Ask KT & Suze Anything: Should I Take Money From an IRA to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?

Summary

Summary of "Ask KT & Suze Anything: Should I Take Money From an IRA to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?"

Podcast Title: Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
Host/Author: Suze Orman Media
Episode Title: Ask KT & Suze Anything: Should I Take Money From an IRA to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?
Release Date: July 17, 2025

In this engaging episode of "Ask KT & Suze Anything," financial guru Suze Orman and her co-host KT tackle a series of listener questions, offering expert advice on personal finance dilemmas. The episode delves into topics ranging from managing joint finances and understanding retirement taxes to handling inherited IRAs and investment losses.

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1. Including a Spouse in Financial Accounts

Listener: Diane
Timestamp: [02:12]

Issue: Diane, a 66-year-old wife managing her and her 70-year-old husband's finances, realizes she has neglected his access to their financial accounts. All utilities and credit cards are solely in her name, leaving him vulnerable if anything were to happen to her.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze emphasizes the urgency of including Diane's husband in their financial arrangements to prevent potential future complications. She recommends:

• Applying for a credit card in her husband's name.
• Adding him to utility accounts.
• Establishing legal documents such as a living revocable trust, advance directives, durable power of attorney for health care, and a financial power of attorney.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [04:24]: “It's only $99 again for $2,500 worth of state of the art documents. And by the way, everybody, you can share the activation code with as many family members as you want.”

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2. Michigan's Retirement Income Tax and Roth vs. Traditional IRAs

Listener: Jennifer
Timestamp: [06:38]

Issue: Jennifer heard a rumor that starting in 2026, Michigan will no longer tax retirement income and seeks Suze's interpretation of how this affects traditional versus Roth IRA recommendations.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze clarifies that as of the podcast's recording, the rumor's validity is uncertain. She explains Michigan's current state income tax and advises that the potential tax change does not alter her strong recommendation for Roth IRAs over traditional ones. Suze underscores the federal tax implications over state considerations.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [07:12]: “Do you hear me, my dear Jennifer and everybody that's listening to me, if you are not doing a Roth 401k or a Roth IRA if you qualify... you are making the biggest mistake in your life, if you ask me.”

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3. Helping a Nephew Fund Law School

Listener: Marilyn
Timestamp: [11:25]

Issue: Marilyn, financially secure herself, wishes to assist her nephew in Poland who is starting law school. She seeks advice on setting up a fund to invest for his education.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze advises against putting the funds directly in the nephew's name, suggesting instead establishing a separate investment account earmarked for his education. She cautions against impacting his financial aid eligibility and recommends considering a 529 plan for U.S. educational institutions.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [12:19]: “Just set up a side account that you know is for him, where you put money into it, you invest into it, you keep compounding it.”

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4. Using Inherited IRA to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Listener: Ana
Timestamp: [13:38]

Issue: Ana, 37, inherited an $82,000 IRA and contemplates using $41,000 to eliminate credit card debt. She struggles with the emotional aspect of this financial decision, especially after experiencing significant personal losses.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze advises against using the inherited IRA to pay off the debt due to the substantial tax implications. She outlines that withdrawing the necessary funds would push Ana into a higher tax bracket, effectively making the move financially illogical. Instead, Suze suggests alternative strategies:

• Ensuring the credit card debt is at a 0% interest rate.
• Considering balance transfers.
• Setting up a manageable repayment plan over several years.

Suze emphasizes the importance of viewing the debt as a meaningful experience rather than merely a financial burden.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [15:53]: “If it was strictly a financial decision, I wouldn't let her do it on any level.”

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5. Paying Advisory Fees from Roth IRAs vs. Other Accounts

Listener: Kathy
Timestamp: [21:05]

Issue: Kathy seeks clarification on why Suze recommends paying advisory fees from non-retirement brokerage accounts when her financial advisor suggests otherwise.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze reiterates her stance that advisory fees should not be deducted from Roth IRAs to preserve their tax-free growth potential. She argues that reducing the compound growth within the Roth diminishes its long-term benefits and questions the advisor's rationale regarding Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), which do not apply to Roth IRAs.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [21:58]: “You don't want to take money, especially from the Roth that's accumulating tax free to pay the fees. That makes no sense. You're losing out on compounding.”

