Ask KT & Suze Anything: Revisiting Am I Too Old to Buy a House?

Summary

Summary of "Ask KT & Suze Anything: Revisiting Am I Too Old to Buy a House?"

Podcast: Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
Host/Author: Suze Orman Media
Release Date: April 17, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of Women & Money, Suze Orman and KT engage with listeners' financial inquiries, providing expert advice on a range of topics from investment exams to real estate decisions. The episode emphasizes taking control of one's financial future through informed decision-making and proactive planning.

Rapid Fire Segment: Listener Appreciation and Exam Insights

The episode opens with a heartfelt thank-you from listener Mike, who expresses gratitude for the clarity Suze's "school" provided while studying for his Series 65 exam. Suze reflects on her own challenges with the Series 7 exam, sharing a personal story of perseverance:

“Sometimes in life, when you fail, maybe it's a test to see do you really want to do this or not?”
[02:05]

Listener Questions and Expert Advice

1. Inheritance and Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

Question from Karen:
Karen asks about managing RMDs for her three children inheriting her 401(k).
Suze's Advice:
Suze explains the importance of understanding beneficiary designations and the distinction between eligible and non-eligible designated beneficiaries. She advises:

“You really want to save your beneficiaries a whole lot of trouble. Just do a Roth retirement account.”
[05:19]

2. Buying a Home as an Unmarried Couple

Question from Zoe:
Zoe and her life partner are purchasing a co-op apartment but remain unmarried. She seeks advice on ensuring property rights and financial stability should anything happen to her partner.
Suze's Advice:
Suze recommends securing a 20-year term insurance policy to cover the mortgage, ensuring Zoe can maintain payments independently if needed. She emphasizes:

“If he dies, you're fine. So therefore, maybe what you should do is get a 20-year term insurance policy on him.”
[07:14]

Additionally, Suze highlights the potential benefits of marriage for financial security, such as access to Social Security benefits:

“You could claim either half of his Social Security or take over his Social Security if he died before you.”
[07:20]

3. Leaving a 401(k) vs. Cash to Children

Question from Bridget:
Bridget contemplates whether to leave her 401(k) to her children or convert it to cash, especially considering the complexities of inheritance rules.
Suze's Advice:
Suze strongly advocates for converting to a Roth 401(k), urging:

“Why don't you convert anyway so that when they inherit, it's not that big of a deal.”
She emphasizes prioritizing their own financial strategy over worrying about the children initially: “Stop worrying about the kids, Mama Bear, and start worrying about yourself.”
[10:35]

4. Managing Capital Gains from ETF Dividends in a Rollover IRA

Question from Sheila:
Sheila inquires about whether to reinvest dividends or deposit them to cover future taxes.
Suze's Advice:
Suze simplifies the decision:

“Make it so you reinvest the dividends and you get the most growth out of your money.”
She also suggests considering Roth conversions for long-term benefits: “Start converting to a Roth.”
[12:20]

5. Involving a Spouse in Financial Decisions

Question from Susan:
Susan seeks strategies to engage her husband in managing their finances, as he has been disengaged despite their financial success.
Suze's Advice:
Suze advises a serious, role-playing approach to highlight the importance of financial collaboration:

“We're broke. We're just broke.”
She encourages creating a comprehensive financial plan together, emphasizing accountability: “This isn't funny, it's not funny, everybody.”
[14:31]

6. Purchasing a Home at Age 65 or 66

Question from Carolyn:
Carolyn wonders if purchasing a home later in life is advisable.
Suze's Advice:
Suze affirms that age should not be a barrier if one can afford it, recommending:

“If you can afford it, girlfriend.”
She advises opting for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage to ensure the home is paid off before reaching 80 years old and suggests a disciplined savings experiment to test affordability: “At the beginning of every month for the next six months, take that $2,000 and put it in a money market account… see what that feels like.”
[16:50]

7. Paper Trading for Investment Practice

Question from Jennifer:
Jennifer asks for Suze's opinion on paper trading as a method to practice investing.
Suze's Advice:
Suze sees value in paper trading for learning investment strategies:

“Pretend on paper that you bought stock or ETFs.”
She recommends tracking investments meticulously to mimic real trading without financial risk.
[20:56]

8. Adding Kids as Authorized Users on Credit Cards

Question from Hari:
Hari seeks advice on whether both parents should add their children as authorized users on their credit cards to boost the kids' credit scores.
Suze's Advice:
Suze suggests that while one parent may suffice, having both parents add the kids across different credit cards can be beneficial:

