Suze Orman's 5 Tip Action Plan for Economic Downturn

I just watched Suze Orman on the Oprah show. She is giving a copy of her new book, Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan away free for one week effective January 8 and running through to next Thursday, January 15 midnight.

I did a google search on Suze Orman, Suzie Orman, Susie Orman, Suzi Orman, Suze Ormand however you want to spell it; and there was at least a half a million searches for her name. For Suze Orman alone the average search over the last 12 months was 201,000. The search volume for December alone? 368,000. What does that tell you?

It tells me that this economic downturn is waking people up to the fact that they better get a handle on their finances.

Whether you are a fan of Suze Orman or Oprah or not I believe this is valuable information. There are two tools: a credit card debt eliminator calculator and an expense sheet. She also offers a 5 step plan that you can immediately take action on. Check it out on Oprah.com.

Here's an overview of her 5 tips:

Apparently this is the number one thing we lie about. Suze Orman's suggestion is to line up your credit cards in order of interest rates, highest to lowest. Make your minimum monthly payment on each. Focus on paying off the highest interest rate cards first. When that debt is paid off you then apply that amount to the next highest and so on. I’ve also heard this call the snowball effect which is a good visual.

--NEWS FLASH: SUZE ORMAN CHANGES HER ADVICE ON CREDIT CARDS--

Did you see Suze Orman on Oprah today, April 2nd? Orman has done a 180 degree turn on her credit card advice! To read about her latest advice on recession proofing your life read my hub: Suze Orman On Oprah: Recession Rescue Advice

 I learned that FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that created the credit score years ago. It was interesting that when you only pay the minimum this flags you as not being very smart with your money and it can lead to them closing down your accounts. Ways to improve your score are to pay more than the minimum where possible, pay on time and never exceed your credit card limit. Most of us assume that we should be cutting up our credit cards. Orman’s advice is to NEVER close down a credit card. It will actually hurt your score. She explained that our FICO is based on the amount of money you can qualify for so those credit card limits add up. Orman says: "The lower your FICO score, the higher your interest rate. The higher your FICO score, the lower your interest rate."

This was about separating our needs from our wants.. If you have debt and no savings you need to only spend money on your needs. Orman provides an expense sheet to track exactly what is going in and out of your account on a monthly basis.

Only after getting a handle on your debt do you move onto this step. The advice now is to save enough to cover 8 months of expenses instead of the traditional 3. The key is to save more than you think is possible. Her recommendations is 20% more. Third is to shop around for the savings account with the highest interest. I have found the best to be an e-savings account.

1.  Don’t panic when the market goes down; assuming you have 10+ years to retirement.
2. Invest monthly into your 401K, IRA or RRSP. Everything is on sale right now. You can buy more shares with the same amount of money.
3. An excellent point Suze made was that if you will need the money in the next 5 years get it out of the stock market. To be successful in the stock market it needs to be money that you don’t need; you need time on your side.

The next evening Suze Orman was on Larry King Live. Her added tidbit? Do not consolidate your debt. Never add unsecured debt to secured debt.

To put this recession in perspective I have posted an article on my blog: Recession Fear Fueled by Suze Orman? The Bull (& The Bear) Of It All Check out a diagram which shows the bull and bear markets over the past 60 years. Note how often they occur and how long they each last!

Suze Orman gives great advice for the masses in general. I would add to this that you may want to consider expanding your income circle. Consider starting a home-based business as opposed to taking on a second job. Make reading Robert Kiyosaki a priority. Become financially literate. Learn the real definition of assets and liablilities. Don’t make the mistake that most people who read him. Don’t jump into the real estate or stock market. His recommendation is to own your own business first. Then with the money that you don’t need for day to day expenses you can then invest.

Go to my blog to read more on my take on Suze Orman and expanding your income circle by applying The Law of Attraction

What kind of business you ask? A work from home online business is my recommendation. Click on the following links if you are interested in more information on a business opportunity (this is an article, I'm not trying to push a product or MLM opportunity here), pay per click programs or information product creation.

If you are not comfortable with the idea of having your own business then perhaps one of these options would appeal to you:

Winning The Recession Job War! Powerful Job Hunting Help. Ten Chapters Of Ideas To Make Your Search Successful. Just Released (March 2009), By Top Job Coach, Charles Moldenhauer. Resume, Attitude, Cover Letters, Age Bias, And Much More.

Recession Job Search Strategies: 7 Steps To Getting Hired. Not Just Another Job Book! Truly Original Career Advice That Works in the Global Crisis. This Book Is So Topical And Hot Right Now! Global Market For This Book With 190 Million Unemployed Worldwide!

Possible Solution

As I say, Suze Orman is a great place to start but you really need to diversify; diversify using the internet. The internet is a phenomenal tool for leverage which is the secret of the rich. Ann Sieg recently launched a free report called The Attraction Marketers Manifesto. This report is packed with useful marketing information and will be worth the read for any marketer. Download your copy now: Special Report.

In this report Ann Sieg announces that she is joining forces with Mike Klingler of Renegade Professional. This is big news for you and me. The playing field has been levelled. We can now market online with low-cost, no cost methods.

An interview that Ann had with Mike Klingler "Better Than Google" became a self-fulfilling prophecy and did outperform Google! Ann Sieg and Mike Klingler can show you how you can be successful on the internet even if you are starting from scratch.

If you are interested in generating high quality customers or business partners for free watch this short video clip:

To watch the entire video: http://RenegadePro101.com

To summarize, Suze Orman is your step one. Apply her tips.Get your house in order. Step two is to allow the Law of Attraction to work for you instead of against you. Third diversify, preferably online and learn how to have your own work from home online business. The free report, The Attraction Marketer's Manifesto has many nuggets that will get your creative juices flowing!

To your $uccess!

Irene Kirkman, internet marketing consultant, is offering personal assistance for those who have home based businesses or would like to work from home online. The biggest challenge with taking your business online is becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. Avoid ‘analysis paralysis’, learn what you need to do next. The number one challenge I hear from people is: "I just want simple.” and “ Can’t you just tell me what to do next?" I have a solution. I know very well what not to do and can therefore shorten the learning curve substantially for anyone that is serious about escaping the rat race.

Book your 20” complimentary consultation at http://internetworkmarketercoach.com so I can identify your needs and get you started on an action plan.

I'm sorry I can no longer take phone callls but please feel free to contact me at irene.paradigmshift@gmail.com