Revisiting: We’re in our 50s, should we get married?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)

Episode Title: Revisiting: We’re in our 50s, should we get married?
Release Date: January 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of Women & Money, Suze Orman, alongside co-host KT Travis, delves into the financial and personal implications of marrying in one’s 50s. Released on New Year's Day 2025, the episode revisits a pertinent question: Is it financially beneficial to marry when both individuals are in their mid to late 50s? The discussion is enriched with real listener questions, practical advice, and personal anecdotes, making it a valuable listen for those navigating late-life relationships and financial planning.

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Setting the Stage

The episode begins with a brief introduction by Robert, the producer, who mentions that due to the New Year’s Day celebration, hosts Suze and KT are sharing a previously recorded episode. This particular session features an "Ask KT and Susie" format, allowing listeners to engage directly with Suze and KT through their questions.

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Listener Questions and Expert Advice

1. Investing as an 11-Year-Old

Timestamp: [02:06] - [04:21]

Suze and KT tackle a question from Hazel, an 11-year-old aspiring investor. Hazel wishes to open a brokerage account to invest her $24 monthly earnings from chores, aiming to save for a future house rather than a custodial Roth IRA as suggested by her parents.

Notable Quote:

• Suze Orman: “You cannot fix a financial problem with money.” ([00:00])

Advice Provided:

Suze advises Hazel to open a Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) account instead of a custodial Roth IRA, allowing her the flexibility to access funds earlier for her intended purpose. She emphasizes investing in quality stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through reputable brokerage firms like Fidelity or Schwab.

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2. Marrying in Your 50s and Social Security Benefits

Timestamp: [04:21] - [06:01]

Maria poses a critical question about the financial benefits of marrying in their mid to late 50s, especially concerning Social Security benefits. One partner earns $90,000 annually, and the other makes $200,000.

Notable Quote:

• Suze Orman: “It has absolutely nothing to do at all with how much you get to get for Social Security if you are married or not.” ([04:55])

Advice Provided:

Suze clarifies that marriage does not directly affect the amount of Social Security benefits each individual receives. However, she points out indirect benefits, such as survivorship benefits if one spouse passes away. Suze emphasizes that the decision to marry should primarily be based on love and the desire to share life together, rather than financial incentives.

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3. Accessing Roth IRA During Financial Hardship

Timestamp: [06:01] - [07:52]

Tania seeks advice on whether she can withdraw funds from her fully funded Roth IRA to cover expenses after her husband lost his job, and if she can replenish those funds later.

Notable Quote:

• Suze Orman: “Any money that you originally put into your Roth IRA you can take out without any taxes or penalties whatsoever.” ([06:45])

Advice Provided:

Suze confirms that Tania can withdraw her original contributions from her Roth IRA without taxes or penalties. However, she cautions that withdrawing earnings before the age of 59½ and before the account has been open for five years can incur taxes and penalties. Suze advises reviewing the necessity of such withdrawals and suggests continuing contributions to the Roth 403B after addressing immediate financial needs.

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4. Navigating Retirement Accounts During Divorce

Timestamp: [11:03] - [12:43]

A listener grapples with dividing retirement assets during an impending divorce, particularly concerning 401(k) and Roth IRA accounts, and how to handle Social Security benefits through her husband's higher-income account.

Advice Provided:

Suze reassures that the process of dividing retirement assets in a divorce typically results in half of the spouse’s assets being transferred to the individual's retirement accounts. She emphasizes that rollover, conversion, or transfer details are secondary to the equitable distribution of assets. Suze encourages focusing on the fair division without overcomplicating the financial mechanics.

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5. Utilizing Home Equity for Investment vs. Maintaining Mortgage Freedom

Timestamp: [12:43] - [15:06]

Lisa, a 55-year-old small business owner with a fully paid-off home, seeks guidance on whether to leverage her home equity for further investments or continue enjoying a mortgage-free life.

Notable Quote:

• Suze Orman: “People first, then money, then things.” ([15:04])

Advice Provided:

Suze strongly advises against tapping into home equity due to high-interest rates on home equity lines of credit. She recommends prioritizing contributions to retirement accounts and securing long-term care insurance over taking on additional debt. Suze underscores the importance of financial security and investing in oneself before considering further property investments.