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6. Handling Investment Losses in a Roth Fund

Listener: Elisa
Timestamp: [24:13]

Issue: Elisa is concerned about her husband's investment in a declining Roth fund. Despite receiving dividends, the fund's value has decreased significantly, leading to substantial losses.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze recommends selling the underperforming fund to prevent further losses, highlighting the risk of a "yield trap" where investors stay committed to a failing investment due to attractive dividends. She advises evaluating the fund's viability and considering diversification through ETFs to mitigate risks.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [26:06]: “This is called a yield trap. There is a name for it where you're stuck in a stock because of the yield that it pays you.”

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7. Dollar Cost Averaging in Roth IRAs

Listener: Maria
Timestamp: [30:25]

Issue: Maria, at 62 and nearing retirement, inquires whether dollar cost averaging is still applicable to Roth IRAs.

Advice from Suze Orman: Suze enthusiastically affirms that dollar cost averaging is indeed applicable to Roth IRAs, reinforcing its effectiveness in long-term investment strategies.

Notable Quote:
Suze Orman at [30:58]: “The answer to that is yes.”

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Closing Remarks

In addition to addressing these pressing financial questions, Suze encourages listeners to take proactive steps in managing their finances wisely. She promotes the Alliant Credit Union's savings accounts and invites listeners to join the Women & Money Community through the dedicated app for further resources and support.

Final Thought:
Suze Orman emphasizes the mantra, "Make your money, make more money," advocating for continuous financial growth and security.

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Disclaimer:
The podcast content is intended for informational and general purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors regarding their specific situations.

Transcript

[Unknown]

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

[KT]

Good morning, Susie.

[Susie Orman]

Here we go, everybody.

[KT]

July 17, 2025.

[Susie Orman]

Oh, she's. She's on it. She's already on it.

[KT]

It's July. It's my birthday month. I can't wait.

[Susie Orman]

All right, everybody, her birthday is Monday, four days from now, and her twin sister arrives on the 20th for us to go fishing and be with her. So this is KT's birthday weekend coming up, so we'll just have to see what happens on Sunday. Or not. Anyway. So welcome, everybody, to the Ask KT and Susie Anything podcast. And this is where you write in to asksusypodcastmail.com and if you don't know how to spell my name by now, I'm not going to tell you anymore. You write in your question, and if KT chooses it, we will answer it on the podcast. And thousands of people write in, just so you know. So you never know. When we flip back, we go forward, whatever. You got to listen every week to see if your question is answered. And then many of you know, like I did last week, I answer you directly if I think the situation warrants it. Before we start KT, let's remind everybody about the 12 months.

[KT]

Oh, that's a great deal.

[Susie Orman]

Yes. Certificate at Alliant credit union for 4.30 APY for amounts under 75,000. For 75,000 or more, it's 4.35 APY. Go to myalliant a l l I a n t dot com and check it out. All right, now, KT, what do you got?

[KT]

Okay, Susie, this first question I really want everyone listening to. Kind of weigh in and tell me what you think. It's from a woman by the name of Diane, but I don't know.

[Susie Orman]

Is it a question?

[KT]

It's not a question.

[Susie Orman]

You look like it's a statement.

[KT]

It's more than that. It's. It's called Oopsie. Like, oopsie. She feels like she made a grave mistake. So let me share it with everyone. She said, Hi, Susie and KT. I'm 66 years old. My husband is 70. I have just realized, and I've watched your show forever, listened to your and Katie's podcast while I walk. I realized I've neglected my husband's needs. Uh oh, that's how it starts. I've always been the one in charge of our finances. And I've done quite well, thanks to you. I have an Excel sheet that tracks our finances. I have hired our fee only advisors. I've paid the bills. I've applied and opened our credit card. We have one and department store cards. I have opened utilities, etc. Don't worry. I sit him down once a month and make him look at our finances even though he has no interest. So Diane's referring to her husband, but the way she's referring sounds like she's.

