Suze Orman’s Exact Roadmap for a Financially Successful 2026
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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The new year is here, meaning a potentially new approach for your money!
Personal finance guru, bestselling author and podcaster Suze Orman has some advice for you if you want to make 2026 your best financial year yet. In fact, she’s created a roadmap for the start of 2026.
What To Expect in 2026
Orman said there are a few things you can expect to see happen in early 2026, and what you should do if and when they do.
Stay invested in the stock market. Orman is optimistic and expects to see the market continue on an upward trajectory, albeit with downward spikes that may last a week or a month.
Interest rates may continue to drop slowly as the Fed tries to stimulate borrowing, spending and hiring. Whether that will work remains to be seen. Mortgage rates will likely decline slowly, as well. The real estate market will probably slow down, and we won’t see the gains we’ve been seeing in recent years.
Inflation will mean you’ll pay more for everything, primarily due to tariffs. Cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, as volatile as it is, will go much higher over the long term, according to Orman. Intermediate-term treasuries will remain a good option for a safe investment.
What To Do Now
Given what Orman expects in 2026, she recommends taking these actions.
- Cut expenses wherever you can. Don’t let inflation eat up your savings.
- Maintain your emergency fund. Layoffs are a real possibility, so be sure you have 8 – 12 months of expenses in cash in case you face prolonged unemployment.
- If you’ve been thinking about downsizing, now may be a good time to do it. You’ll reduce your expenses and free up some extra cash.
- Stay invested if you have a least five or more years before you need the money. Diversify your portfolio in high-quality mutual funds, ETFs or stocks.
Orman recommends investing regularly to take advantage of collar cost averaging, which helps “even out” the ups and downs of the market.
What To Keep Doing
There are a number of things Orman suggests you always do, regardless of market conditions. Here are some things you should always do.
- Invest in Roth retirement accounts, and only Roths. Put your retirement money away after taxes so you can withdraw it tax-free when retirement rolls around. If you have pre-tax (traditional) IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b)s, TSPs, or other pre-tax accounts, start converting them to Roths. You can do it over the next few years to reduce the tax burden in any given year.
- Put off taking Social Security until age 70 if you can, but at least until your full retirement age. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.
- Contribute as much as you can to your retirement account, but always contribute at least enough to take full advantage of the company match. Don’t leave that money on the table!
- If you are older, Orman recommends looking into long-term insurance to protect your savings if you need to go into a nursing home.
- If you don’t already have them, create a will, a living revocable trust, an advance directive, and durable powers of attorney for healthcare and finance. These documents will help ensure that your wishes are carried out, even if you cannot express them at the time.
What Not to Do Now
Orman cautions against taking drastic action right now. Here are some of the things she warns against doing.
- Don’t panic! If there’s a drop in the market, don’t assume it means there’s going to be a recession or even a bear market. Take advantage of pullbacks to use dollar cost averaging and get more shares for your money.
- Don’t refinance your mortgage unless it makes sense. If your interest rate is higher than the prevailing rate, you can consider it, but don’t choose a longer term than what you have left on your existing mortgage. For example, if you took out a 30-year mortgage 10 years ago, refinance for 20 years now, not 30.
- Don’t ignore your diversification strategy. Recent gains in certain sectors, like AI, may mean your portfolio is too heavily weighted in these industries. Rebalance if you need to.
- Beware of a Medicare Advantage plan. They tend to be less flexible than a Medicare supplement plan, and Orman thinks they may not be around someday.
- Don’t try a backdoor Roth if you have a pre-tax IRA. If you do, your conversion could be taxed as ordinary income, exactly what a backdoor Roth is trying to avoid.
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to become more financially savvy, Orman’s roadmap is a great place to start. If you follow her advice, and things work out as she predicts, you could be in a better financial position at this time next year.
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