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6. Managing Elderly Family Members' Debt and Financial Health

Timestamp: [15:06] - [19:13]

Carol inquires about legally preventing her elderly sister-in-law from incurring additional credit card debt and seeks strategies to manage her existing $12,000 debt across five credit cards.

Advice Provided:

Suze informs Carol that legally preventing someone from opening new credit accounts is not feasible. She assesses that the sister-in-law is managing her debt responsibly by utilizing 0% interest transfers, indicative of a good credit score and financial discipline. Suze advises against consumer credit counseling in this scenario, as it may not provide additional benefits. Instead, she commends the sister-in-law’s approach and suggests allowing her to continue managing her finances independently.

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7. Expanding Retirement Savings with Additional Roth IRAs

Timestamp: [19:13] - [22:38]

Mary Ellen asks about the pros and cons of her 74-year-old husband opening a second Roth IRA, given they already have separate accounts and both have earned income beyond Social Security.

Notable Quote:

• Suze Orman: “There are no cons whatsoever.” ([20:39])

Advice Provided:

Suze outlines the benefits of opening an additional Roth IRA, emphasizing the flexibility of withdrawing original contributions without penalties. She highlights the tax-free growth and inheritance advantages for beneficiaries. Suze encourages Mary Ellen to support her husband’s decision, noting that with their ages, they can capitalize on Roth IRA benefits without the constraints typically associated with younger investors.

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Personal Anecdotes and Community Engagement

Throughout the episode, KT Travis shares personal stories and engages in light-hearted banter with Suze, fostering a warm and relatable atmosphere. A significant portion is dedicated to KT’s background, sharing her impressive career in advertising and her journey from New Jersey to becoming a successful executive in the Far East before partnering with Suze in their financial ventures.

Notable Quote:

• KT Travis: “People first, then money, then things.” ([30:12])

This mantra encapsulates the episode’s core message, reinforcing the priority of personal relationships and self-investment over purely financial considerations.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Suze reiterates the importance of prioritizing people and personal well-being over financial gains. She emphasizes staying "unstoppable" in one’s financial journey, a theme echoed by the recurring motivational song that underscores the episode’s empowering tone.

Closing Quote:

• Unknown: “I'm unstoppable today. No breaks. I'm invincible.” ([30:38])

Suze and KT leave listeners with actionable advice and heartfelt encouragement, reinforcing that financial decisions, especially those made later in life, should align with personal values and long-term security.

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Key Takeaways

1. Marriage in Later Life:

   • Financial benefits regarding Social Security are minimal; emotional and estate considerations are more significant.
   • Decisions should prioritize personal relationships over financial incentives.

2. Roth IRA Flexibility:

   • Original contributions can be withdrawn anytime without penalties, providing financial flexibility during hardships.
   • Additional Roth IRAs can offer tax-free growth and benefits for heirs without significant drawbacks.

3. Financial Priorities:

   • Emphasize personal well-being and relationships over leveraging financial instruments like home equity for investments.
   • Maintain robust emergency funds and invest in long-term security measures such as retirement accounts and insurance.

4. Managing Elderly Family Finances:

   • Respect autonomy in financial management unless legal measures are justified.
   • Transparent communication and support are vital in assisting elderly family members with their financial health.

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This episode of Women & Money offers a blend of practical financial advice and personal storytelling, making complex financial decisions relatable and manageable for listeners in their 50s contemplating marriage and other significant financial moves. Suze Orman and KT Travis provide a compassionate and informed perspective, empowering women to make informed choices that harmonize with their life goals and personal values.

Transcript

[Susie 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.

[Robert]

All right, Susie, kt, are you ready for today's podcast?

[KT Travis]

Yeah, Robert, of course we're ready.

[Susie Orman]

Cuz we are unstoppable yeah. Yeah baby.

[Unknown]

I put my armor on show you how strong I am I put my armor on I'll show you that I I'm unstoppable I'm a buer with no breaks I'm sensible yeah I would never single game I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident.

