The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke (2024)

I don't know anything about Suze Orman, other than seeing her name mentioned occasionally in financial magazines and articles. I found out that this was one of her most popular books, so I thought I'd give it a try.

This book is meant as a financial handbook for twenty- and thirty-somethings, who Orman calls the "Young, Fabulous, and Broke". I probably would have gotten more out of the book, and rated it higher, if I was broke and wasn't already somewhat familiar with the topics she covers. Each of the 10 chapters focuses on some financial topic. These are:

1. FICO score
2. career
3. credit
4. student debt
5. saving
6. retirement
7. investing
8. car
9. home
10. money and relationships

Each chapter opens with a few pages of explanation and advice, followed by specific questions and answers. The advice is good, but nothing groundbreaking. I much prefer I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Notes
Contribute to a 401k only if you get a company match. If you don't get a match, do a Roth IRA instead.
Set up an emergency fund that covers 6 months of expenses.

Mutual fund fee structures
1. A-share: you pay sales commission when you buy
2. B-share: you pay sales commission when you sell, if held for less than a certain amount of time (usually 5 years). High expense ratio.
3. No-load: No fee to buy or sell, no matter when you sell

Buy only no-load mutual funds, based on these criteria:
1. expenses
2. performance over 3-10 years, within its fund category

Funds to use for 401k or Roth IRA:
1st choice
85% total market index fund
15% foreign stock fund
2nd choice
60% S&P 500 fund
15% mid-cap
10% small-cap
15% foreign
3rd choice
30% large growth
30% large value
15% mid-cap
15% foreign
10% small-cap

If you wouldn't buy a stock that you hold today, then sell it.
Don't invest money that you need in less than 5 years in stocks. Use CDs or money markets instead.
Review your 401k and Roth IRA funds twice a year to ensure that they're performing above average for their fund categories.
Don't buy bonds until you're 40 or 45.
Use index funds, not ETFs, for dollar-cost averaging.

Car insurance
Deductibles: $1000
Bodily injury: $100,000/person, $300,000/accident
Property damage: $50,000

It's better to pay off a 30-year mortgage early than starting with a 15-year mortgage, because events in your life may prevent you from making the higher payments of a 15-year.
"People first. Then money. Then things."
Use a Living Revocable Trust and Durable Power of Attorney documents instead of a will.

I know it sounds like a total snoozefest, and to be honest I wasn't really thinking I was going to love this book either. But it caught my eye at the library one day because the jacket cover said Suze wasn't going to give a lot of the advice that I dreaded encountering: Save 8 months' expenses, etc. etc. - and a slew of other things 20 somethings living in New York typically just can't do. So, I thought I'd give it a shot, and what better time than when I'm stuck on an airplane for a couple of hours? By the time I landed in Pittsburgh on June 30, I was already halfway through the book and had shoved half a dozen makeshift bookmarks into the pages I found most relevant to my situation.

Here are the things I loved about the book:
1. The book is narrated in a very casual voice, so it's a quick read. Any and all financial terms are explained simply and none of it seemed over my head.

2. Suze takes into consideration many different 20-something financial starting points - are you buried in credit card and/or student loan debt? Have you paid off debts, but you can't save anything? Are you trying to wrap your head around your 401(k)? Do you want to know what it's going to take to get approved for a Mortgage? How about investing in stocks or buying a car? Do you live with a boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance? Whether you need all of this advice or only some of it, it's a great reference to hang onto for a few years. I just skimmed the stuff about cars and houses for future reference, but I read the sections on paying off debt, contributing to my retirement fund, and saving up in detail, for example.

3. The book really isn't preachy except for the stuff about 401(k)s, but that advice is pretty warranted, so just take it with a grain of salt. It helps break down your goals from the point you are at right now, so getting on a better foot financially won't seem like too big of a problem for anyone to tackle.

4. Suze Orman's website has a YF&B section that accompanies the book, and the book has call-outs to point out web tools that can help you with that particular problem. Also, with a special code from the book, you can sign up for a free account wherein you can create your own targeted financial action plan, and read message boards full of advice from Suze and other "YF&Bers".

5. It was published in 2005, so it is still pretty relevant.

No matter what you think of Suze Orman, you don't know how great she is until you read one of her money books. This one should be read by every college graduate. It begins on the basic side with FICO scores and credit cards/bills, and progresses into first-time homebuying and such. I unfortunately did not read it until I had been out of college for a while, but I have found it to be immensely helpful. Orman's advice is practical, easy to take action on, and is laid out in an easy to understand, simple way in this book.

