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Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
How You Can Get Through A Shutdown (Even If You're Not A Federal Employee)
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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. October 2, 2025 welcome, everybody, to the Woman in Money podcast. And everybody smart enough to listen. Susie O here. And today's episode is not business as usual. It's not Ask KT and Susie anything. And why is that? It's because the government has shut down. And when Washington grinds to a halt, millions, and I mean millions of people's paychecks stop cold. Federal employees, contractors, families, small businesses that depend on that income. I have to tell you, not only is it frightening, but in my opinion, it is totally frustrating. And seriously, it's just unfair. But I'm not going to get into the politics of this. But it's just not right. None of it is right. Just so you know, here's what we're not going to let happen, at least not on my watch. If this has affected you, you are not going to let this fear of what just happened paralyze you. No, because fear makes you hide. And you know, I've said it over and over again, fear is one of the main internal obstacles to wealth. You also know that I have said to you courage is one of the eight qualities of a wealthy, wealthy person. All right? So you're not going to let fear paralyze you right now because again, fear makes you hide, but courage makes you act. So today, I'm going to walk you step by step through what you can and must do right now to protect yourself, your money and your future. And I'm going to get into the stock market with all of this as well. But really, I want us to take care of those that are going to be affected by this because we do not know how long this is going to last. The very first thing I want you to do is just stop and get honest with yourself. And I want you to ask yourself the question. By the way, you should get out your Susie notebooks. Just do that. You have to ask yourself the question. And all of you should do this anyway because you never know when something like this could happen to you. Not where the government shuts down, but your corporation shuts down, you get fired. Whatever it is you have to do. What I'm about to Say you have to ask yourself, what are my essential expenses to keep a roof over your head, food on the table, utilities and insurance. What is essential for you to live and pay? Everything else is a want. Those others are in need. Everything else is a want. Subscriptions, eating out, extra for the kids. It's all going to get cut right now because you cannot afford to waste even $1 on something that isn't essential. Now, obviously, even if you're affected by the federal government, you have a lot of money. It doesn't matter. You're going to get through this okay? But the majority of you, you know and I know, you're all still living essentially paycheck to paycheck on some level. So it's really important that you get real with yourselves. Next, I need you to communicate before you default. The biggest mistake people make in a shutdown like this is you just go silent, you hide, you miss payments, you let your credit score absolutely just sink. But on my watch, again, you are not going to do that. Instead, I want you to pick up the phone, I want you to call your mortgage lender, I want you to call your credit card company, I want you to call your utility providers, call your landlord, and I want you to tell them the truth. I'm a federal employee. I'm impacted by the shutdown. I'm not receiving my paycheck. What hardship program do you have? Can you waive late fees, defer payments, or reduce my bill temporarily? Also, I've given a podcast on this, right? The greatest words you could ever say, and three of the greatest words you could ever say is could you please? So when you're calling these people, if you don't have the money to pay them, it's like, could you please help me? Could you please reduce my bill temporarily? Just use those words. Now, write that down, everybody, because I have to tell you, you would be absolutely amazed at how many companies will work with you if you simply ask. Because protecting your credit score really is protecting your future. But you have to be proactive. No one is going to come and rescue you. You have got to rescue yourself. Next, if you're in a situation where you absolutely must borrow, all right, but there's a right way and a wrong way. What's the wrong way? Payday loans, cash advances, anything with sky high interest fees that will bury you in debt, what is the better way? It's at this point in time, I want you. Don't faint now. I want you to use your credit cards, but only for essentials for those needs Use the one with the lowest interest rate. So I want you to charge food, gas, utilities. Never withdraw cash, however on your credit cards because that's going to cost you 21% or so. So I want you to save any cash that you may have in your emergency fund right now. And instead I want you to put everything on a credit card at this point in time. Why do I want you to do that? Because I don't know how long this is going to last, nor do you. And I don't want you to use up all your cash and now go to credit cards. I, I rather you use up your credit limit first and then you still have cash. Just so you know. Also, if you have a Roth ira and all of you better have a Roth IRA at this point in time, you can withdraw. Remember any of the contributions that you've made as long as you, you don't touch the earnings. So just the contributions without penalty, regardless of age and how long the account has been open. Now that's your last resort. But if it's the difference really between keeping the lights on or not, you need to know that that option exists now for all of you seriously that are listening. And I know you're thinking to yourself, this doesn't affect me. I don't work for the federal government. You're not directly impacted by this shutdown. I am begging you not to tune this out because this is your financial wake up call. Shutdowns prove one thing. You cannot rely on anyone else. Do you remember me? All these years I've said you have to save yourself. The government can't save you, the economy can't save you. Your family probably can't even save you. But you have to save yourself. So question is, do you have an emergency fund? Could you survive 12 months without a paycheck? I want you to be honest to yourself. And if you can't, I want you to start doing that and building an 8 to 12 month of must pay expenses and savings right now. Because that is what will give you true freedom and peace of mine. I want you to think about it. You work for the federal government and now they've shut down, you're not going to get a paycheck. Maybe you're an air traffic controller and you're going to have to work. Even though you're not getting a paycheck. You don't have a choice. If you had a 12 month must pay account or emergency account that I call it, you would be alright. I can still pay my bills. This qualifies as an emergency and you would still be relatively calm. Those of you out there that are freaking out, it's because you don't have an emergency fund. You don't have any money saved and you don't know what you are going to do. So therefore, you have to do certain things. If you don't have that emergency fund of eight to 12 months, I want you to go through your subscriptions, cancel what you don't need, look at your spending habits. Ask yourself the question, if my paycheck stopped tomorrow, how long could I last? And if