[Robert]

I'm Unstoppable today January 2, 2025. Welcome to the Women in Money podcast as well as everyone smart enough to listen Robert, the producer here. So with New Year's Day yesterday, right falling in the middle of the week, Susie and KT are going to take an extra day to enjoy the break. Now, Susie will be back on Sunday with Susie school. And today we all get to enjoy an Ask KT and Susie episode from last year. And I picked this one because I spent the holidays with my family just up the road from where KT grew up. See, we're both from New Jersey and on this episode we get a little bit of KT's origin story. So make sure you stay all the way to the end to the quizzy. Enjoy.

[Susie Orman]

All right, Ms. Travis, let's get to it because I'm looking over there and Stacked has a big question. But let me just say for any of you who would like to send in a question, you need to keep them short. They should be like no more than 100 words. You go on. Beyond that, it's almost impossible for us to answer it. But if you would like to write in a question and send it into asksusie S u z e podcastmail.com if KT chooses it, then we will answer it on the one and only KTN Susie podcast. All right girly girl.

[KT Travis]

My first question I love it's from an 11 year old girl who wants to start investing for her future. She said, susie, I really want to open a brokerage account so I can make money and use it for my Future. I make $24 a month by doing chores and I Plan to start babysitting soon. In my savings account, I have $4,000. But my parents want me to open a custodial Roth ira. I don't want to open a custodial Roth IRA because I want to be able to. To use the money when I'm younger and invest in a house. What do you think? She's 11. I love this question. It's from Hazel. Susie, what should she do?

[Susie Orman]

Hazel. Hazel. Hazel. All right, listen to me. You're making $24 a month. That's $288 a year. Yeah. You could put that into a Roth IRA like your parents want you to. However, I like your idea. I have to tell you, I would open up a uniform Gift to Minors act account. Your parents are going to have to do that for you as well because you're only 11. And invest that $24 a month, open it up at a discount brokerage firm like Fidelity or Schwab and buy slices of great quality stocks. You can do that. Or great quality exchange traded funds and let that money grow. Then when you get older and you can take it all out. If you want to buy a house, go for it. So, all right. I happen to agree with you, girlfriend.

[KT Travis]

There you go, Hazel. My next question is from Maria. I love this one, too. Is it financially beneficial to get married when both parties are in the mid to late 50s? One person makes 90,000 a year, while the other makes 200,000. I just want us to receive all of our Social Security benefits that. That we are allotted. So I guess I'm asking will we receive less or more if married has nothing to do. I was going to say get. Susie and I got married in our mid-50s.

[Susie Orman]

It has absolutely nothing to do at all with how much you get to get for Social Security if you are married or not. The only way it becomes beneficial is if your spouse's Social Security happens to be greater than your own and your spouse dies and you're able to take over your spouse's Social Security as if it were yours and vice versa. So there's absolutely some benefits in getting married, but what you really have to think about is all the other things that it means to get married. There's no estate tax for you to inherit any kind of money. There's all kinds of benefits. And let's just say you get to.

[KT Travis]

Have an anniversary every year, right?

[Susie Orman]

And it's like. It's called love. It's called love, Maria.

[KT Travis]

Invest in love.

[Susie Orman]

So I wouldn't be worried about your Social Security. I would want you to know that you liked and loved whoever this person was and wanted to spend the rest of your life with them, okay? Otherwise, ah, don't get married. Go on.

[KT Travis]

You pick some interesting next questions from Tania. Can I catch up with my Roth ira? Hi, Susie and kt. Love listening to both of you on the podcast. Here's my question. My husband lost his job last December. If it takes too long for him to find a job and we end up running out of our emergency fund, would we be able to take out from our Roth ira, which we fully funded for several years now my employer offers a voluntary Roth 403. Once we're back on our feet, can we replace what we took out of the Roth IRA into my Roth 403? So that's the question.

[Susie Orman]

All right? And there's the answer. Tania, listen, you can take out any money that you originally put into your Roth ira. Those are known as your original contributions. You can take those out without any taxes or. Or penalties whatsoever, regardless how long it has been in there, all right? It's just the earnings on those original contributions that you can't take out until you're 59 and a half and the account's been open for five years. All right? So you take out $10,000. Chances are, however, if you take out $10,000, it's because you need to spend that $10,000. You need to live on. On that $10,000 later on in life. Forget that $10,000 now, because it's gone. If you now have other money and you want to contribute to the Roth 403B at your employer's, okay, But I got news for you. Ain't going to be with that $10,000. One has nothing to do with the other.