Hopefully high schools will get it together sometime soon to teach financial skills while kids are still in high school and before they get themselves into credit card debt and other financial trouble. Deep financial debt is, in my opinion, an unnecessary epidemic that is not being properly addressed at an early enough age for most. Kids also need to know the difference between "good" debt (like educational loans) and "bad" debt (like credit card abuse); this is something that Orman addresses in detail in this book, among many other things.

As a "YF&B'er" I found this book condescending and some of the advice to be questionable. I've read a number of her books, and much prefer the financial advice of Dave Ramsey. Suze is over-focused on the FICO score, and she talks in generalities about how to manage money. She laughs at the idea of a budget for the "YF&B'ers", who obviously cannot be bothered with such tedious things.

The edition I have is a bit outdated, and not everything applied to me, but this book was simple and straightforward and I feel that I have a better and general understanding of all thing a financial. I would say it's a must read for millennials of all ages.

Suze has won me over! I'm almost complete and she is really speaking to me. Retirement Rules (chapter 6) is just wonderful. I logged onto her website and filled out my goals and started her action plan. I like that she only gives you the first step and when you finish that step you can go back online and move onto the next step. Feels very do-able to get the steps one at a time instead of seeing all the dauting tasks at once ;) She also gives you notes that pertain to you based on how you answer the questionnaire. Very nice.

Chapters 4 & 5 about credit and saving put me off a bit. I should have picked up this book 5 years ago as good portion of the advice is geared towards single, college grads or young couples that need to refocus there life and finances and boy could I have used this then.

I'm still in my twenties, married 6 years with 2 kids and our share of financial woes which we learned and changed a lot in that unfortunate process.

I will keep reading in case there are some important tidbits I should not miss and I would definitely recommend this book to those I think it's suited for. I'm interested in reading Suze's spiritual guide to stop worrying next.

we've recently become devotes of suze ormond. so when her book came out we bought it. the money book for the young, fabulous and broke is actually really damned helpful. sure, there were some stupid tips like "put off getting your hair cut two weeks. get it cut every 8 weeks instead of 6". not helpful dude. i cut my hair at home. the part that i found most valuable was the section on retirement. she explained what the hell an ira vs. a roth ira vs. a 401k vs. a 403b is. it was amazing. sure, i haven't yet actually reallocated my funds (because the webbernet likes to f*ck me when i'm doing that) but at least now i'll have a guide when i do decide to reallocate. we also learned a good tip about trying to pay down our credit card debt. we've tried other things that haven't worked, so now we're going to try her advice and see what happens. of course the next few months will be hard if we do really decide to move (cash advance to pay our downpayment, anyone?). but moving will be best for our finances in the medium-run. i digress. anyway. suze's awesome. you should buy this book and watch her show on saturdays on whatever cnbcmoney channel it's on.

My mother gave me this book a few years ago -- around the time when a lot of parents and uncles and well-meaning adults gave this book to the young, broke and fabulous in their lives. I started it then and got through the chapter on credit scores -- doing my reports, etc. -- and then stopped for a few years. It's only now, when I am not so scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel broke as I was, that I went back and read the rest of the book. It's been very helpful to me, in ways that I am fairly sure it would not have been helpful before I had means. So I recommend it for young people who are *almost* broke, but not totally broke. It'll make more sense and be a lot less overwhelming and anxiety-producing. She gives a lot of simplified, easy to read and understand explanations of finance basics. It's comforting and helpful for when you finally have just a bit more than what you need to get by and are looking for what you're now supposed to do with that excess.

This book just played into stereotypes about millennials with comments like "Your closets are a designer showcase, yet you are never sure you'll be able to pay all your bills," or
"I am constantly amazed when I hear people tell me they can't make ends meet, but then they tell me that they eat out fours times a week." Many of the tips for saving were ridiculous like "Wash more, dry-clean less. I'm not talking about the office wear that you must dry clean, but what about all the other clothes that end up at the cleaner just because it is more convenient." Who actually dry cleans for convenience?

Her main advice in the car buying section was don't lease a Mercedes. You don't need a book to tell you to not buy an expensive car. She made it sound like people are poor because they are irresponsible and buy things they don't need. I was hoping for real money advice here...