the answer is two weeks, one or two months, I'm telling you, you have work to do. Because shutdowns, or when you are fired, or whenever it may be, they are painful. But they are also teachers. They teach us what happens when we don't plan. And they remind us of the power of planning ahead. Got that, everybody? Again, just like with the hurricane, you plan for the worst, but you hope for the best. And then when something happens, you are prepared. That's why I want you all to have a will and a trust in the must have documents so that you can protect your tomorrows today. But if you just keep putting things off and not deal with reality and something happens now, we're in trouble. Let's talk about something that I'm sure a lot of you are worried about, Susie. The markets. What are the markets going to do? The government has shut down. Should I sell? Should I sell everything? Are you out of your mind? Every time that there has been a shutdown, Wall street has reacted. Absolutely. But stocks may swing, not just down, they may swing up as well. So when you say should I sell before it gets worse, I'm telling you, do not panic here. Let me just give you some facts. Let's go back to the recent shutdown, 2019. Remember that one? That one was bad, or so we thought, right? Because it was the longest one in US history, lasting 35 days. The headlines, I'm telling you, they were terrifying. You were all freaked. I even did a podcast on it way back then, if you go back that far. But here's the truth. Do you know that during that shutdown the standing and Poor's 500 index actually went up about 10%. Do you know that? And about 12 months later, the S&P had gained about 26%. Think about that. You would have thought during those 35 days the markets would have been destroyed and everything, they actually went up about 10%. I can tell you, the other day I was looking at Kolo's portfolio And I was going, oh God, here we go. And we were down to a certain amount of money. It had gone down about $2,000 or whatever. When I looked Wednesday morning, it was higher. His portfolio was higher than it was the day before they announced the shutdown. It was the fear of it's going to shut down, we better sell. And now a day later, it was even higher. Okay, let's go back to 2013, which was a 16 day shutdown. Guess what? The market rose about 3% while the government was closed. And in the year after it was up nearly 20%. So you best hear me loud and clear that while shutdowns may rattle your ner, it's only in the moment. But history has shown us that they have been nothing more than a blip. Just a blip, everybody. And what really drives the market long term is the Federal Reserve interest rate earnings, the strength in the economy and how much money is on the sidelines waiting to be invested, not Washington's dysfunction. So the truth is the only people hurt by market swings are the ones who make emotional decisions. So if you sold in the panic, or if you tend to sell in a panic, you lock in your losses. And if you simply stay invested, you give your money time to recover and grow. Now that happened with the tariffs. Aren't you glad you didn't sell? It happened when the pandemic happened. The markets went down. I was telling you, don't sell, buy, do certain things. Aren't you glad you did? So what should you do now? You need to stay the course. If you're investing for retirement and keep contributing to your Roth 401K, your Roth IRA, do not stop, do not pull money out. You need to be focused on quality. These broad based index funds, if you want diversified portfolios, but also the individual stocks that we have been talking about that just are fabulous, fabulous, everybody. So if you combine those individual stocks that we've been talking about with a percent of your portfolio in voo, you're going to be just fine. You need to look at what's happening here and use this as a test of your courage. And that volatility seriously is the price of admission for long term growth. Like I was literally hoping that these markets would go down big time so that I could buy more of the things that have been going straight up. So if a shutdown, for instance, makes you lose sleep, it's not the shutdown that's the problem. It's that your portfolio may be too risky or you are somebody who just maybe doesn't belong in the stock market at all. And listen to me, if you have cash on the sidelines, any volatility that you're actually seeing here now is in my opinion, an opportunity for you to invest that money. Remember, strong companies, the ones that we have been talking to you about for the past year or so, they don't become weak just because Congress can't pass a budget. So sometimes temporary dips are your chance to buy at a discount. But. And you know me by now, don't you? Tell me you know me by now. I only want you to invest money that you are not going to need for at least five or ten years, preferably longer. I only want you to invest money when your emergency or like I say, the must pay account is in place. And you have to get that the stock market is for long term goals. It is not for you to invest money that you may need in the next few years. And it's not for you to invest, oh, Something's gone up 10 or 20%. I should sell. No, it is for years from now, long term investing. So the shutdown is going to come and it's going to go. Markets are going to rise and they're going to fall. But financial independence, really everybody belongs to those who don't get shaken by headlines. You want to build wealth? Do you want to build wealth? I want you to build wealth. I want you to make your money. Make more money. Then repeat after me and write down this new truth that I want you to say over and over again. I do not sell out of fear. I do not buy out of greed. And I invest with courage and discipline. So what is it that I want you to take from this podcast? I want you to remember that courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing what you must do, even when you are afraid. And I get it, everybody. I get that it's scary when your paycheck stops. I get that it's exhausting to fight through all the red tape. But you are stronger than this shutdown. You are stronger than any market decline. You have the power to cut back. You have the power to negotiate. You have the power to protect yourself and your family. And when it comes to your investments, courage, as I said earlier, one of the qualities of wealth is staying the course when everyone else is panicking. That's how wealth is built. So repeat after me. I am my own greatest rescuer. You're gonna rescue yourself. And that, my friends, is how you get through a government shutdown with clarity, with courage, and with a conviction. That no matter what happens in Washington, you have the power to secure your own financial life. So until next time, there's only one thing I want you to remember when it comes to your money, and it's this people first, then money, then things. Now you stay safe and strong. See you soon. Bye bye.
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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.
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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 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 a hundred dollars at the end. Are you kidding me? It's the best deal out there. Start saving right now.
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Neither Susie Orman Media nor Susie Orman is acting as a certified Financial Planner and 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 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.