[KT Travis]

Okay, next question. Susie is from Maria. Hi, Susie and kt.

[Susie Orman]

What does that make you think of Maria? I knew it. I once. All right, I knew it. Do you see how well we are singing?

[KT Travis]

Okay, we can both sing together, too.

[Susie Orman]

Hopefully nobody can hear it when we do.

[KT Travis]

Oh, I was telling some. I have to go off track. I was telling someone the other day about you and that you have won pretty much every possible award out there, except we can never call you an ecot. Is that what it's called?

[Susie Orman]

Yes.

[KT Travis]

And they said, why? And I said, she's never going to get the Grammy. She can't.

[Susie Orman]

Egot.

[KT Travis]

Egot. Egot. She can't sing. All right, ready? This is from Maria. Hi, Susie and kt. Help. She said help. I'm so confused about trust.

[Susie Orman]

Does that mean you think one day I could get an Oscar, possibly a Tony for sure. All I have is an Emmy.

[KT Travis]

And you have. You have an Emmy. You have two Emmys.

[Susie Orman]

Yeah. Well, that's it.

[KT Travis]

So you can get up there. So that's one out of three. You could do an Oscar, do a cameo role and win an Oscar. Absolutely.

[Susie Orman]

All right, now I go on.

[KT Travis]

Katie Maria says, help. I'm so confused about trust. How to find a trust, where to go to set up a trust, and what exactly I can put into a trust. Will you please ready for this?

[Susie Orman]

Yeah.

[KT Travis]

Will you please consider doing a Susie School on this topic? So she said, since listening to you, I have saved over $15,000 in my alliance savings over the past year and a half. Hear that, everybody? Year and a half. And then she said, I look forward to every Thursday and Sunday. Thank you, ladies. Can you enlighten Maria about a trust and why everyone needs one?

[Susie Orman]

Maria, go to the Women and Money community app and you'll see on one of the little squares that comes up, you can search the podcast for past content put in Living Revocable Trust. And hopefully articles or blogs or podcasts will come up on that topic. I have done many, many, many. If you happen to have my ultimate retirement guide for 50 plus, I do an extraordinary job explaining them in that book as well. As far as almost every book I've ever written, I have delved in to how a Living revocable trust works, how you fund it, and all of those things.

[KT Travis]

All right, Cohen, Susie, next question is from Jerry. Hi, Susie and kt. I love your podcast. My question is in regards to leaving your 401k employer's plan after you retire. I've been retired for four years and I've not done a rollover to an IRA for a couple of reasons. One, I don't feel comfortable with financial planners. It's a good reason. Two, low administration fees. I've heard that this is not the most effective way to maintain my retirement savings. Please advise.

[Susie Orman]

So here's what I've always said. What is the goal of money? Drum roll, kt. What is it?

[KT Travis]

To be secure.

[Susie Orman]

That's right, girlfriend. So, Cherry, listen, if you feel comfortable with your 401k employer's plan, stay there. What do you care? A lot of people do an IRA rollover to diversify their investments. They want more than maybe the few mutual funds that your employer's plan happens to offer. However, if you're comfortable there, and that's where you want to keep it, I don't have a Problem with that. All right, K.T.

[KT Travis]

Okay, Susie, I have a question here about divorce. All right, all right. I'm getting divorced. In our retirement assets, a 401 Roth IRA are getting divided 50, 50. I'm going to retire in two years and we'll use Social Security and my retirement accounts. How is all of this rollover transfer conversion different for me? I will get Social Security through my husband's account. He had a better income and we were married over 10 years.

[Susie Orman]

So in answering this, you know, we never use people's names who are going through a divorce until it's final because you just never know who' listening to this podcast. But you have nothing to worry about. It's transfer, conversion, rollover, that doesn't really matter here. What's going to happen is half of his assets are going to end up in your retirement account with your individual name on it and then it will be yours. Just that simple. So don't worry on any level. All right?

[KT Travis]

KT all right. This is from Lisa. Hi, Susie. I'm 55 years old. My home is paid for and is valued between 400 to 430,000. I have zero debt except for two vehicle loans that are for my company vehicles and my company makes the payments each month. I am a small business owner. I have a very small traditional IRA valued at about 25,000 and I have a savings account for emergencies also valued at about 25,000. My question is, should I tap into my home equity to make an investment in another property or any other kind of investment, or should I sit on my property and continue to have no mortgage payments to make? Now here's something interesting. She said, I know I need to be contributing more to the IRA each month and I also need to look into long term care insurance. So now remember, she's only 55.