“Do it on all your credit cards, not just one.”
She underscores the importance of prioritizing people over money: “People first, then money, then things.”
[21:56]

Key Takeaways and Expert Insights

Throughout the episode, Suze Orman emphasizes the importance of proactive financial planning, understanding the implications of financial decisions, and prioritizing personal financial security. Key themes include:

• Perseverance in Financial Education: Suze shares her personal struggles with financial exams to inspire listeners to persist through challenges.
• Strategic Inheritance Planning: Encouraging the use of Roth accounts to simplify inheritance processes.
• Insurance as Financial Safety: Highlighting the necessity of term insurance to secure loved ones' financial future.
• Encouraging Financial Collaboration: Advocating for open and serious discussions between partners about finances.
• Age-Appropriate Financial Decisions: Advising that age should not limit financial opportunities if one is financially prepared.
• Investment Education: Supporting methods like paper trading to enhance investment knowledge without risk.
• Building Credit Early: Recommending authorized user strategies to help children establish strong credit histories.

Notable Quotes

• Suze Orman on Financial Goals:
  “The goal of money is for you to be secure.”
  [00:00]

• Suze Orman on Overcoming Failure:
  “If this is a test… go for it with everything you have.”
  [03:40]

• Suze Orman on Roth Accounts:
  “Just do a Roth retirement account.”
  [05:19]

• Suze Orman on Marriage and Financial Security:
  “You could claim either half of his Social Security”
  [07:20]

• Suze Orman on Self-Priority:
  “Stop worrying about the kids, Mama Bear, and start worrying about yourself.”
  [10:35]

• Suze Orman on Investment Growth:
  “Make it so you reinvest the dividends and you get the most growth out of your money.”
  [12:20]

• Suze Orman on Financial Accountability:
  “This isn't funny, it's not funny, everybody.”
  [14:31]

• Suze Orman on Home Purchasing at Any Age:
  “If you can afford it, girlfriend.”
  [16:50]

• Suze Orman on Credit Building:
  “People first, then money, then things.”
  [22:24]

Conclusion

This episode of Women & Money delivers a wealth of practical financial advice tailored to listeners' diverse needs. Suze Orman's expertise shines through as she addresses complex financial questions with clarity and compassion, empowering listeners to make informed decisions and take control of their financial destinies.

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Transcript

[Suze Orman]

Hi everybody. Suzio here. Now, what is the goal of money? The goal of money is for you to be secure. And there is no better way for you to be secure than having an emergency savings account. It is essential for your financial foundation. So all of you should be participating in the Ultimate Opportunity savings account at Alliant Credit Union. Go to myalliant.com to find out more. And be secure.

[Unknown]

We are strong we are wise we will not apologize we are here we will thrive Together we will rise we're gonna faith and everything it takes we are strong we are wise Together we will rise.

[Robert]

April 17, 2025 welcome to the Women and Money podcast as well as everyone smart enough to listen. Hello again, Robert the producer here. And while Susie and KT are taking some time off, we're presenting parts of episodes that are good to be the top of your feed again. Today we'll hear part of an Ask KT and Susie anything from last fall and, well, let's just get right into it with KT Reading a comment.

[KT]

I have such a great, great selection of short emails that I think this might be a rapid fire because I'd love to get through them. But the first one I'm starting with Susie is from Mike. And this isn't a question, it's a thank you. But let me share it with all of you.

[Suze Orman]

I like these thank yous. Yes.

[KT]

So Mike said, susie, I'm studying for my series 65 exam. Tell everyone what?

[Suze Orman]

That when you study to be a stockbroker or a financial advisor, there are certain exams you have to pass so you can do stocks. And all of series 65, I believe, is for mutual funds. So you have to do all those things. And they're not easy.

[KT]

They're very complicated. So he said, I'm reading the book and listening to the on demand classes and getting so confused. Then Susie, I remembered you covered many of these topics in Susie's school. So he went back and listened. He said, things are now clear. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. And then Mike said, you know, Susie, you could charge for your school. It's far better than the online training I actually paid for. So, Mike, we hope you pass and congrats on your studies.

[Suze Orman]

Yeah, you know, I just want to tell everybody KT about series 7 exam. When you first study for it, you study for months. It is so hard I cannot even tell you. And the very first time I took it, I failed. I failed. And there were only about seven people out of the entire class. There were a lot of people that failed and I was one of them. And that's when I decided I'll never forget saying to myself, all right, you want to see how much I really want to do this? If this is a test? Because I always think everything's a test from above. That if you really want to see how much I want to do this and you're testing me, let's see what I can do. And I studied. Because you only had one week to study and try to take it again. And the second time I obviously passed. But sometimes in life, when you fail, maybe it's a test to see do you really want to do this or not? And if you do, go for it with everything you have. All right.

