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All right, Susie, KT, are you ready for today's podcast?
Yeah, Robert, of course we're ready.Because we are unstoppable.Yeah, baby.
I put my armor on, show you how strong I am.
I'll put my armor on, I'll show you that I am I'm unstoppable I'm a Porsche with no brakes I'm invincible Yeah, I win every single game I ain't so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident Yeah, I'm unstoppable today
October 31st, 2024.Welcome everybody to the Women & Money Podcast, as well as everybody smart enough to listen.This is the... Come on, KT.Come on, KT.It's Halloween edition.Did you get overtaken by a spirit there?All right.
It's the Halloween, ask Susie.Oh, Jesus.
Or KT.And everyone out there, that's what we're going to do today.
So tell everybody about our New York trip.
Oh my God, we had such a great time.Tell them why.Well, first of all, Susie was a superstar at the Forbes 50 over 50 event with Mika Brzezinski, who we love, and we brought Sophia with us, our niece, and it was very exciting.
It was just a very exciting event. And it was a big day for Susie following that.We went and did a photo shoot downtown.After that, we went to a delicious, one of my favorite bistros called Pastis for a little bit of French food.
And then after that, I had a date night. Friday night was Susie where she took me to see Cabaret.If you haven't seen Adam Lambert in Cabaret, he was unbelievable.
And if you can afford it, and you're there, and you're going to go to a show, you should absolutely go to that one, but make sure he is performing, everybody.However, all those things that KT just told you about, you could actually go on the Women
and money app.And I posted the pictures of the photo shoot, of all kinds of things.
My friends, did you post my friends?I didn't post your friends.Okay, so before all of that happened, I was able to have a wonderful reunion with our friends from the Philippines, and I loved every minute of it.
And then ran into a very good friend from Hong Kong, and we saw... My KT, I am so surprised. About what?You should see your little face, everybody.
Wait, what are you surprised about?That out of all the things that you said, you did not say the one thing for sure I thought you were going to say. which is how many blocks did I walk?
Oh, Susie walked 25 blocks the day we landed.She walked with me all the way up Fifth Avenue to my friend's apartment.It was unbelievable.And before that, she walked with me across town to pick up a few things on the way.
25 blocks in her new Converse flat. sneakers.
I looked so cool, everybody.It's not even funny.
And she was almost going to walk back, but it was dark.
Right.But tell them why that surprises you so.Because I don't move.
And it was a big, big, big, big, big walk.I know.And that is because everybody, Katie asked for one thing when we were in New York.And what was it?To walk with me.
To walk.And so I did.When we lived in New York, across from Central Park, we would take strolls.And it was so
peaceful, believe it or not, in a city that's completely noisy and crazy and traffic and horns, but it was peaceful to walk with Susie through the park or up Madison Avenue or downtown and discover new places.We loved it.
But the good news is I'm walking long distances again.
No, the good news is she's back, everybody.Yeah, I am so back.She was unbelievably outstanding.I am. back.All right.All right, let's begin.Now we're going to wait till the end of this podcast for the big reveal.The reveal of what?
Susie's favorite Halloween candy.So you're going to have to wait.You're going to have to listen through and then I'll reveal her favorite Halloween candy, which is a poll that's on right now.
Can you just imagine what I just have to say? You can take it, by the way, in the Women & Money app, which you can go to Apple Apps or Google Play and download for free.
But can you just imagine if this is the first time anybody has ever tuned in to the Women & Money podcast to learn about whatever they want, they think they're gonna learn here.
And then we have a big poll about what's Susie's favorite Halloween treat.
And then we spent five minutes talking about walking 25 blocks.All right, girlfriend, what have you got for me?
All right, here we go.So my first question could be a trick on Halloween.It's from Marianne.She said, Susie, I need your input, please.
I have a mortgage and just found out that out of my $500 monthly payment, the company is crediting the principal $85 monthly. I am speechless and feeling so uninformed about the situation.Suzy, is this legal?I trust your knowledge.Please advise."
So let's tell her this isn't a trick.Well, it's not a trick, my love, but KT, I also read this.It's not a treat either.
