Suze Orman Reveals the Money Mistake That ‘Keeps Us Down’
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Gary Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Do you know how much your best friend makes? Do you openly discuss how much debt you have? Do you know what your neighbors are paying for their mortgage? Chances are, the answer to all of these questions is “no.”
Money remains a taboo topic that very few people discuss, but financial expert Suze Orman sees not talking about money as a big mistake. Here’s why Orman believes not talking openly about money “keeps us down.”
Removing the Taboo
Orman acknowledges that many people feel uncomfortable talking about money.
“Money is still this topic that’s very difficult to personalize and talk about,” she said during an interview with Moneywise.
“There’s always been a problem about talking about money,” Orman continued. “I’ll never forget, I was on ‘The View,’ and Barbara Walters and the other three women were there. And we were talking about money, and I said, ‘So how much do you make?’ I thought Barbara Walters was going to die on the spot. God forbid, we should know how much money everybody makes.”
Orman believes that discussing money, and particularly how much people make, is key to ensuring that everyone gets paid fairly.
“By not knowing and not talking about money, that, in my opinion, is how the system keeps us down,” she said. “Because you don’t know if the person next to you who’s doing less than you is making more than you. So yeah, we should be able to talk about money more freely than any topic out there.”
Money Is Universal
Orman believes that we should freely discuss money because it’s something that affects all of us.
“Money affects every single one of our lives in every possible way,” she said. “And so it’s not this hidden thing.”
During her talks, Orman encourages attendees to speak openly about their money struggles to get people more comfortable with removing the money taboo.
“I ask people, ‘So how much debt do you all have? Stand up if you have debt,’ and 100% of the room stands up,” she said. “Then I ask them to tell each other [about their debts], and then you hear them for the first time in their lives, telling each other what they don’t have versus pretending what they do have by charging their clothes on their credit cards, a fancy house on their mortgages, cars they’re leasing, and everything else around.”
Orman said she wants everyone “to get real about money.”
“That’s how you get real about money,” she said, “by talking about the truth of it.”
More From GOBankingRates
