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Speaker 1: This episode of Women and Money was recorded on August 29, 2019, Just as Suze was preparing to evacuate her home in the Bahamas for Hurricane Dorian. Now, we want you to know that Suze and KT did get out safely and they are doing fine. They send their prayers to everyone who was affected by the devastation in the Bahamas and also send their prayers to those who are in the path of the storm should Dorian make landfall on the East Coast. Now, on next Thursday's episode, Suze will update you on how her evacuation went, but please listen to today's show, as Suze talks in detail about the need to prepare. Thank you.So as I sit here about to do this podcast, I'm waiting for a hurricane category four to come in, right in front of where I live in Florida, as well as go over my island house where I really live full time in the Bahamas. So it is very possible that I may lose the remaining two homes that I have. And then I always ask myself, then what will I do? And what's interesting about that is that when you know your homes are threatened, you have to gather things. You have to make sure everything is prepared. You have to button down everything so that nothing flies away, nothing breaks your windows. You have to do all kinds of things that you would never think of. And what's interesting as well, is what happens between me and KT when something like this happens. Because I'm there going, you know, KT… And if you don't know who KT is, where have you been? You're just gonna have to figure it out. She's my spouse. I love telling everybody about KT. So I'm saying to KT, KT, there's this storm that's thousands of miles away, but I have a feeling that it's going to come to us. What should we do? And KT says, don't worry about it, Suze, it's not going to happen. A few days later I go, KT, it's getting closer and I really don't have a good feeling about this.I don't know, Suze, I just think it will be okay. It's not going to come here, it's not gonna bother us, don't worry about it. Now, It's coming closer and closer and closer, and I'm seeing that it is developing. And so the man who lives with us to take care of, you know, our property and things like that because, you know, we are older now and we need help and we love him, his name is Colombia. He's like our son, he's been with us now for three years. I start telling Columbia, I want you to take in all the furniture. I want you to do this, I want you to do that, I want you to do this and I want you to do that. And KT, behind my back, says to Columbia, Columbia, you don't have to do that, it's not going to come in. Why don't we just wait? Just wait, don't take off the gates, don't do this, don't do that. It's so much work, Colombia, let's wait.And then I'm looking at Columbia the next day and going, why haven't you done anything I've asked you to do? And he says because KT told me not to do it. I'm like, what? What? It's coming, Columbia, it's going to come, we live in the Bahamas on this tiny little island. You don't have time not to do this, you have to do it now. And then we have this little boat, you know, we go fishing all the time. And for insurance to cover the boat, it has to be brought back to Florida and put in a hurricane-proof building rated number five for hurricanes. Otherwise, if something happens to it, the insurance doesn't pay.And I say to KT, you think we should take the boat back? No, Suze, it'll be fine, just put it on the trailer. It's not a big deal, will find a place to put it, we really don't need to be doing any of this. And at this point now, the storm is just a tropical depression, maybe it's going to be a tropical storm. My niece, Alexis writes to me and says, are you worried about this storm? I'm like, well I guess not, I'm looking at it, it's just a tropical depression, maybe it's going to be a tropical storm, but I think we'll be OK.And then I watch it strengthening and strengthening and I'm like, what am I, crazy? And I'm asking everybody on the island is this going to be a storm? Do we have to worry about this? Is it going to turn into a hurricane? And all these people are saying we know Suze, it's not, don't worry about it, just stay cool, all right? And I'm believing them. Even though in my gut I know every one of them is wrong, including Miss Travis.And then three or four days ago, I hit the ceiling. It's not pretty when Suze Orman hits the ceiling, you can imagine. And I'm like Columbia, either you do what I tell you to do or you're going to get fired, I'm gonna fire you right on the spot. You have got to listen to me, this is going to change and blah, blah, blah, blah. And now the boat is on the trailer, he shows me a picture of where it is and everything and I'm like, no, no, this isn't good. And so I call somebody and I say to them, can you please take our boat over to Florida and put it in the hurricane shelter? Because we now have already left the island because I have to be tomorrow in New Orleans. I'm recording this now on Thursday, August 29, and on August 30, I need to be in New Orleans to give a talk, and so I had to leave the island. So now, what am I doing? I'm having somebody go all the way, I have to fly them all the way over to the island to pick up the boat and bring it all the way back. And now it's in its hurricane shelter, where it always should have been, where I myself could have taken it over if I had just listened to my gut.Now, this storm is turning into not a tropical depression or a tropical storm or a hurricane one or hurricane two or a major hurricane three. It is