[KT]

But an orman never gives up. I remember that. Okay, my first question is from Karen. I have three children that will inherit my 401k. How is the RMD completed? Do each contribute a certain amount each year thereafter? How is this calculated?

[Suze Orman]

You know, Karen, why that seems like a very simple question. It really depends on will the kids be eligible designated beneficiaries or will they be non eligible designated beneficiaries? And it will also have to do with have you died on or after the RBD date. So all of that has to be taken into consideration. What I can tell you is this, since it's in 401, you should instruct them that the second this happens, if it's still in the 401k to do individual inherited IRAs in a brokerage account, that's where you start. And then depending on what your situation is, it's really not that hard. Just make sure that if the money is still in a 401 when you die, that they do inherited IRAs at a brokerage firm. And by the way, I just want to say one other thing to everybody. You really want to save your beneficiaries a whole lot of trouble. Just do a Roth retirement account. Roth, Roth, Roth. And if everything is in a Roth when you die, they're fine.

[KT]

All right, go on, Zoe. This is long, but I want to read this because I, I, we know people in the same situation. So I'm reading the whole email from Zoe. Hi Susie. My life partner and I have been together for 20 years. Remember that everyone, 20 years. We're not married, nor do we plan on getting married. We're buying our first home, a co op apartment in New York city. We're putting 20% down and taking out a 30 year fixed mortgage. While I will be contributing to the down payment, my partner is putting down most of it and will be paying the mortgage. He has a great job and he can easily handle the payments. We are buying below our and his means. I recently switched careers and decided to pursue my dream career as an artist. Okay, we all know what that means. Everybody.

[Suze Orman]

What does it mean?

[KT]

If you're an artist, you're never going to have like a guaranteed income. So it's going to be very unstable. Maybe in the beginning and obviously her partner supports this now until my. But listen to this. I like how Zoe is very positive. Until my career takes off, I will not be able to contribute to the mortgage. Our title will be a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. We have separate bank accounts. My concern is if something happens to him, I will not be able to pay the mortgage on my own. I also want to make sure we have the right to the property if something happens since we're not married. So if we do JTWROs Sign Tendency with right of survivorship, do we still need to get a living revocable trust?

[Suze Orman]

So here's the thing, Zoe.

[KT]

I just want to say one more thing for those of you listening. He's in his mid-50s, she's in her late 40s. So they're not kids.

[Suze Orman]

Yeah. Here's what I don't understand, Zoe. You have been with this person now for 20 years. Why do you not want to get married? Especially given that you're about to become an artist in terms of your living, you probably already have already been an artist, but now your income is going to possibly drop, at least for a while. He makes a lot more money than you. So later on in life, maybe if you were married, you would be able to claim either half of his Social Security. Or if he died before you because he is older than you, you would be able to take over his Social Security. There's also so many more benefits I can't even tell you. However, whatever that reason may be, so be it. Here's the thing with joint tenancy, with right of survivorship, yes, if he dies, you automatically get the house and put in your name. Problem is you can't afford it. So therefore, if you're doing a 30 year mortgage as you say you are, maybe what you should do is get a 20 year term insurance policy on him. So if he were to die, then you get enough money to pay off the mortgage and be able to keep it just that simple. Why 20 years instead of 30? Because most likely 20 years from now, it still may be affordable for you. You have to make sure It's a fixed a level term policy. But by then maybe you could put extra money towards the mortgage so that maybe in 20 years it would be paid off anyway. That's number one. Do you need a trust? No, not if he dies. You're fine. The question is, Zoe, what if he doesn't die? What if all of a sudden, now he's in an accident, he is incapacitated, he doesn't recognize you, he can't work anymore, there is no more income coming in from him, and now you have to sell the property. And the question is, can you join? Tenancy with right of survivorship means you both have to sign for it. Therefore, if he's incapacitated and he can't sign, you can't sell it. If you had a revocable trust with an incapacity clause in it, you could sign for him, he could sign for you, no problem. So that's one of the reasons you want to go to musthavedocs.com and check it out.

[KT]

All right, KT, Susie, next question from Bridget. Is it better to leave a 401 to children or cash? The kids would say cash. Then she said, I know the new inheritance rules on 401. Ks are complicated. Should my husband and I live off our cash in retirement or spend down our 401k? And then she said, with great joy, all of their daughters opened Roth's at 21. Our youngest, now 20, opened hers at 18.

