5 Questions for Suze Orman

Suze Orman is everyone’s go-to person for expert, clear-cut personal financial advice. She has a weekly show on CNN and is a frequent contributor on a number of others. She has authored numerous financial advice books and will have a new show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. Orman is appearing at ISSE Midwest on March 27 with solid advice aimed at the salon industry. Her newest book, The Money Class, also hits shelves this month.

MS: When should someone begin to think about his or her financial future?

SO: It’s never too soon, but it can be too late to begin. Just as every hair style has a key ingredient that makes the look pop, time is the key ingredient in financial security. If you start funding an investment at 40 years old, rather than at 25, you are going to either have much less money put away or have to contribute much more annually to catch up by retirement age.

MS: What are some major financial mistakes?

SO: Here are a few: Running up multiple credit cards and paying only the monthly minimum, failure to save for retirement, thinking you don’t have to repay student loans (they never go away), failure to carry proper insurance and co-signing a loan with a friend.

MS: What are the consequences to under-reporting cash tips?

SO: You never get away with anything. Even if you don’t get caught, the underlying guilt or remorse you feel from knowing you’re not doing the right thing seems to keep people from success. I’ve seen too many examples—lies always destroy money and truth always makes money.

MS: What can the ISSE audience expect?

SO: I don’t prepare for talks like this with notes or prompters. I like to check out the audience, study their faces and figure out what advice the group needs. I want to give salon professionals the best “financial hair color” they’ve ever had and I want them to leave looking and feeling “financially stunning.”

MS: Tell us about your signature hair.

SO: I have very thick hair and I color it as often as possible to add body. I base these appointments not so much on how my color looks, but on how my hair looks in general. My hairdresser is a genius at blow-drying and he does such a great job it lasts several days. I pay him $1,500 a day plus expenses to travel with me.