[Susie Orman]

Now, go on. Just go on. Yeah.

[KT]

I did not, however, put his name on anything. It just never occurred to me. It wasn't until this year when we went to Europe that I learned we should have two credit cards in case we lost one. As I dug deeper, I realized if something happened to me, he would have no access to the utilities, my credit card, store cards, et cetera. I then checked his credit score and it was good. Why? Because he's, he's a user on my credit card. Mine is excellent. So this is what it's sad. She said, please remind your listeners to remember their partners. I don't even know how to clean up this mess I've created. So Diane thinks she's created a mess? I don't think she's created a mess.

[Susie Orman]

She hasn't created a mess yet.

[KT]

All right, so tell her how to fix it.

[Susie Orman]

But she knows very well that if something happens to her tomorrow, today, in a few hours from now, she has left an extraordinary mess for her husband, who she obviously loves. So how does she clean this up? It's very, very easy, my friend. All you have to do is apply for a credit card in your husband's name, put the utilities in both of your names if you want. Make sure that you. I don't even care about the credit cards at the department stores, but make sure that he has a credit card and his name. Just start doing things so that he has access to everything on your savings accounts. Make him pay on death. But here's the thing. Rather than what are you going to do in case you die to protect him? My question is, what do you do to protect both of you in case there is incapacity? Let's say, Diane, you can't pay the bills anymore because you've been in a car accident. So here's the first thing I want you both to do. You need to get a living, revocable trust, an advance directive and durable power of attorney for health care, a will and an advance directive and a financial power of attorney. Where do you get those, I would go to musthavedocs.com and that is where you can get $2,500 worth. A state of the art documents. Good. In all 50 states. And you and your husband can do it together. So it's only $99 again for $2,500 worth of state of the art documents. And by the way, everybody, you can share the activation code with as many family members as you want. This isn't a mess yet, but one day it very well will be. So what can you do? Straighten it out right now. Next question.

[KT]

Kt, next question. Susie is from Jennifer. She said. Greetings, Susie and KT. I heard a rumor that starting 2026, my state of Michigan will no longer tax retirement income.

[Susie Orman]

Oh, that's nice. Good.

[KT]

Is that true?

[Susie Orman]

I don't know to tell you it's a rumor.

[KT]

Can you please break this down for me in Susie's speak so I can better understand? She said for states that do not tax retirement income, Florida and Texas. What does this mean for traditional versus Roth recommendations?

[Susie Orman]

Nothing.

[KT]

As always, thank you. Ready for the sign off? Memory lane, Susie. Money Moms.

[Susie Orman]

Jennifer, do you remember when.

[KT]

Yes. General Mills. Susie created this entire program called the Money Moms.

[Susie Orman]

Yes. Do you remember that? I'll never forget that.

[KT]

It was fantastic.

[Susie Orman]

I know.

[KT]

It was a newsletter she did and General Mills actually distributed.

[Susie Orman]

And everybody.

[KT]

To all these women.

[Susie Orman]

Tell everybody what you did, how you got me on the COVID of a cereal box.

[KT]

Oh, yeah, we have Susie on a cereal box from General Mills. It was total. I think it was total.

[Susie Orman]

I don't remember.

[KT]

Not Wheaties. It wasn't Wheaties, because that's reserved for athletes. More or less. But Susie was on Total.

[Susie Orman]

Was it total?

[KT]

Total. Are you sure? Yeah. Great. It was a good cereal.

[Susie Orman]

Is that still here?

[KT]

Yes.

[Susie Orman]

That box.

[KT]

Yes.

[Susie Orman]

We'll have to.