Concedes its readers are "broke" in the title and then proceeds to offer investment advice. With what moneys, exactly? Accordingly, just another scam, part of the problem it purports to solve.

Great advice for young people. From managing credit card and credit score, to buying first home. The only advice young people should not listen to is that she suggest to pay minimal payment for credit card (as my understanding). Everyone SHOULD pay the full amount due each month on a credit card, not the minimal payment. She had the "broke" in mind, so maybe that is okay for those who are truly broke and need a transition for a few months, but paying minimal payment due accumulates high interest thus increases debt rapidly, a bad idea. Everything else sounds good advice, so I recommended the book to my kids in college.

This book is dated, but still contains some good information on getting started with your financial life. As a person who has been lifelong frugal, I am terrified my kids will fall in love with someone who has terrible personal finances. Suze Orman says, "If a person doesn't respect money, they will not respect you." I've tested this theory on people I know and it appears to be true. I will remember that for later on.

I know Suze is really cheesy on television. And in truth she's really cheesy in print as well. But the information is an awesome starting point for someone who's a beginner at personal finance.

Everyone needs to read this book, especially in today's current economic climate.

A week or two ago I happened to catch Suze Orman on Oprah. Orman had a straight-talk freak-out about the current economic woes, and how individual economic decisions were playing into/creating/contributing to the uncertainty and panic. Her primary message, from the top down, was that everyone needs to put their financial houses in order by being honest about their finances, and reducing our consumption to the level we can actually afford.

I was impressed by her passion in general, and her obvious concern for the viewers she spoke with about their particular financial worries. After years of avoiding her on PBS pledge drive specials, I decided to check out this Suze Orman business.

I checked out her titles online to see if there was a good one to start with, and this title jumped out at me. I'm pushing "young," but I decided that I can just squeak by on that count. I also hoped that I'd be able to get some good information to use with a few of my young coaching clients who are younger and broker than I am. [Feel free to email me if you want more info on coaching.]

So, now to my point. READ THIS BOOK. No, BUY THIS BOOK!! And read it, then re-read it. Keep it on your shelf, and refer to it often. Orman breaks down the steps to financial security step-by-step, and presents the information in clear language anyone can understand.

Whether you're up to your eyeballs in debt, well on your way to fabulous wealth, this book has information you can use.

If you think you're doing okay, I say get this book anyway. life has a way of throwing some curves, and each of us can expect to experience some sort of major life transition, and Orman has created an excellent resource for how we can be ready for the expected and the unexpected.

Did I mention that you should read this book?

Why don't we teach this stuff in public high schools? I gave The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke 5 stars. While it might not be most people's favorite subject, it is so important to know how to handle money, debt, and savings at a young age. Time is on our side! This book is full of great information and knowledge. Orman presents her points in a very down to earth way, for people who truly are broke and are thousands (or tens of) in debt with loans and credit cards. She's breaks everything down to the bare bones. It's a great book for people like me, unsure of FICO scores, 401(k)s, and mutual fund investments. Orman informs us of what it all means, what to look out for, and good moves to make. She keeps it from getting too dry by writing in a conversational tone, using lots of examples, and having a Q&A section in each chapter.

If you found my review helpful, check out my blog - www.beccaswainfromauburn.wordpress.com. I review a new fiction and nonfiction book each week.

I saw Suze Orman on Oprah a couple times and formed the opinion that she was rather harsh. After reading this book, I now feel like Suze was just being very frank because she cares. I've read one of Jean Chatzky's financial books in the past, but I like Suze's better. She really has her information tailored to her audience. Some of the contents did not apply to my family's current situation, but I learned a lot about mistakes we've made in the past and what to do for he future. Suze's advice helped me make better choices regarding our insurance, and I've also decided to open an online savings account for an emergency fund. I recommended this book to my friend who has massive credit card debt, and I'm sure it would help her if she actually chose to try Suze's advice. I'm also going to buy this as a birthday gift for a family member. This is a great book if you're young and broke, but anyone can gleam great information from it!

Reading this book was a good and bad mistake. Bad in the sense that it made me even more scared about money than I already was. Bottom line is, that I pretty much don't have any and that freaks me out, especially since my parents who are helping me out aren't getting any younger and won't always be there to help me. Good in the sense that someday when I do get money again, I can go back to this book and look up the things that I need to know. In the right hands, this book can be really helpful. It talks about credit cards, debt, buying a home, school, car, relationships. And it was easy to follow. Most finance books put me to sleep, but she set up a layout that kept the readers attention. And in each chapter she has questions that people have asked her and answers. I mostly just skimmed this, because not all of it applies to me. I would recommend it to people. So if you are having money issues, check out this book.