[Suze Orman]

Well, what happened to Brigid? Brigid, why don't you have a Roth 401k? Why don't you convert? Why don't you do things like that so that when they do inherit, it's not that big of a deal. Absolutely not. You are to listen to me and listen to me closely. You say in here, because KT just gave this to me, your email, that they opened Roths at 21 and your youngest is now 20. So now they're getting older and they'll be fine, financially speaking. Why don't you care about you and your husband and what you're going to do when you get older and what is best for you and your husband, Brigid, in terms of what should you do to make the most out of your money? So I'm not even going to answer this question other than Roth 401. Start doing that. Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow. And it depends on your tax bracket, what you live off of at the time. But stop worrying about the kids, Mama Bear, and start worrying about yourself. Typical mother, right?

[KT]

Yeah. Three girls all right, this is from Sheila. Hi, K.T. and Susie. Love your advice. And I'm wondering about capital gains from ETF dividends in a rollover ira. Should I set them to automatically reinvest the dividends into the corresponding security or. Or have them deposited to the core account to pay the taxes later? It's hard to answer this one, huh?

[Suze Orman]

This one couldn't be easier to answer if I tried. What are you talking about?

[KT]

Well, I'm just giving you the best questions I like.

[Suze Orman]

So, Sheila, make it so you reinvest the dividends and you get the most growth out of your money. Obviously, you're going to have to pay taxes on it later. The other thing you can start to do is start converting to a Roth. There you go. All right.

[KT]

We better do another Roth podcast.

[Suze Orman]

Oh, my God. Are you crazy?

[KT]

No, just to remind people how great it is. So you hate those.

[Suze Orman]

You have those?

[KT]

No, but I think it's just a good reminder Refresher. A Roth refresher. That's a good.

[Suze Orman]

I wish you all could see my face right now.

[KT]

A Roth refresher. We should do that. All right, everybody. From Susan. I enjoyed the Sunday podcast about managing money successfully in marriage. Like you and kt. I just added that part. My husband and I have been married for 14 years. I manage all of our finances. I'd like to get my husband more involved so he understands what's going on, but he's not interested. He's never been good about saving money, but I ensure that we do. We are debt free. We have an eight month emergency fund, and we're on track for retirement. We have about a million dollars to date. We are both 46. Good for them with kids 8 and 11 years old. Short of chasing him around with a laptop, how do I get him more involved so he can be part of our financial decisions? Want me to tell you, Susie, we're.

[Suze Orman]

Going to make this the wait, Ask Kate anything today. Go.

[KT]

Here's what I would do, Susan. Call your husband in, pour a glass of wine, say, honey, I need to tell you something really serious. He'll say, what? And then give him that glass of wine. We're broke. We're just broke. Then you'll get him more involved in your money. All right.

[Suze Orman]

All right. So here's what I would tell you to do. I would get very serious with him. And I would play ready. I would play incapacitated or death. I'm serious.

[KT]

Yeah. They're 46, right?

[Suze Orman]

And I would sit down and say, all right, we're Going to play a game right now. I've either been struck by a car and I'm totally incapacitated, I can't do anything, or I've been killed in a car crash. Just play it. What would you do first, sweetheart? And then give him a quiz and write down questions. Where are our accounts? What are we invested in? Where would you get the money to pay the bills? Every question that you could possibly have. Is there enough money for you to continue to live without me bringing in any money, whatever it may be? And ask him. He's by himself now. Where would he go? What accounts are the bills paid from? How much is everything? Where is the emergency fund? What do you do for the kids? How do we hold title to the house? Everything. Is there an insurance policy? Every possible question that you could think of, and when he's not able to answer one of them, and now you give him an F, you can then say to him, I am no longer joking with you. This isn't funny. If something happens to me, you have a responsibility to take care of our kids to make sure that everything is okay. And you cannot be now more irresponsible. If you tried. If you something happens to you, we're fine. If something happens to me, oh, you are screwed. So what I want you to do right now is make a commitment to me that we're going to figure this out together as one. And don't joke with him. It's not funny. It's not funny, everybody. If you're in this situation with somebody, it's just plain stupid if they refuse to partake in something that is their lifeline. If something happened to you. All right, Go on kt.

[KT]

So I picked this because I want all of you listening to know one thing. There's never a wrong question when it comes to money, ever. So this is from Carolyn. Susie, you ready? Carolyn said, is it okay to purchase a home at the age of 65 or 66?