[Susie Orman]

I wish you could see my face right now because my face would tell you, oh, you are so denied. Just no way. Listen, when you take out a home equity line of credit, you have to look at what the current interest rates are on home equity lines of credit and they are very, very high. That's number one. You have to look at the price of real estate today, the price of the interest rate on a mortgage today. And the main thing you have to look at is your emergency fund. You have $25,000 in an emergency fund. And I have a feeling that if you were to look at everything that is not eight months of expenses for you to be safe and sound. So no, you are not to do this. You are to Contribute more to your retirement accounts. You are to make sure that your cars, there's no debt on it. You are to make sure that you have long term care insurance. Take care of your tomorrows today by investing in yourself. People first, then money, then things. Absolutely not under any circumstance.

[KT Travis]

Denied.

[Susie Orman]

Yeah, so denied.

[KT Travis]

This is from Kathy. This is very dear to my heart, this one. Dear Susie and kt, thank you for sharing the recent emails related to caring for ill family members. My twin and I are helping out our out of state sister serving as her medical and financial power of attorney respectively. She's taken a turn for the worse and has really bad cancer. So we're so sorry for your sister's illness. My sister suggested adding me to her bank accounts to assist with paying her bills. My question is, if my sister dies, am I liable for her unpaid expenses at death? Her medical and living expenses are greater than her Social Security income.

[Susie Orman]

Yeah. No. You will not be responsible for any debt that is in her individual name. That debt, debt will essentially either die with her or they will come back against the state and ask for money and the estate will have to pay for it. But let's say your sister had absolutely no money at all. Just enough to pay her monthly bills from her Social Security. They wouldn't be able to get anything. But if your sister dies, you will not be liable for her unpaid paid expenses at death. But her estate will be. But that isn't you personally. So whatever money she has in her name or in the account that isn't your liability, it's cash in that account may have to go to some of her debt.

[KT Travis]

So it's okay that she puts her name. The sister puts her name on the bank account.

[Susie Orman]

Yes, because then it will make it easy for her to truthfully to use the money to access the money and pay her bills and things like that.

[KT Travis]

There you go. So Carol is the next question we have and it said, dear Susan, kt, thank you for all you do for so many. You're welcome, Carol. And she said, I have a sister in law who is $12,000 in debt on five credit cards. She's 82 years old and in very good health. Wait, this gets really better. She even teaches yoga classes to try to make ends meet, earning about $600 a month. Her Social Security and small pension yield is $1,900 a month. Her rent is $1,000 a month and her utilities are around 150. She has some car insurance payments, but the car's paid off and getting old and needs repairs on occasion. 82 years old. Ready. She's moved her credit cards from one to the other time and time again to stretch out the zero interest. But now I'm interested in getting all of those cards paid off and ensuring she does not add any more debt to the credit cards. The question is, am I able to legally prevent her from opening other credit cards?

[Susie Orman]

No, you are not.

[KT Travis]

No. B, do you think I have a chance of negotiating the balances down with a credit card company or should both of us go to consumer credit counseling type of an agency? Which one would you recommend?

[Susie Orman]

So let me just tell you about your little sister in law. She teaches yoga classes at 82.

[KT Travis]

And I love me too, right?

[Susie Orman]

I can't even take a yoga class, let alone teach a yoga class. But for her to move her credit cards from one to another at a 0% interest rate, that means your sister in law has a high FICO score and therefore she's doing okay. She hasn't gotten herself in to credit card trouble in terms of being late with her payments. If you are going to negotiate the balances down with the credit card companies, they're only going to do that if she's been missing payments and has a poor FICO score.

[KT Travis]

If she's delinquent. Right?

