Many people are in the dark when it comes to money, and I'm going to turn on the lights.
We tend to focus on assets and forget about debts. Financial security requires facing up to the big picture: assets minus debts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing both assets and liabilities for true financial security.
Suze Orman's quote highlights a common oversight in personal finance, where individuals often concentrate on their assets without adequately considering their debts. She stresses that achieving financial security necessitates a holistic approach that evaluates the total picture, where one's financial health is determined by the difference between assets and debts. Understanding this balance is crucial for making informed financial decisions and attaining long-term stability.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a financial literacy workshop, a speaker might use this quote to highlight the importance of comprehensive financial planning.
More from Suze Orman
All quotes βBad debt is sacrificing your future day needs for your present day desires.
We are all powerless as children, and money looms so powerfully... we don't grow up to claim our financial power until we look money directly in the eye, face our fears, and claim that power back.
Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security.
Believing you are worthy of love means that you believe I deserve to be treated well - with respect and dignity. I deserve to be cherished and adored by someone. I am worthy of an intimate and fulfilling relationship. I won't settle for less than I deserve. I will do whatever it takes to create that for myself.
So many financial dreams are thwarted by the failure to act upon good intentions.
Similar quotes
When I trade, I don't have an agency problem; I have my neck on the line. When a bank or banker trades, it's not his neck on the line.
Debt is so ingrained into our culture that most Americans can't even envision a car without a payment ... a house without a mortgage ... a student without a loan ... and credit without a card. We've been sold debt with such repetition and with such fervor that most folks can't conceive of what it would be like to have NO payments.
Investing is forgoing consumption now in order to have the ability to consume more at a later date.
It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial crisis happened because AAA ratings stopped being something that had to be earned and turned into something that could be paid for.
Net return is simply the gross return of your investment portfolio less the costs you incur. Keep your investment expenses low, for the tyranny of compounding costs can devastate the miracle of compounding returns.
Eliminate emotion from your investment program.