I never thought I would find myself enjoying a book on practical finance, but I am. Suze Orman's matter-of-fact approach to weaving one's way through the financial jargon is extremely helpful. Her advice is practical, straight-on, and she's got a sense of humour to boot.

Extremely helpful, and I would recommend to anyone who doesn't have a real idea about finances, has screwed up their financial profile, or to anyone struggling to make ends meet. There are simple ways provided in this book that offer you a hands-down approach to tackling some of your biggest, perhaps unknown financial struggles.

Areas of the book that have been helpful:

*ways in which to increase your FICO score (i.e-your credit score, as viewed by the 3 major credit sources)

*why and how a credit card can be managed, and even helpful. Suze even provides recommendations on secured credit card options, should you not qualify for a regular one.

*handling your student loans-need I say more?

An absolute must read (in my opinion) for any one between the ages of 22 - 35. Suze walks you through building and keeping good credit, how to save for your retirement, schools you on investing, tells you what you need to know purchase a home, and how to navigate the tricky field of love & money. It's a great reference book to have around, and I just love the conversational tone it is written. I skipped the Buying and Car chapter (I don't have a license) and I skimmed the Love & Money section. I even gave myself homework to go back over the Retirement Rules and Investing Made Easy sections and make notes. It is definitely a gateway book to personal finance - Once you master the basics she teaches here, you'd be well informed enough to read more books on Investing and Money Management.

I've been feeling very unprepared financially for the next stage of life and wanted to have a better understanding about finance/money, so I read this book based on a recommendation of a good friend. I truly believe anyone under age 30 who doesn't already know about 401k, investing, FICO scores, buying homes, etc. should read this book or something similar. Honestly, I wish I read this when I was 16 - could have saved myself from making some minor mistakes and have been more financially stable at a younger age. It made so much sense and I learned so much! I feel way more prepared and not so confused when people talk about mortgages, stocks or other intimidating subjects. Thank you Suze for making stressful topics actually understandable and interesting!

I am very glad I sat down and read this book all the way through. I'm in a lot better of a situation than many of the examples mentioned in the book (ie not bankrupt). But it was great to have a game plan how to start saving for retirement and buying a house and a car.

Her tone is not the best, but if you can get past that, along with the assorted "C'mon" and "You are not to...", there will be some great advice. She's also incredibly reassuring and a kick in the pants as well. I'm fairly certain she'd be horrified at some of the stupid stuff I've spent money on, and now I am too!

This is an Incredibly helpful introduction to financial planning and guide to mindful money managing in order to create a successful future. Susie is fantastic at explaining complex concepts in small words, and uses easy to follow examples to help you translate her equations into your life.

Five out of five. Would (and will) recommend to every young person in my life who doesn't know what a FICO score or ROTH IRA are.

This book was an okay read for me. There were some things that I loved in her book such as learning about the important of a FICO and Credit score. But, for me, after reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, I felt that promoting credit cards was not good. Don't get me wrong, I had a credit card that I just canceled, but if someone like me who does not know a lot about money, it can be dangerous. I will read other books by her though.

Suze Orman has put together an engaging, easy to read financial manual with great advice for the 'young and fabulous'. I really liked this book and am working on applying it to my often less than fabulous finances.

I really liked this book. It gave me a good direction to go in and told me what to do first to improve my credit score faster! I Definitely recommend this book to anyone who is under 35 and struggling financially!

I meant to read this when I was *actually* young and broke -- but I'm not so terribly old, and hey, I'm still fabulous -- so I grabbed this when I saw it at the library. This was OK but suffered a little bit from "all over the place" syndrome. Or it could be that I'm just too "old" for this one.

This right here is the best dang personal finance book I have found. Get your paws on it, even if you're not young or fabulous or broke. But especially do if you are.

Read this as per my mother's request. Some of the book is advice I'd already figured out from attending a benefits orientation where I began my employment at my latest job, but is still pleasantly validating as a referendum on one's financial alacrity. There are some goals I have to up my game here a little bit that I garnered from this book, and I think I'm comfortable with handling those adjustments.