[Susie Orman]

If she's delinquent and you don't want that for her. So no, you can't do that. As I just said a few seconds ago, no, you're not able to legally prevent her from opening other credit cards, nor should you because she's doing pretty good transferring them from 1 0% to another. She's doing great that way. And should she go through consumer credit counseling? I don't think so because you're going to have to pay them 10 or $15 a month. To do what? To get her credit card interest rate down to zero, which she's already done. So no, that's not going to help. So truthfully, my dear Carol, you really need to let your sister in law continue to do exactly what she's doing. She obviously has a body that's very flexible and can stretch. And she's being very flexible in stretching the money that she has to make it go even further than you have any idea. So for now, if it were me, I would leave it alone.

[KT Travis]

Next question. Susie is from Mary Ellen. My husband wants to open a second Roth IRA. He's 74 and I am 65. We already have separate ones and we both have earned income besides our Social Security. I'm leaning against this because we would have to Wait for five years before we can withdraw. So basically, she's asking, what are the pros and cons?

[Susie Orman]

There's all kinds of pros. Are you kidding me? First of all, you need to understand that any money you originally put into your Roth ira, you can take out at any time you want to, regardless of how old you are or how long it has been in there. That's not a problem. So if you combine that with your other Roth IRAs, I'm sure you'll have enough money. It's only the earnings that you cannot touch for at least five years. But because you're already over 59 and a half, then there's no 10% penalty. So it doesn't even matter if you touch the earnings, you're not going to be penalized 10%. You're only going to have to pay ordinary income on it anyway. Which would be true if you took this money, you invested it, let's say, in a cd, and now you're getting interest. You'd be paying ordinary income tax on that interest. So in my opinion, there are no cons whatsoever. The pros also are if you don't need to access this money, and now it grows and grows and grows and you die, and it goes to your beneficiaries. It's all tax free. So in this case, listen to your husband. Katie, do you realize what you did in this podcast?

[KT Travis]

No, what did I do?

[Susie Orman]

What did you do?

[KT Travis]

Did I do something wrong?

[Susie Orman]

No. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

[KT Travis]

What did I do?

[Susie Orman]

Every single question that you asked was, what? From a woman.

[KT Travis]

Oh, that's great.

[Susie Orman]

Did you do that unconsciously or on purpose?

[KT Travis]

No, just unconsciously. I didn't think about it.

[Susie Orman]

You didn't, did you? All right. And I was just sitting here, everybody going, another woman. Another woman. Because there are some times when she chooses a lot of men. And you write me and you go, what about the women? This is a women and money podcast.

[KT Travis]

And everyone's smart enough to listen, so.

[Susie Orman]

Don'T worry about it. Kt, are you ready for your quizzy?

[KT Travis]

Okay, I'm always ready for a quizzy. Is everyone else ready? That's the question you want to ask, right?

[Susie Orman]

This is going to be a little bit different of a quizzy for you, so I want you to answer it in the best way and actually shortest way, you know, possible. Hi, Susie. I have been an avid listener of your podcast for two years now, and I just love the KT and Susie podcast. Could you have a KT interview? We know about you, Susie. Your rags to riches story. But what about kt? She is such a sweetheart, very caring and will giggle at the drop of a hat. She is also so caring and will also cry at the drop of a hat. All we know is that KT has a twin sister named Lynn. I mean, what does KT stand for? What is KT's background? So that is your quizzy. This one man on this podcast by the name of Dennis.

[KT Travis]

Oh, Dennis, I love that.

[Susie Orman]

Dennis Watts.

[KT Travis]

Okay, let me give everyone a 30 second commercial of who I am. I'm not shy about this at all. KT stands for Kathy Travis. I was born and raised in New Jersey, right on the ocean on the shore with a fabulous Italian mother and father. And I have five siblings and with myself is six kids and my twin sister is the eldest. She's three minutes older than me.

[Susie Orman]

How many bathrooms were in your house?

[KT Travis]

One and a half.

[Susie Orman]

All right, so there were eight people in a house with one and a half bathrooms.

[KT Travis]

You don't even want to know those stories. But, but anyway, shortly thereafter I went was fortunate enough to go to school and then I made my way to Hong Kong to visit a friend and I fell in love with the Far east. So much. So how old were you? 27. All right, but before about 27.

[Susie Orman]

Before 27, KT, tell everybody what you did. Come on.

[KT Travis]

In New York.

[Susie Orman]

Yes.

[KT Travis]

Okay, so I left college, left school, went right to New York.

[Susie Orman]

What school did you go to?