[KT]

Want me to post it on the. On the wall? We can tell everyone how to get there.

[Susie Orman]

Go to the Women and Money community app. Download it for free on Apple Apps or Google Play and you can play with us. All right.

[KT]

I'll post that. That cereal box with Susie for Total. But the Money Moms was great. It was. I loved working with General Mills.

[Susie Orman]

What a. Yeah. We had good company. So let me answer this. All of a sudden, KT just put this Michigan away. So. Michigan. So the truth is, I don't know if they pass that or not for 2026, but I'm sure that they did. If you say that. But let's say the rumor is true. Okay. One thing I do know is that Michigan in itself has a state income tax currently at 4.25%. And that's up from 4.05%, which it was in 24 and then it went up. It's now up at 4.25%. All it means for you is that when you take money out of a pre taxed retirement account, you're only going to owe federal income tax on it, not state. Just that simple. Now that makes every single penny count. Remember what I said for this year, you need to make your money, make more money. And this is one way that your money will make more money. However, your question. So what does it mean for a traditional versus a Roth recommend? Nothing. That's going to get me off the Roth recommendation. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Because the largest income tax that you pay really is on the federal level. So why would you want to pay the federal level just because you have a traditional retirement account? Because the state of Michigan doesn't want to charge you any more tax. Wrong. You're going to do Roth all the way. Do you hear me, my dear Jennifer and everybody that's listening to me, if you are not doing a Roth 401k or a Roth IRA if you qualify, or a Roth backdoor if it makes sense for you, you are making the biggest mistake in your life, if you ask me. All right. Why are you looking at me like that?

[KT]

Because you're getting all riled up about that Roth.

[Susie Orman]

Do you know why?

[KT]

Yeah. Because so many people don't do it. They don't take advantage of this incredible gift.

[Susie Orman]

Just drives me crazy.

[KT]

Okay, don't be so crazy. You ready for my next one?

[Susie Orman]

I'm crazy over you.

[KT]

So this is.

[Susie Orman]

And your birth.

[KT]

I think we're gonna have a real fun day. Okay, so this is from Marilyn. And I like this.

[Susie Orman]

What day do we not have a really fun day?

[KT]

We have fun all the time. But on my birthday, it's gonna be exceptionally fun. Cause Lynn will be here and we're gonna teach her how to really fish. Tell them why we have to teach her how to fish. Really?

[Susie Orman]

Well, because on August 1st, Ms. Travis and her sister Lynn, and my BFF, Margaret Nielsen, and. And Maggie, her daughter, are all going to British Columbia to go salmon fishing. Fabulous, right? And you may be wondering, why is Susie not going? Because I don't want to. All right, go on, kt next.

[KT]

Okay, Susie, my next question is from Marilyn in San Francisco. She's been listening to you forever. She's in the green. Her. Her accounts keep climbing. She's Very, very happy.

[Susie Orman]

So that's what she means when she says that she's in the green.

[KT]

She's in the green. She's not in.

[Susie Orman]

In the money? No.

[KT]

Well, it should be in the black.

[Susie Orman]

She's in the black.

[KT]

I don't know, but she wrote green. Well, she's. Anyway, so here's her question. She has a very low overhead now in San Francisco because of everything she's learned from you. But she has a nephew in Poland, and he's starting law school, and she wants to help him. And this is a special nephew. It's the son of her brother who died by suicide. So she really has a, you know, a desire to help him.

[Susie Orman]

So how's she going?

[KT]

She said, what would you recommend for a fund setup where I can invest for him and let the account compound for him?