And just remember, everybody, I will answer many emails directly.If you want to ask a question, write in to AskSuzy, S-U-Z-E podcast at gmail.com.
And if KT picks it, she will ask it on the podcast, I will answer it, but every once in a while, I write back.And Marianne knows I wrote her back directly, KT, and did all the numbers for her.
So for all of you, just to understand, when you take out a mortgage, especially a 30-year mortgage, Normally what happens is very, very little of that mortgage payment goes towards your principal.It's all interest.And why is that?
That is because most people only keep a home for about seven years. So the mortgage company wants to get all of their interest up front.So it's typical.
What I did show Marianne is that an approximate $80,000 mortgage, the payment is over 30 years, about $500 a month.And the truth of the matter is about $80 of that goes to principal and the rest goes to interest.
So that is how mortgages work, everybody.And you just need to know it.Next question's from Dorothy.
Do you know why I like this?Do you know why I like this?Her email is shampoo girl.I won't read the whole thing cause it's private, but her email, I liked it.It says shampoo girl.And I'm wondering if she's a shampoo girl, Dorothy.All right.
Hello, Susie.I'm at a crossroads on what direction I should head.I'm 60 years old and I don't plan to retire till I'm at least 70. I'm not sure financially if I can retire at all.I've been divorced since 2012 and alone.
My children are adults, grown up and successful.My question is about my home.I've been paying extra on it since I took the loan out in 2011 for $200,000.I owe $62,000 at a 3.25%.If everything stays similar to what is happening now in my life,
I should have it paid off in six to seven years.However, if I only pay the minimum, I would have paid it off in about 12 years.Now here's, this is what made me chuckle a little.
She said, Susie, I feel behind in retirement savings and wondering if I should focus on that since my debt is manageable.Help out a sister, please.I'm exhausted running the scenario. Help her.So what should she do?
So here's the thing.You're 60 years of age.You plan to work until you are 70.And if you keep doing exactly what you're doing right now, You only have six or seven years left, and then you will own the house outright.
Now, if you did do this mortgage, $200,000 in 2011, at a 3.25% interest rate, and I'm just gonna guess at this, all right, probably your payment is around $875 a month. or about $10,500 a year.
If you stop putting extra towards that right now, and you're going to have to pay for an additional six years, then you're going to have to come up with an additional approximately $62,000 over those last six years if you don't pay it off early.
And what if you can't do that?So because you can't take it for advantage that you're always gonna have the money, you're always gonna be able to work till you're 70, I want you to do what?I want you to continue doing exactly what you're doing.
I want you to stop looking at this just as a financial equation.I want you to look at it as you are going to own your house outright when you are 66 years of age. and therefore you will have your home.
And then for those next years, you're gonna take that $875 that you would have to pay towards your mortgage if you hadn't paid it off, you're gonna put that away.You're gonna just do that and you'll be fine over all those years.
So no, I want you to do exactly what you are doing.All right.
Here you go, Dorothy.I like that.
What do you like about that?
Well, she's just was going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.And you just told her what to do and that she is doing the right thing.
You know, KT, the mistake that I think, personally, many people make, they do the numbers. Financially, you're gonna come out ahead if you do this.Financially, this is what it looks best to do.But that's- No, what feels good is what I do.
No, no, Katie, yes, but no.Where I was going with that is, but that's only if you stay healthy.It's only if you don't get in an accident.It's only if you continue to have that job.
I don't want you to look at, well, if everything goes right, then we would have more.I want you to look at, oh my God, what if something happened and I would still have to pay the mortgage on my home.
And if I wasn't able to pay the mortgage on my home, I wouldn't have a home. you need a home.And so I want you to start looking at things, everybody, just a little bit differently.All right.
Well, listen to this one.This is from Eileen.Says, Suzy, I contribute $23,000 after tax to my 401k. My plan only allows for one conversion to Roth per year.
Should I contribute a lump sum so that I can convert it right away before any gains are realized or is it better to dollar cost average throughout the year and pay the taxes on gains when I convert at the end of the year?
