I read it to everyone? So Russell has...

Suze: That's your job.

KT: All right. So, when I read that, I knew that Suze and I both would say yes is the answer. I have $3,600 remaining in student loan debt, and I'm so tired of paying it monthly. I graduated in 2012. This student loan has been on my back for 13 years. I'm so tired of dealing with it. So then he gives me a little details, and then he said, Should I suck it up and pay off the student loan out of my savings or continue to pay that annoying monthly payment plus some?

Suze: Give him the answer.

KT: So yes, pay it off and forget it. Set it and forget it, Russell. You're done. That's it. You're done. School is out.

Suze: No, student loan debt is over. All right.

KT: All right, ready?

Suze: I told you she was very rambunctious this morning.

KT: So this is from Jason. And Jason said, hi Suze and KT. I haven't listened in a few weeks, so I'm not sure what...

Suze: What the heck is the matter with you?

KT: I don't know... Where you been, Jason?

Suze: Where have you been, Jason?

KT: Not sure what's new with you both, but I certainly hope you're as well as can be.

Suze: Well, wait. Is there anything new with us? Let's think. I don't know. I don't—I'm not saying there is, but is there anything new with us in the past two weeks?

KT: Yeah, we've been so happy.

Suze: I turned 74.

KT: Yeah, but we're just real happy on the island.

Suze: But we're always happy. That's not new.

KT: Um...

Suze: So no, nothing's new with us. You haven't missed anything.

KT: You haven't missed anything except you've been missing this podcast, which has been great, Jason. So he said—and he's asking this question—Suze, are you still a fan of dental savings plans?

Suze: And the answer to that, KT, is you bet we are. And again, for those of you who don't know—a dental savings plan can be gotten through a company by the name of DentalPlans.com, and a dental savings plan is issued by insurance companies, and if you have one or if you get one, normally you can get one for $150 a year, maybe $200 a year for your entire family. You can get anywhere from 10% to 60% off dental procedures.

KT and I both have one, and we save hundreds and hundreds of dollars every single year on our dental procedures. So go to DentalPlans.com and check it out and see. And I have a feeling if you really want to be smart with your money—the Suze way—get yourself a dental savings plan. All right, KT.

KT: So this is from Lily, and I don't know the answer, but...

Suze: Oh really?

KT: Wait, wait, wait...

Suze: Does that surprise you?

KT: It's about a Roth, everybody.

Suze: I just want to tell you all, right? So KT and I spent the weekend—actually I spent the weekend—watching the finals of the...

KT: Paris Open tennis.

Suze: Great tennis. KT decides to join me. Oh my God,

KT: That's not...

KT: ...nice.

Suze: Oh my God.

KT: I don't play tennis. I'm not a big sport jock. I don't know...

KT: ...really all of the nuances. I've never seen the ad—you have to, you get all these points—it's confusing...

Suze: If any of you are with KT and you're going to go to a tennis game, don't.

KT: Send me to go get the drinks. All right, ready. So Lily asks, my retired friends, ages 68 to 70, say I'm a fool for converting my traditional IRAs to a Roth and say, let our adult kids pay the taxes. I'm 77 years old and I have four kids, 27 to 31. We all had read that we'd be in a much lower tax bracket when we were old and retired—false, she said. We're in a much higher tax bracket than when we were younger.

Suze: Wait, I have to say something. The most important part of this email is exactly what you've just read. The reason that I'm telling all of you that you should do a Roth Roth Roth Roth—I don't care what tax bracket you're in today—if you buy this myth that when you get older you're going to be in a lower tax bracket, I've got a bridge to sell you. Especially given the deficits and the debt that we have. So listen to what she just said. Go on, KT.

KT: Suze, in the past couple of years, I converted $300,000 in traditional IRAs to a Roth after listening to your show and reading your book.

Suze: And does she say how much she has remaining?

KT: Yeah, so here's her dilemma. She has $500,000 remaining in traditional IRAs.

Suze: So obviously she's...

KT: She's 77.