[Susie Orman]

Yeah. So here's the thing. I don't know if he's going to need financial aid. I don't know who pays for what when he's in college. But here's what I would do if I were you. Truthfully, we always want to help these youngins out, and we think, oh, well, let's put money away in their name just so that they can have it when they get older. But the problem is we don't know what their lives turn out to be when they are older. So I am recommending to you, out of years and years of experience, make a side account that you know is for him, where you put money into it, you invest into it, you keep compounding it. And as he gets older, later on, if he's a good kid, he deserves help. He's everything that you want for him. She'll know, you'll know, and then you'll just give it to him then. Just that simple. Don't go putting it in his name right now. All right. And for those of you whose kids are going to the school in the United States, if you did it in a uniform gift to Minors act account and they need financial aid, you're going to hurt them for financial aid, so don't do it. 529 is far better. All right.

[KT]

All right, good. So, Susie, yet again I get another email that also has very emotional ramifications around suicide as well.

[Susie Orman]

All right, go on.

[KT]

So this is from Ana. She's 37 years old. She has no children. She has a question whether or not it's wise to use some of the $82,000 from an inherited IRA to pay off $41,000 worth of credit card debt. So she Said she's learned from your show. It's equally important to ask herself what's going on with me that I would allow so much credit card debt to accumulate. So here's the story just in a nutshell, everyone. She said that less than two years before her dad's passing, her husband died of suicide. And in her grief, she started spending and traveling to find meaning again, I bet. All right, shortly after her husband passed, her dad died from COVID in his 50s, way too soon. So again, she said she's just, you know, she got herself into further debt. And now she said, I've made changes, stopped eating out, shopping and traveling frequently. I dearly miss the most important men in my life and I owe it to them to do better financially and mentally. She said, I first heard you, Susie, on Oprah, and I started contributing to a 401k Roth. Today it has $419,000. Wow. She bought her first home 18 months ago. She makes extra payments. She's on track to pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years. She makes $160,000 a year. She said, I'm aware of how emotionally freeing it would be to have zero debt and get a fresh start by wiping out the 41,000 credit card debt. And it's this very emotion that makes me wonder whether using IRA funds is similar to the emotional spending that got me into credit card debt in the first place. She wants an outside perspective from you. What do you think?

[Susie Orman]

This one's really a hard one.

[KT]

But why?

[Susie Orman]

Because of the emotional connection that Ana has with this debt and what it represents to her financially. If it was strictly a financial decision, I wouldn't let her do it on any level. So, Ana, listen to me. You make $160,000 a year. You live in Southern California. Between those two things, you are going to be between the state and federal taxes. When you withdraw money from your inherited IRA, you're going to have to take out approximately 70, maybe $75,000, right, in order to leave you with $41,000 to pay off in credit card debt because it's going to put you in a higher tax bracket. And then that will only leave you with $8,400 in the inherited IRA. And so, financially speaking, that makes absolutely no sense. To get rid of $41,000 of credit card debt, it's going to cost you an additional $30,000 in taxes. Approximately. To do so makes absolutely no sense at all. Therefore, however, you have to ask and answer the question to yourself, is that $31,000 worth getting rid of this emotional baggage because it's that debt that represents to you the loss of not only your husband and your father, but your own self worth. You lost yourself that process. So do you think that getting rid of that debt, you will find yourself again and on some level, maybe even get that much closer to your deceased husband and father? In a strange way, only you can answer that question for me strictly on a financial level. Your father, because I read your entire email, died in 2021. You obviously have not taken any money out of this inherited IRA all these years. You have six years left to wipe this account clean. So if you want, you can do it all at once right now, get rid of the debt and done. Or you could possibly first look at your credit card debt and make sure that the 41,000 is at a 0% interest rate because it seems like you have money, you've been responsible with your own money. I'm sure you've been on time with your payments. So maybe you have a good FICO score. And if you do, you could do a balance transfer at a 0% interest rate for 21 months, just same. Then every year for the next six years, you could, let's just say assuming a 7% annual growth rate, you could take out maybe like $17,000 a year. So it's not that big of a hit to your taxes all at once. It might leave you with $10,000 after taxes that you can, if you want, put towards the credit card debt. So in four years it would be gone and then you've been smarter with your money. If you did it that way, you're also making $160,000 a year. It would seem to me that somewhere there, there is enough money for you to every single month put extra money towards your credit card, more than possibly your mortgage or anything else if you're doing that and get rid of that credit card debt that way financially. Just to recap, I would not take it all out at once and pay it off emotionally. Only you can decide if the emotional payoff will be worth it. The fact that in the end of your email you question that, I think you know the answer to that is it's not worth it. Because you can look at that debt not as a burden, but as a gift that you gave yourself to get through of the truly greatest losses of your life. And it gained a perspective for you as to what's important now. So I personally would look at that debt as a gift, not as a burden. So that's what I would do. Next question. Kt.