Absolutely not. Why do you look at me like that?
Absolutely not on which one?I knew it, I did it for you, that was a trick.Yeah, it is a trick.I'm gonna say, all right, absolutely not.Do you convert?Want me to tell you what I would do?Do you want this to be your quizzy?
No, because I, listen, Eileen, I'm not good with anything that says the word Roth in it, but reading this, I think you might be better off to dollar cost average throughout the year. and gain on the highs and lows that she might make, then pay taxes.
Am I right?See, I told you I wasn't good at those.
That's what I would probably answer.
When I say to you, so why do you even try?What should you say back to me? but why not give it a shot?Right, I should always try, Susie.Who cares if I'm wrong?I need to always go for it.So you need to learn from what just happened, everybody.
All right, then when I say something- KT doesn't have fear.And I'm not ashamed.
But I'm angry.But I'm angry.You get that?You're ashamed of anger, baby.
Three obstacles.Internal obstacles to wealth.So Eileen, here's the scoop.
And for those of you who don't know, a lot of corporations above and beyond what you're allowed to contribute into your 401k pre-tax or into a Roth, you also are allowed to do an after-tax contribution
and that after tax will always be tax-free when you withdraw it.However, the earnings on it will be taxable unless it's in your Roth as well.But anyway, here's the scoop.
So Eileen, if they allow you only one conversion to a Roth per year, if you can contribute $23,000 in one lump sum and convert it once, all of it, to a Roth and you did that at the beginning of the year.Now you have the money in the Roth.
And you could dollar cost average into the markets while it's in the Roth.You don't have to always absolutely invest it all at once.So if I were you, I would so convert it right away.
And then you don't owe any taxes on it because it hasn't grown at all.So no, you wouldn't want to wait before there were gains so that you could have to pay taxes on that. All right.
Here we go.This is from Roseanne.I like that name.I always liked that name, Roseanne.What do you like about it?I just thought it was always a pretty name, Roseanne.
No, do you want to hear why you like it?
Because first of all, you love roses.So you love a rose.
And my mommy's name was Anne.That's right.And so was yours, Roseanne.And that's your middle name.It's a pretty... Anne, not Roseanne.Anne.My middle name's Anne.Yes, of course your middle name isn't Roseanne.And Susie's... Will you stop this today?
And Susie's middle name is Lynn, like my twin Lynn.Oh, Jesus.Go on, KT.All right, so this is from Roseanne.Susie, I'm 59 years old and about to be 60.I have a small amount of $13,000 in my 401k.That's not a small amount.
Would it be wise to pay the tax and transfer into a Roth?Thanks in advance.Well, there you go.
Yeah.You just told us all to do that.
However, how do you do it?Currently, we are October 31st.We are two months away until 2025.So what I want you to do, very simple, is take $6,500 this year and put it in a Roth IRA, $6,500 January 1st and put it in a Roth IRA.
And that way you won't have such a large tax bill.So it's wise to put it into a Roth.Absolutely.Just divide it by two and put half in this year and half in next.All right.
No tricks here, this is from Joy.Hi, Suzy and KT, thanks so much for all you do for women.I got the must-have documents and will be setting up my trust.
For my home, will it just automatically be included in it, or do I now need to somehow change the name on the deed on the house?How do I do that?The house is totally paid off.I'm confused by how this works.All right, I'm answering this.
Joy, I'm gonna answer, this is from KT.There are no tricks on your must-have documents.All you have to do is open it and read it.You haven't followed the guidelines on the right side as you scroll, and it's really, really simple.
It tells you everything.All right, now let me answer this.All right. So there's no tricks to that one.
Yeah, but stop being me, all right?Which is, when you go through the must-have documents, and for all of you who don't know, the must-have documents are legal documents that, in my opinion, you all must have. And that is no trick.
You need this, everybody.You need a living revocable trust.You need a will.You need an advanced directive and durable power of attorney for healthcare.And you need a financial power of attorney.You need all of those.
And if you went to musthavedocs.com, there are currently $99, and you should all do this, everybody, because that price is going to change sooner than later here.