[Suze Orman]

Of course, if you can afford it, girlfriend. So I want you to do something which is called play house. So today's podcast is about playing all kinds of things to know what it's like when you really do the real thing. All right. Or the real thing happens, you know, you want to purchase a home, so you're going to hopefully put at least 20% down. Besides the amount of money you're going to put down, you need to have an 8 to 12 month emergency fund. So you put 20% down. Let's check that box off. Now let's decide. At your age Truthfully, you, you should be doing a 15 year fixed rate mortgage because you don't still want to have a mortgage at the age of 95. You want to have it paid off, you know, by the time essentially that you're 80. So therefore, look at what the mortgage payments would be with a 15 year fixed rate mortgage. Just that simple. Write that amount down. Then you also have to do what? Find out what would it cost you in insurance per month on that house? Write that amount down. What would it cost you in property taxes per month? Write that amount down. What would it need in maintenance? Probably another two or three hundred dollars a month in case something were to go wrong. Write that amount down and add up all of those amounts and let's say they come to $4,000 a month. Let's just say that's true. And let's say you're currently renting right now and your rent is $2,000 a month. Subtract your rent from the 4,000, that would leave you $2,000 that you're going to have to come up with. So at the beginning of every month for the next six months, take that $2,000 and put it in a money market account or some account paying you interest and see what that feels like. Are you late? Can you do it at the first of every month? And if you can, and it's easy, then I got news for you. And you know that your job is stable, you know that your income will remain for a long time, then, yeah, you can afford to buy a home. And guess what? At the end of those six months, you'll have a whole lot of money. In this case, an additional 12,000 plus interest to put towards the down payment. If you find that you can't, it's too difficult. You still have money that you saved. All right, KT Next.

[KT]

Okay, next is from Penny. Penny said, my spouse and I are 75 years old. We need to know more information on different types of insurance policies. Which is the best type of life insurance coverage? Is it whole life or term? What are the pros and cons?

[Suze Orman]

So you know, Penny, your email is Pennywise, right? That's what you're calling yourself for this email. Now, I don't know if that's your real name or, you know, if that's just a name you made up. However, at the age of 75, actuarially speaking, you are closer to death when the insurance companies look at your age and probably health. So whole life insurance is going to be so expensive, I can't tell you I don't know why you actually need insurance. Hopefully at this point in your life, nobody is financially dependent on either of you if you're dependent on your spouse or vice versa. Now maybe we're going to have a little bit of problems, but term insurance at this point would be the only way to go.

[KT]

All right, Susie, next question is from Jennifer. Hi Susie. What do you think of paper trading so I can practice? What's your opinion on this, Susie?

[Suze Orman]

I don't think it's a bad idea at all. Where? What is she talking about? Everybody, you pretend on paper that you bought stock or ETFs. You also should all pretend that you start with a certain amount of money. Let's just say $25,000. And what are the five or 10 or 12 stocks or ETFs that you're going to invest in? How much of that 25,000 did you invest the first month at what price? And then when do you dollar cost average again and just on paper, track it.

[KT]

All right, this is my last one from Hari. Hello KT and Susie. Thank you for the very informative podcast. Every week you suggested adding kids as authorized users to help their credit score. We both have excellent credit scores above 800. Do both parents need to add the kids in each of their credit card or one of the parents accounts is good enough?

[Suze Orman]

Probably one is good enough. But hey, KT and I would always tell you two is better than one. And why do we say that, kt?

[KT]

I'm a twin.

[Suze Orman]

Twin. So we had little caps made too. Two are better than one. So truthfully Hari, you could both do it if you want, but the truth of the matter is do it on all your credit cards, not just one. There's only really one thing that we want you to remember when it comes to your money and that is what.

[KT]

KT People first, then money, then things.

[Suze Orman]

You stay safe and healthy and you will be what? Unstoppable.

[Unknown]

We are strong, we are wise. We will not oppose, apologize. We are here, we will thrive. Together we will rise. We're the faith and everything it takes. We are strong, we are wise. Together we will rise.

[Suze Orman]

Hi everybody. Suzy O here. Now if you are looking for a way to start saving to get the most out of your money, I want you to go to myalliant.com that's M y a l l I a n t dot com and look into opening an ultimate opportunity savings account. Put in at least $100 a month, every single month for 12 consecutive months. Earn 3.10% interest on your money right now and get $100 at the end. Are you kidding me? It's the best deal out there. Start saving right now.

[Robert]

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 Suze 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 Suze Orman Media nor Suze 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.