Suze: So Lily, listen to me. I have to tell you, your friends are right on this. And the reason is that you're already in a high tax bracket—at 30%. If you convert, you're going to go to a higher income tax bracket, number one, but you're going to lose out on the growth of that money.

The only people that will not benefit from you converting now will be your kids, because they're going to have to pay income tax on it. But KT just gave me your email and it says that your kids are in the 12 to 22% tax bracket. So I would not be, at your age, converting at this point in time. I would take out what you need to spend.

What you might want to do is, if you have income from other investments or whatever, just save that and live off the money that you do take out of your traditional IRA and spend that. But I would not be converting large amounts on any level to a Roth at your age. All right, KT.

KT: Suze, this next question's from Luis, but ready?

Suze: Did it already make you laugh?

KT: Yeah, it does, because he wrote this: Hello, Suze and the amazing KT.

Suze: The only reason she picked it. Go on.

KT: Wait a minute. Listen to the first sentence, everyone—tell me how you would feel. KT, like you, we don't always get Suze's questions right. But that's OK. We still love your perspective on the show. So thanks, Luis. That's a compliment, I guess.

Suze: Just don't watch tennis with her. Go on.

KT: No, don't watch tennis with me. But I'm gonna go to watch tennis next year in Paris.

Suze: We decided for...

KT: I am taking Suze for her birthday.

Suze: We're going to the Paris Open because I love tennis. All right, go on.

KT: So I'm writing today to ask about financial adviser management fees on IRA accounts. And it's called AUM...

Suze: Assets Under Management.

KT: OK, so my past two financial advising companies allowed me to pay all management fees for all of the accounts they were managing—Roth, traditional, brokerage, so on and so on—from a non-retirement taxable brokerage account.

Of course. How else would you pay it?

Well, listen to this. So we're looking at moving to a new financial planning company. When we told them we wanted to pay all management fees from a non-retirement taxable brokerage account, they said it wasn't legal to do so and that the fees associated with each account needed to be paid out of each respective account.

Suze: Luis, the answer is very simple here. Get yourself a new financial firm. If they're wanting to take money from a retirement account to pay your fees, are you crazy? No. Outside of retirement accounts is how it's done properly. Go on.

KT: Ooh, she's reading. She's very serious.

Because this is, um, kind of...

All right, so ready, everybody.

Suze: You picked it.

KT: Sally—I know. But Sally wishes Suze happy birthday, but listen to the email. This is my question. With my husband being on the fringe of death a number of times—I mean, that's why I'm reading this thinking, is this... I don't want to make light of this—but with my husband being on the fringe of death a number of times, we decided to re-deed our rental properties in his name to avoid large capital gains.

Suze: Smart move, yes.

KT: But, however, I'm just realizing that if he dies first...

Suze: Which you hope he does. That's why you did it.

KT: This opens me up to probate with these properties, correct?

Suze: Only if she doesn't have a living revocable trust.

KT: Well wait, I keep reading about joint tenancy with right of survival.

Suze: That won't do it for her.

KT: But I'm lost. Did we make a mistake? Oh, I'm glad that you're going to fix this for her.

Suze: So you did not make a mistake yet. What you want to do is, if you put the property in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, then obviously it's in both of your names and you only get a step-up in basis on his half.

You put everything in his name because obviously you bought all these properties—and I see there's quite a few here, like four or five—you bought them all years ago at a very low cost basis. If they're only in his name, upon his death, it goes to you. You get a step-up in basis on all of them.

So let's say you paid $100,000 for all the properties and now they're worth $3 million. If they're just in his name, upon his death, your new cost basis will be $3 million. If you turn around and sell it, you don't owe any capital gains tax whatsoever. The key is it should be in his trust. You should have a living revocable trust—just his name—and the property should be held in trust, his trust, and you're the beneficiary. So for his benefit while he's alive, upon his death, you're the successor beneficiary. You get all of those and get a step-up in basis.

A will will make it so you're probated. You don't want joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. So now just get yourself a living revocable trust—which, by the way, by the end of today you can go to musthavedocs.com/birthday and you can get the must-have docs for $74 till the end of the day Pacific Time, so midnight Pacific time.