And you will be getting $2,500 worth of state-of-the-art documents, good in all 50 states. And so therefore, when you go through and you answer all the questions, what's really important, Joy, is that at the end, it shows you the funding documents.
So when you print things out, they're there. And all you have to do is fill them out.They get printed out and you have to take it to a title company.And the title of your house has to be changed from your individual name to the title of the trust.
So then the house is in trust. And because the house is in trust, it avoids probate and all other kinds of things.So just go back and do the program again, and you'll see it's in the program.All right, KT.
It's easy.All right, next question, Susie, is from Jane.She writes, hi, Susie, love you.I like this a lot.
Does that make you jealous?
No, listen to this.Do you get jealous for all the people who love me?Never.Never.They can never love you enough, and I can never love you for loving them enough.
That made absolutely no sense.
Okay, this is love you.As I'm listening to your episode this week, a question came up for me.Is it ever a smart idea to sell everything I have within my IRA, but keep it in the IRA?Put that money in a money market fund within the IRA.
And then start dollar cost averaging monthly anew.My thought is that if the markets are this high, perhaps they will come down.And as they're coming down, I am re-dollar cost averaging into the same funds I was in before. too complicated?
It's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life.Jane, don't do it.And Jane, here's the reason why.You don't know that they're going to come down.
They could continue to go up and up and there you are sitting on the sideline waiting for them to come down. And in the meantime, you have missed maybe the biggest move out there.
If you want to continue to be smart, leave them where they are, continue to add money and dollar cost average new money into it.Just that simple.One last question, Katie.
Okay.This is from Debbie.She says, Dear Katie and Susie, I got divorced a few months ago at the age of 37, and your podcast really helped me get my life together.My ex-husband purchased a house within a month of the divorce being finalized.
It made me mad that he purchased one immediately after the divorce and after claiming he had no money, and I owed him money during the divorce. And it took me some effort to just not go out and buy a condo.
I'm taking your advice of no major expenses within the year of divorce.However, here is my question.
I love where I currently live, but I can't stop looking at homes around me on Zillow and wondering whether if I buy a home right now, it's only out of spite for my husband.So what should she do?Yeah. So this is an emotional roller coaster.
Yeah, this is a good one for Halloween.Because the last thing you want to do is treat yourself and then it will turn into a credible trick.All right.
Now, what I want all of you to know, because I'm looking at this email that Katie just put down in front of me, and I want you to be aware that this was a long one and a half page email.
So obviously KT edited it because a lot of the details, whether they mattered or not, but so she did edit it, but with what you really needed to know.
So when you write a long email and if KT does choose it, don't be surprised if it is edited to get directly to the question. out of spite for your husband.Look at the words that you used, Debbie, in this email.
You're wondering if it's only out of spite for your husband that you really want to buy a home.I was struck by the one line that says, I love where I currently live.But and the thing, the but, right?
You know, I always have said, everything before a but is the truth.Everything after the word but is not the truth. And therefore, you need to stand in your truth.You need to stand in the truth that you love where you live.
You need to stand in the truth that you're still angry at your husband for obviously in your mind lying to you about not having money and going out and buying a home, which is something you always wanted to do. Let it go.
As long as you live in the home of anger, you will never be able to build or buy a home of love.Therefore, just stay where you love and just give yourself time.All right.
I'm ready for my quiz.Am I getting a trick or treat quiz?
This is a very scary one.
It's scary because I already know what's gonna happen.This question is gonna haunt you for the rest of your life.
You already haunt me.Every quiz I take is scary and haunting.This is a haunting one.All right, what is it?Go for it.
Which is, hey Susie and Katie, pick me.So I did, all right. I already have an IRA from a previous job that I retired from a tax deferred 401k that I rolled over to an IRA in 2023, last year.So KT, they had a 401k.
They rolled it over to an IRA last year.The question is, can I still do a backdoor Roth?
Go for the front door, baby.
No, really, can they do, they just rolled over.
I think there's a, isn't there like a little bit of a time.
No time.Rules or something.