[KT]

Hi Susie. This is by the way from Kathy. Hi Susie. I listened to your podcast on June 12th and KT read a question about which account advisory fees should be paid from. Yes, you said all fees should be paid from the non retirement brokerage account.

[Susie Orman]

Smart.

[KT]

Done properly.

[Susie Orman]

Correct.

[KT]

Can you please help me understand why that is? So here's what Kathy did. She went and told her financial advisor from Fidelity what you said. And the advisor said she can take out the fee from any account that she wishes and taking it out of the pre tax could be better to lower her eventual rmd. So there you go. She's totally confused. She said, please Susie, help me clarify this.

[Susie Orman]

I'm going to stick to my answer. Obviously every financial advisor may have their own reason for saying whatever because they know more about you. But let's just talk about right now, the pre tax one and the Roth one. You don't want to take money, especially from the Roth that's accumulating tax free to pay the fees. That makes no sense. You're losing out on compounding. And the same is true with the pre tax ones. So for Roth IRAs you are always to pay the advisory fees from outside or from taxable funds to avoid the shrinkage of that account because that doesn't even have RMDs on it. Do you understand what I'm saying to you here? Why would you pay it to reduce your RMDs when your Roth doesn't have any RMDs? And as far as the traditional IRA, you could pay it from either source. All right? But paying it from a taxable account usually preserves more long term value, especially if you have still a long investment horizon and and do not urgently need the money to reduce those future RMDs. So all I can tell you is I'm going to stick by what I'm saying. All right? So that's just what I'm saying. I just, I just don't get it.

[KT]

All right, There you go.

[Susie Orman]

I just don't get it. All right? Why would you want to use money within a retirement account that compounds for you and grows there and grows there to take out just to reduce your RMDs? I don't think so. Anyway, go on. And I would be converting by the way, the money that's in the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA. To do what? Say you don't have any RMDs. What's an RMD?

[KT]

KT required, minimum distribution, baby.

[Susie Orman]

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Okay, girl. All right, all right.

[KT]

This Is from Elisa. Dear Susie and kt, I love your show. I've written a few questions, but I've never been chosen.

[Susie Orman]

Why'd you choose her this time?

[KT]

Because she said she. She wrote who's right, me or him? So this is kind of question I like. Yeah, I really need help on this one, so please help us. My husband deposited $40,000 in a Roth called S O A E X Spirit of energy fund in 2017. Over the years, he's collected dividends, which he's very proud of, Susie. Approximately $4,000 a year. It fluctuates a bit each year, but I'd say that's the average. The last payment was half of normal. The fund has been losing value since 2017. The value of his money now is only $16,000. He's lost $24,000 in eight years. He still receives approximately the same amount in dividends even though the fund has gone down. So I can kind of see her husband's, you know, mentality. Susie. In eight years, he got like $30,000 worth of dividends. He thinks he should keep it because it's in a dividend bearing account. He's calculating about a 10% return. I think he should sell it because I don't think it's going to go back up. And at some point it may become insolvent. Right now she said, the saddest thing is that it is in a Roth. We can't even use the losses to balance out other gains. And now she said, he's so frugal and complains when I spend money on the house or myself. But here he is throwing away his money by the thousands. What do you think we should do? Sell it or keep it? And is there any way to deduct the losses?

[Susie Orman]

Should I ask you what you would do?

[KT]

You want to ask me?