It's a reference book but I can't recommend reading into it all that deeply for a number of reasons: (1) this was written in 2005, three years before the great global market calamity that did, in essence, make the "purchasing a home" section entirely irrelevant for my generation of millennial Americans; (2) Suze's definitely punching at straw men - broke milennials with surprisingly lavish lifestyles, fancy dresses, folks who can't make rent who eat out eight times a week, and so on - that I think are more projections of her own youthful fiscal irresponsibility than an accurate portrayal of the day-to-day millennial. She cops to it in this book, but I'd appreciate if she stopped projecting her own f*ck-ups onto a whole new crop of people who weren't as stupid as she was about money when she was young. Look, some people never forgive themselves and then their whole careers become exorcising that shame; and (3) I think the reason people Suze is so popular on TV as a self-improvement financial guru is because her wisdom never really criticizes the injustice in the system. She's still putting responsibility squarely on individual decisions in a sort of milquetoast, neoliberal way when there's more at play in the dynamics of financial harm than simply gaming the system the world's most elite financial criminals have rigged for us. This is a "fundamental attribution error" that Americans fetishize and social psychologists condemn. We are past the point where personal behavior can do much, if at all, to stem the tide of horrific corporate malfeasance. And on top of that, she hardly mentions any social dimensions, like dealing with discrimination when pursuing a loan as a black couple, for example. At what point will these celebrated TV uplift people have the balls to critique the system that put my generation in this sh*t to begin with? One line trashing the Baby Boomers - although satisfying - isn't enough, Suze. We need to talk about wage stagnation, labor unions, minimum wage reform, protections for LGBTQIA+ people, you name it and then some.

What I did want more of from this book is an updated version for when the world dies in twelve years and we know that late capitalism is on its last leg. But in the meantime, there's some stuff in here that made me feel way more comfortable about my financial planning and gave me some very solid next steps. And by the way, I'm thrilled I use a budget. I don't know why Suze doesn't advise using one; maybe because Mint didn't exist yet or she has a weirdly condescending assumption about the generation that inherited all of the previous generations' garbage (by definition). The book was an okay read with good, timeless fundamental advice that I'm glad I read; I want to know, however, how much of this ultimately still stands, and it's not always clear if it does, considering the rise of fascism and Brexit and the great admission of the financial hostage situation income inequality has us all in. But so long as we keep selling it as something the oppressed can do to better themselves, we'll be seeing more books like this year in and year out. Can't wait.

Reading this book for the second time in 2024. It was written in 2006. While some parts, like managing your FICO score and your career, are timeless, others have not stood the test of time, like mortgages, investing, and bill management (who writes checks anymore?). Online banking is treated as a novelty ("Fire up your computer once a month") and the investing chapter discusses loaded mutual funds with minimal discussion of ETFs. While it has useful segments, much of this book is now out of date.

Since this book was written, Americans have been through a financial crisis, the collapse of a mortgage bubble, 13 years of near-zero interest rates, a pandemic, the resulting rise in real estate prices, followed by the highest general inflation in 30 years and the resulting increase in interest rates. These financial dislocations have changed the "rules of money" pitched by Ms. Orman and her like and need updating for new times. I think that Ms. Orman means well; unfortunately books are static but the need for financial advice is not.

The Money Book for the YF&B was written for Millennials entering the workforce in the mid-2000s. I would recommend for Ms. Orman to write two follow-up books: one for those Millennials who are now reaching middle age and have achieved a level of financial security, but have new problems, and a 2nd Edition of YF&B for Gen Z now coming of age and facing new financial anxieties that didn't exist 20 years ago.

Suze does it again

Looks like we have come full circle. Suze published books that we could take with us and open to many economical and emotional situations. Then as life got more complicated so her help had to split up into different books and kits. Then as everything moved too fast for the printed word she gave us the “Laws of Money.” A book that is immune to being dated. Now we are back to the practical. Over the years things will change; however, this book fits the “here and now” as to what to pay attention to and how to get help.

For the hand full of people that think this is just common sense, it is only if you think about it. Also, common sense dowses not include why people think about such things as FICO scores or websites that did not exist years ago. I have found that common sense is only common if you know it.

For those people that think this is just a rehash. I can pretty much assume that you have been reading covers again and not the nitty-gritty inside. Of that one of my favorite sections is on 8. BIG-TICKET PURCHASE: CAR. Maybe because I already follow the plan and it gives me more trust in the other section of the book. The information is up to date so it would be hard to be rehashed.

Any way you look at it just opening the book will pay for the purchase price.