You can do that. So just go and get those. $74 for $2500 worth of state-of-the-art documents, and you can do it right in the luxury of your own home. Good in all 50 states. And here's the thing—I just want to answer this one question because a lot of you have been writing it. You hear me say that if you get these documents you can share it with as many people as you want, and you can.

But you're afraid. Does that mean that they can see your documents? Do they get to know everything that you've done? No. You just give them the activation code. They activate it, and then they create their own account, their own password, their own name, and everything they do in it—nobody can see what they do. Nobody saw what you did. So the reason that I've done that is that it only takes one of you.

And then you can share it with your mother or your brother or your sister or your children, so all of you can be protected.

KT: Get it right away, Sally. Today.

Suze: Today. You got only till end of today, Pacific time. All right.

KT: All right. Next question is from Kelly. She said, Hi, Suze and KT, and she said—I picked this because KT's favorite topic—the Roth. She writes, The Roth.

Suze: You have quite the reputation, my dear.

KT: I do.

So the question is, I have $300,000 in a traditional IRA and $100,000 in a Roth IRA. I'm currently contributing 14% of my income to the Roth. Would it be better for me to continue contributing 14% to the Roth or contribute less or nothing to the Roth and instead do a traditional IRA conversion? I currently earn $69,000 a year. I'm 54 years old and I am single. What is in my best interest long term? This is from Kelly.

Suze: Yeah, Kelly, listen to me very quickly. Why don't you do both? Do not stop contributing to the Roth by any means. Just don't do it.

Right, because you can only put so much into a Roth every year and you would be missing out on those contributions. You can convert any time you want. I would be contributing to the Roth and I would be converting little by little from a traditional to a Roth. All right, OK.

KT: Suze, my last question is from Judy.

Suze: I have to tell you, I think she says this is her last question because this is a two-page email she's about to read. So what the heck?

KT: I'll tell you, I think a lot of you listening have either gone through this or know someone that absolutely has. Very serious. So, my name is Judy. I'm 31 years old. I've been listening to the Women and Money podcast since July of 2024. Good—you have an anniversary coming up, Judy. In March of '24, I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were absolutely thrilled by the news, and we welcomed our son in November 2024.

Now ready? Listen up, everyone. Shortly after finding out about my pregnancy, my husband informed me that he was in credit card debt to the tune of about $45,000. We have a joint savings account through my bank, but we keep most of our finances separate and split household bills. My husband pays the mortgage. I pay utilities, cable, so on and so forth. Unfortunately—ready?—after he told me about the debt, we decided to take out a HELOC to cover it. Big mistake, right? Our loan is for $45,000 at a 10% interest. I wasn't listening to the podcast at the time, and I now know it isn't how I would have handled the situation.

Suze: But that's all right.

KT: I do check in periodically with my husband to make sure he's making the monthly payments. But Suze, even as I'm typing this email, I know I need to be more involved. He makes about $150,000 a year. I make about $63,000. Ready everyone? Let's introduce suspect number two—my husband's mother.

This is the part that's a little tricky.

Suze: What bad habit did he learn from his mother?

KT: She is in the process of selling her home. She's asked my husband to co-sign on an apartment lease for her. I know this is one of Suze's top three red flags. Her credit score is less than 600, but I don't know exactly what it is. I do not want my husband to co-sign. I have expressed this to him.

There are a lot of unknowns surrounding this situation. She currently lives in a home she cannot afford. Her mortgage is $2,200 with a $250 HOA fee. Yeah, wow. Her rent in the new apartment will be $2,000.

In my mind, I don't feel like that is enough of a difference to feel comfortable co-signing for. I looked at our county's property tax records and saw that she had refinanced her current home at least twice since moving into that home in 2020.

She originally bought it for $225,000 and in 2024 refinanced with a new mortgage for $279,000. My husband is an only child and his dad died from cancer in 2015. He feels like he needs to co-sign his mom to help her.

Suze: Of course he does. They are codependent.