[Susie Orman]

Is there anybody else sitting here with me?

[KT]

If I were her, I'd say to him, why don't we make an agreement that if it keeps going down, let's sell. Done. Like, give him a little bit of a wiggle room and an option. But he's down, you know, $24,000 in eight years. But the dividend payments are greater than the loss.

[Susie Orman]

He's made $32,000 in dividends.

[KT]

Not really. Probably 30 because he's made 30. The last payment was half.

[Susie Orman]

Half. It's like, here's the bottom line, right? S O A E X S is a sinking ship. Oh, right. It stands for the Spirit of American Energy Fund. And it's one of those sector Funds, KT that only focuses on energy related stocks. So it's not like I could say, oh, this stock company is this and da, da. You know, it's not like an individual stock company that you can analyze really. So if you look at this sector fund that only focuses on energy related stocks, these funds can be extremely volatile and in this case it has been. So what I would be saying, There's $16,000 left. I would cut it right here, believe it or not.

[KT]

Sell.

[Susie Orman]

I would sell because especially if they're starting to cut the dividend back already, that doesn't bode well for it. Can they deduct the loss? They cannot, right? So because it's in the Roth. So if it were me, I would tell my husband, right? If he were sitting at my kitchen table, listen, you've already lost money. Don't lose more. The past is the past. Don't let sunk cost cloud your judgment because that's what's happening here. And if this fund keeps declining, it becomes insolvent. They will lose what's left. You know, this is called a yield trap. There is a name for it where you're stuck in a stock because of the yield that it pays you. And I've said many times on this podcast that don't worry so much about the price of the stock. You're in it for the dividend, the income. But once a stock goes down, as much as this stock has gone down, you're no longer in it just for the income because the income most likely is going to go away. So I would be selling it now. He may not want to, he may very well say I'm not. So you can say, all right, how about if we compromise and sell half, let's take out half the money now and let's put it in something like the ETF smh within the retirement account. You leave your money there, I'll leave my money in this, and let's just see what happens as time goes on. So at least that gives him some credit and you don't make him feel totally powerless over this and like a looser, because you have to also think for $16,000, be careful here. Be careful about pride. Be careful about somebody who really, really feels already horrific about the fact of how much money was lost in principle. So, you know, people first, then money, then things. So you have to just kind of do it gently. If it were me, obviously I would have cut the losses and I would just done it. But you might want to take the 5050 approach. What do you Think, Katie.

[KT]

I listened to Susie Orman. Cut it, sell it. Done. Why don't you just tell your husband you asked Susie Orman and she said, it's a sinking ship, honey. Get rid of it. Jump.

[Susie Orman]

Yeah, I would.

[KT]

That's all. Just tell him straight up.

[Susie Orman]

I might say keep it if they hadn't cut the dividend in half, right? And given that they did, that's not a good sign, girlfriend. It's just not a good sign. All right, go on.

[KT]

Okay, Susie, last question, and it's probably one of my favorite. It's short and it's about our friend Roth. Hi, Susie. This is from Maria. She said, hi, Susie. I've been following your amazing advice for 30 plus years, ever since I discovered you on Oprah. I'm now 62 years old and looking at retiring soon. My question's pretty basic, I think. Does dollar cost averaging still apply for Roth IRAs?

[Susie Orman]

You betcha.

[KT]

It applies.

[Susie Orman]

You betcha.

[KT]

Yes.

[Susie Orman]

The answer to that is yes.

[KT]

Yes, yes.

[Susie Orman]

Dollar cost averaging applies to every single account that you have when you are investing in the stock market. Just that simple. All right, kt, then that is a wrap. So there's only one thing that I want for you this year and every year from now on, and that is very simple. You are to make your money, make more money. Stay safe, everybody know we love you. And we'll see what happens on Sunday.

[KT]

Bye. Bye.

[Unknown]

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

[Susie 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 my A L L I A-N-T.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.

[Unknown]

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 Suze 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 exposure 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.