[KT Travis]

Rhode Island School of Design. Risd.

[Susie Orman]

What was your degree in?

[KT Travis]

It was in illustration at the time. So I graduated in 74, but I graduated earlier than my class by a semester. So I got to New York in January. Everyone else got there later in the summer. So I go to New York, I start working and I eventually opened a really great little hot shop and had an advertising company that was fabulous and got involved with fashion and all kinds of.

[Susie Orman]

How old were you now?

[KT Travis]

I'm 21. All right, 21. So I had a very, very interesting and very exciting begin in New York City and was friends with people of the likes of Andy Warhol and, you know, quite a few very famous fashion designers. I worked for Liz Claiborne in the very early days and lots of, you know, Ralph Lauren people that I knew.

[Susie Orman]

And did you do Studio 54?

[KT Travis]

Yes, Susie, I was hot. No, I had a very, very exciting New York life. So one thing leads to another. I then go to Hong Kong to visit a friend and end up making six trips in 1980 back and forth to Hong Kong. And eventually I was in love and eventually I got a job with Ogilvy, Ogilvy and Mather Advertising. But my job was a startup. It was a startup. And I was hired and given a very small amount of money. 1200 square feet. Feet. And a secretary by the name of Kelly Chua. And I started that business and grew it to be a rather large multimillion dollar agency for Ogilvy. But it was a special agency. We did brand development, brand management. We were the first computerized design firm in the Far East. I then grew there.

[Susie Orman]

What was your position there?

[KT Travis]

I was the president.

[Susie Orman]

Uh huh. So did you hear that everybody? One of the fifth, five divisions at that time, Only woman. Only woman. Right.

[KT Travis]

Five companies under Ogilvy's umbrella. And I was the only woman. The youngest president of them all and the most profitable. They called me the cash cow. I didn't know what that meant, but everyone was, you know, British. All my other bosses were British. Oh, she's a cash cow. And I was always wondering what did that mean? And it meant that I was the most profitable for the investment or for the size of the company than all of the other four. In any event, what I really love about my story in my 20 years in the Far east is that I opened seven more offices in seven countries and had the most incredible portfolio of clients in the world. I worked with very, very high fashion. I worked. When I say high fash, all of the couture designers from Europe, Japan, even America, Donna Karan, we opened her first store. I worked with Joyce Ma, Joyce boutiques.

[Susie Orman]

Which was unbelievable who brought every designer.

[KT Travis]

To the Far East. I worked with all of the five star hotels and properties. I was able to open for Eric Hilton, the first Conrad in the world. In Hong Kong, I opened for Bill Marriott, the first Marriott hotel that was a five star in the Ritz Carlton and everything else that he bought. And I had the time of my life. And I opened for the Sheraton Group, the first hotel in Kathmandu. So we had extremely, you know, very, very exciting. And for Issy Sharp, the Four Seasons. We don't want to forget him in the almond resorts. Those were the real lux properties. So here I am, this relatively young president, traveling all over Asia, living the high life, working with unbelievable creme de la creme brands. And then I meet Susie, 20 years after a very illustrious life in the Far East. And I still, and I brought Susie to Hong Kong and China and Malaysia and Thailand, you name it, we went everywhere. So my background is in advertising. I was always behind the camera. Susie was always in front of the camera. And when we met each other, which was in San Francisco, where I had purchased property, I remember I was very successful in making quite a lot of money in my late 30s and 40s, a lot of money. And I needed to invest it. So I bought fabulous property and. And I didn't even live in it. And then I met Susie in San Francisco when I finally moved into one of my homes.

[Susie Orman]

And there that was still going back and forth all the time, always commuting. Katie would go back and forth, like, every weekend. Yeah, it was the craziest thing I'd ever seen. But that is a small glimpse, really, a small glimpse of the extraordinary life.

[KT Travis]

To the life of KT and Susie.

[Susie Orman]

And so now, Dennis, you know, and there's only one thing we want all of you to know and to remember when it comes to your money, and it is this. People first, then money, then things. Now, you stay safe and you absolutely. Do you hear us? Stay unstoppable.

[Unknown]

No breaks I'm invincible say I win every single game I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident, yeah, I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today Unstoppable today Unstoppable today I'm unstoppable today.