Some people take their Finance 101 class—where they learn the basics before experiencing all the fun and learning The White Coat Investor provides—with Dave Ramsey. Some people learn their first lessons through Robert Kiyosaki. Some get obsessed after reading a JL Collins book.
For my wife and me, Suze Orman was our gateway into the first level of financial literacy.
When my wife was in residency and I was a sports writer, we’d flip on CNBC (or make sure to set the DVR) and watch The Suze Orman Show. It’s where we learned about why term life insurance was the answer instead of whole life. It’s where we learned about why a Roth IRA was such a good deal. It’s where we learned about ETFs and VTI. It’s where we learned that, man, people could be just plain silly with their money.
The best part of the show was the Can I Afford It segment. That’s when a series of followers would call in to the show, present their current financial state, and ask if they could afford a certain item. It could be a luxury good, a lavish vacation, or a monthly cable subscription.
Orman would sit there and stare into the camera while the caller presented their case. Her face would get skeptical or incredulous or annoyed or some combination of all three (just look at the thumbnails of the YouTube videos below). She reminds me of my grandma’s best friend. She could give you a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, and then two seconds later, make you feel like an idiot because you overpaid at dinner by not asking for the Early Bird Special.
The Can I Afford It segment was oftentimes hilarious, and sometimes, it made me judgmental (even then, my little bit of financial literacy vastly overshadowed whoever was trying to buy a $20,000 engagement ring when that person already had $150,000 in student loan debt and made just $12 an hour).
Naturally, my wife and I, much like a good spousal rivalry that takes place over a daily game of Jeopardy, would try to predict what Orman would say during these segments and why she would either turn down the listener’s pitch or bless them with her approval.
Earlier this month, Orman turned 75 years old. In celebration of her life (and all the good she’s done for the financially illiterate), let’s experience a few rounds of Can I Afford It. I’ll post a video of one of her segments. I’ll tell you when to stop the video. Record your answer (or put it in the comment section). Then, after you predict what Orman will say, you can watch the next video that’s time-stamped to her answer to see who was right and who needs to go back to money school.
Can I Afford It?
The Sweet Corvette Ride
I understand Dan’s desire to buy a new car if you’ve only driven used cars before. But then again, the Tesla I bought in 2022 didn’t cost $120,000 either. Make sure to stop at 2:20 of the video below and record your answer.
Here’s my take before I listen to the final answer:
As we all should know by now, the general WCI philosophy is to buy a new car if you can purchase it in cash. Also, you can build more wealth more quickly by just buying a beater and driving it into the ground. This car costs more than what he has in retirement at the age of 45. I don’t see how Orman will ever approve this one. Plus, he’s got way too much in savings. If he wants six months of an emergency fund, which would be closer to $40,000, he should forget about the Corvette and transfer $110,000 into a retirement account.
Either way, this is what Orman had to say.
Yeah, that one was an easy call (and now you can see how easy it is to get judgmental about these callers).
A Cute Little Puppy
I love dogs. But I don’t think I would ever sell my house and move into a bigger residence so my dog would be more comfortable. I looked over at my Shih Tzu just now, and she’s lying obliviously on the top of the couch, probably dreaming of salmon jerky treats and belly rubs. Adding some extra square feet will make exactly zero difference in her life. But that’s what this person wants to do—obtain a new dog and then move into a bigger apartment. Make sure to stop at 2:10 of the video below and record your answer.
Here’s my take before I listen to the final answer:
She probably shouldn’t be spending $24,000 a year extra on rent for this dog. But could she afford it if she put less into savings and retirement? I suppose she could. I’d say that Orman will say she can afford it but that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Then again, if the dog brings you joy in the present, you could always go with the Die With Zero philosophy and YOLO it. Yeah, she can afford it.
Turns out, sometimes I’m wrong.
The Louis Vuitton Purse
Trying to butter up Orman won’t help your cause. But that doesn’t stop Greg from trying to flirt his way into an approval. Make sure to stop at 1:40 of the video below.
Here’s my take before I listen to the final answer:
Pretty savage of Orman to say that the bag sucks before she hears any of his information. Either way, this dude makes less than $10,000 per year and wants to spend more than 10% on a luxury bag. You don’t even have to look at any of his other information to determine that Orman will NOT let this happen, no matter the fabulousity of the item.
This might be the easiest call in the entire history of Can I Afford It. Anyway, here’s the final answer:
OK, I was 2 for 3 in my predictions, a percentage that Meatloaf would find acceptable. Orman probably denied more Can I Afford It questions than she accepted, but she did actually give her blessing several times. We just didn’t find any today.
Oh well, maybe when we celebrate Orman’s 76th birthday, we’ll find some Can I Afford It videos that have happier endings.
More information here:
Let’s Celebrate Taylor Larimore’s 100th Birthday by Asking Him 4 Questions About Money
What We Learned Financially from Our Parents and How We’re Passing It on to the Next Generation
Money Song of the Week
If I’m going to listen to 1980s new wave pop, I’m probably going to go with Duran Duran, The Cure, or Tears for Fears. I’ve never listened much to Talking Heads (voted the No. 1 new wave group by Ultimate Classic Rock), but man, people go crazy over David Byrne and his ultra-large sports coat and quirky idiosyncrasies.
As UCR wrote, “Decades after their 1991 breakup, generations of musicians are still being influenced by the band’s work, a testament to both Talking Heads’ impact and the timelessness of their material.”
Today, let’s talk about the Talking Heads’ 1980 hit Once in a Lifetime, because many of us can probably relate to the content. It’s impactful and timeless.
As AllMusic.com wrote,
“Although they defy easy analysis, overall the lyrics address the drudgery of living life according to social expectations, and pursuing commonly accepted trophies (a large automobile, beautiful house, beautiful wife). The recited verses progress through stages of life—the first has a giddy sense of possibility stemming from newfound prosperity; the second hints at a vague dissatisfaction and sense of estrangement from the things the narrator has worked for; and the third questions the whole direction of the narrator’s life—where he had passively been “letting the days go by.” Mumbling “same as it ever was” to himself with an increasing sense of panic, he now explodes in a shout of “My God, what have I done?”
As Byrne sings, “And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile/And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife/And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’”
It’s not a stretch to believe this song is about the uncomfortableness of unregulated consumerism—or as The Guardian called it, a “ticking time bomb.”
But according to Byrne, that wasn’t the point of these lyrics. As he said, via NPR:
“We’re largely unconscious. You know, we operate half-awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven’t really stopped to ask ourselves, ‘How did I get here?’”
I suppose the song is really about the consequences of not living intentionally, something we occasionally discuss here at WCI. One day, you wake up with the doctor house and the big mortgage and the job that you might not even like all that much. One day, you realize you’re 75 years old and still don’t have the money to retire.
The next day is just like the last. The grinding goes on forever. It’s the same as it ever was.
More information here:
Every Money Song of the Week Ever Published
Reel of the Week
As long as it’s near the hospital, he’s basically working a doctor job anyway. He’ll just have to deal with more garlic sauce than he was originally expecting.
Who was your gateway teacher in finance? How much did they help you? What did they teach you?