No time.Yeah, you can do it.
Why not?Do you remember all the podcasts that I've done on this?
I do, but they're very confusing for me.
Wait, do you ever remember me talking about something called the pro rata rule?
Do you ever remember me saying that if you have a traditional IRA, do not do a back door Roth, because if you do, you're going to have to pay taxes on it.
Front door, baby, don't do it. Take the front door.Don't do it.
Don't do it.So did you get this one right?Yeah, don't do it.Yeah.Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, right?Yeah, yeah.All right.Treat, treat, treat, don't do it.So, but now we're going to be serious with you, Mia, and everybody listening to this.
If you have a traditional IRA, an IRA rollover, a SEP IRA, a simple IRA, you have any IRAs at all, and you want to do a back door Roth, which simply means that you make more than the modified adjusted gross income.
So you can't do a contributory Roth, but there is a way for you to get money into a Roth.And that is through the back door, which is where you put money into a non-deductible traditional IRA.
So you're not going to take it off your taxes and then you immediately convert it to a Roth. If you have an IRA of any kind, however, and you do a backdoor, there will be a big portion of that money that is going to be taxed.
Again, for you, it's called the pro rata rule.I have done many podcasts on it, But the biggest warning I can give you is do not, and I repeat, do not do a backdoor Roth IRA if you have a traditional IRA.
What you could do Mia, if you wanted to, is you could take the money that you did the IRA rollover with, put it back into a 401k if you can, and then you can do a backdoor Roth. That's how you could do it.Okay, Katie, time for the reveal.
Okay, the big reveal, the big Halloween reveal.Here we go, Susie.
Okay, so we did a poll and it's on, it's actually been on the Women & Money app wall.And you're to guess of all three, what is Susie's favorite Halloween treat? And what were their choices, KT?
Choices were malted milk balls, candy corn, and Tootsie Rolls.
All right, so the majority of you actually did get it right, but let me just say something.It was a few years ago, I think it was Halloween, maybe 2021, where we kind of did this, KT.I don't know if you remember that or not.
And at that time, my favorite was Tootsie Rolls.And KT can tell you that for years, even on the island, I would wanna go into the middle.
A Tootsie Roll Pop, anything Tootsie Roll.So for years, it was Tootsie Rolls or Tootsie Roll Pops, favorite, favorite candy of all time.But then, as I've matured, in the past year or two, I have changed.I have a new favorite candy.
And my new favorite of all is KT Tellem.Drum roll.Drum roll.
Ding. Tell them.Malted milk ball.And the majority of you got that right.So, I know a lot of you probably thought it was Tootsie Rolls because of what I've said in the past, but a woman is absolutely allowed to change her mind.
No, no, no.She's a Gemini. Not just a woman, a man, a Gemini.Geminis can change their mind any moment at any time.And let me tell you, I know what that feels like.And I do.So all right, now you know.Happy Halloween.
Everybody, so KT. There's really only one thing that we want everybody to remember when it comes to their money.And what is it, girlfriend?People first, then money, then malted milk balls.
And if you eat a lot of malted milk balls on Halloween and you stay safe and you stay empowered with your money, I promise you, you will be unstoppable.
I'm unstoppable.I'm a pusher with no brakes.I'm invincible.I win every single game.I'm so powerful.I don't need batteries to play.I'm so confident. I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today Unstoppable today Unstoppable today I'm unstoppable today
Neither Susie Orman Media nor Susie Orman is acting as a certified financial planner, advisor, a certified financial analyst, an economist, CPA, accountant, or lawyer.
Neither Susie Orman Media nor Susie Orman make any recommendations as to any specific securities or investments.
All content contained in this podcast is for informational and general purposes only and does not constitute financial accounting or legal advice. you should consult your own tax, legal, and financial advisors regarding your particular situation.
Neither Susie Orman Media nor Susie Orman accepts any responsibility for any losses which may arise from accessing or reliance on information in this podcast, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for loss, damages, direct or indirect, arising from the use of this information.
The must-have documents discussed in this podcast are legal documents created by a lawyer and distributed by Hay House.
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