KT: Listening to the podcast... Listen to what Judy’s doing, everyone, and you tell me if this marriage is a little shaky. Since listening to the podcast, I've opened a savings account through Alliant. I am more than halfway to having a 12-month emergency fund. I also have a $2,000 fund in a regular savings account in case I need it for home repairs.

I opened a 529 for my son that has almost $1,000 in it. I contribute to a retirement plan through my job and also to a pension since I work for the government. I'm trying to do everything in my power to be financially secure.

She missed the word "alone." I do not want to divorce my husband, but I need help. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. You know what makes me sad? They have a brand new baby boy. He's not being respectful or honest. He's not standing in his truth with his wife, Suze. Well, what should Judy do?

Suze: Judy. So first of all, you're doing great on your own. And you obviously—I mean, what struck me about this email, my love, is that did I hear it right that your husband makes like $150,000 a year and you make $63,000?

So did you ever ask him what did he spend that $45,000 on? Did he ever come clean with that? Because it seems to me when somebody's making three times what you're making essentially—what is he doing? Does he have a gambling problem? I'm very serious about this. Does he have some other kind of problem, or is he just like somebody who wants to show off and he takes his friends out to drinks and he pays for everything, and he pretends like he has more money than he does?

But he is not somebody that is responsible with money. And just because you did a home equity line of credit and he's making the payments on it—uh uh. What I would be doing if I were you, because you said that you know you need to be more financially responsible, is he is to give you the money every single month, and you are going to make the payments on the home equity line of credit. And if he says why, tell him 'cause Suze doesn't trust you.

Just say it that way, because I don't trust him to not fall into bad habits again. I want you to check both credit reports. Is he up to date or is he not? I want you to call the company that you have the home equity line of credit with, and I want you to ask them if, in fact, has he been on time. Have your payments—because they're not just his, they're your payments as well—have your payments been on time every single month, or have there been late charges with those payments?

So let's get you real with what's happening with that home equity line of credit, number one. As soon as you know everything is up to date, he is to pay you, and you are in charge of making those payments.

Next, his mother. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that she lost her husband and he lost his father maybe 10 years ago or whatever it was now. However, that is the past. Guilt, shame, and anger are the three internal obstacles to wealth. Guilt is not enough to have his mother not only get herself into financial trouble again but to get you and your husband into financial trouble again, because you are not going to be able to afford an extra $2,000 a month to pay for her apartment, and then he won't have the nerve to be able to say, Mom, you've got to move out. And then she's going to be living with you.

KT: I was going to say that. What can you do?

Suze: She is to stay in the home that she has. Now the difference between what she's paying right now—$2,200 a month plus $250 for homeowners association—is just $450 more a month than what her apartment would cost her for $2,000 a month. Your husband, if he wants, should pay the difference between what she would pay renting and what she's paying now. So that's only $450 a month. If he wants to give his mother $450 a month to be able to stay in her home, fine.

But something is going on with his mother as well. We have a husband and we have a mother-in-law that spend more money than they have coming in. They are both living a financial lie. And I say that with the utmost of love to you. You have to be the strong one because your husband is not. Your mother-in-law is not. It is so crazy that she has blown the equity in her home on what?

So either you all need to sit down, the three of you, and have an honest financial conversation. Your mother-in-law, if she gets in financial trouble, you and your husband do not have the money to save her. And she is getting older and older, and her expenses will be increasing. So she is to stay in a home now that she owns, build up equity in that home, and just be honest.

But no, he is not going to co-sign that loan. You are going to have an honest talk with both of them. You are going to pay for the home equity line of credit. You're going to check credit reports, and you're going to stand on your own. And if your husband doesn't like it, then let him stand on his own. And he's gonna find out he's a lot better with you than without you.

Suze: All right, Ms. Travis, that brings us to an end here, right? Guess—guess who's coming home today?

KT: Colo.

Suze: Colo comes home in just a little bit. So we're going to sign off. He's been with his wife in Colombia and so I hope he's happy to come home to his two mamas. But anyway, there's only really one thing we want you to remember when it comes to your money, and what is it, KT?

KT: People first and money and things.

Suze: And don't forget Suze School on Sunday. Let's see what I come up with. Until then, take care. Bye-bye.