going to enter as a hurricane four, which will absolutely, whatever is in its path, it's not going to be good. And then I find it so strange, and I'm telling you this story, by the way, because I'm going to make a point about this, about money and you and trusting your gut and how you think about things and how you always think everything's gonna be OK even when you know it's not. But I'll get to that in a second.And so what's strange is, everybody's hoping, oh, please go north, go north, keep heading this way, keep doing this so that our homes are protected, our lives are protected. And how strange is that that to protect ourselves it's almost like we're hoping that somebody else gets it and not us. And I don't know, I just feel crazy about that. I feel like, you know, wherever that thing is supposed to hit, let it hit and that not wanting something bad for somebody else, so something good can happen for us. So we will be leaving tomorrow, we will go to New Orleans and from New Orleans rather than coming back to Florida I'll go on to my next speaking engagement, which isn't until September 5th. But I want to be there, and there's no way I would be able to get there with this storm coming in, so it's my responsibility to get there to make sure that I can show up and do what I'm being paid to do.So why am I telling you this? Because it is essential that when you feel something, you have to act on it. You have to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. You have to make sure that your entire financial act is together, just like I have to make sure that my entire hurricane plan is absolutely together. And I take action on it, and I don't care if it doesn't come in here. I don't care if all that work had to be done and all this thing with the boat and this and that, I did what I needed to do, just in case something was to go wrong.And the question that now I'm asking you on this Ask Suze Anything day is do you do that? Do you? Do you make sure that you have protected your family in every possible way, just in case something goes wrong? Do you make sure that you have protected yourself financially speaking if something goes wrong with you? Do you take the right precautions? Do you have the right insurance in place? Do you have a will? Do you have a trust? Do you know where your insurance policies are?I'm leaving tomorrow, and when I come home, my home with all my paperwork in it may not be here. So when I leave, I take my little gold box that you always see me telling all of you that you should purchase because it's waterproof, it's safe and sound. But in it is my will, is my trust, my insurance papers, my marriage certificate, everything that I need access to if something were to happen, even extra cash because when things go wrong, you can't go to the ATM. Electricity doesn't happen, you can't get money out, so you have to have money in case something does go wrong.And what's interesting about that is that I now get to take all that paperwork with me, and if I come home and this house is no longer standing, the condo is no longer here, whatever it may be, I at least am prepared to be able to contact my insurance company, to know what I'm protected about. And you're thinking, well, all that's on my computer. Well, what happens if your computer's gone? Is everything really backed up? Are you doing what you need to do to protect your family? Do you have flood insurance? Do you have hurricane insurance? Do you have earthquake insurance? Do you even know what you have? And your cars? Have you ever thought about what happens to your cars when floods come in? Because I live right on the ocean and it is probable even if the hurricane doesn't hit me, the seas are going to rise and we could have floods come in. And I'm not trying to be depressing here, I am just trying to be realistic when I'm having a nervous breakdown because I possibly may lose the two places that we live. But that's fine, if that's what I have to deal with in life, I'm going to deal with it because you know what my mantra is? That I am a warrior and I am not going to turn my back on the battlefield. And if that happens to me, I'm going to learn whatever lesson I need to learn from it. And I want you to take that mantra as your mantra as well when it comes to every aspect of your life. Maybe you're listening to this and you're on the Florida coast or in North Carolina, South Carolina, in Georgia and maybe you're gonna have to experience that. Or, you have your own financial hurricane coming in and you can't pay your bills, you don't know what to do. You stop me when you see me and go, Suze, I have $30,000 of medical debt that I haven't been able to pay for from the last baby I had. And now I'm having another baby, should I claim bankruptcy?You have to know and have the right attitude because when things go wrong, you lose your home, you lose your money, you have got to find the blessing in it. You cannot let it jar you, you have to become that warrior and not turn your back on the battlefield. What is the goal of this podcast? It is for you to become a smart, strong and secure woman. And to do that, you have to have the mind to do that, you have to have this warrior spirit that no matter what comes your way, you are going to do it.You know I'll never forget when I first became a stockbroker. When you become a stockbroker, you have to pass what's called the Series 7 Exam, and it's really difficult. You spend six months studying for it, and I didn't really want to be a stockbroker. Remember the story? I was a waitress and the customers gave me $50,000 to open up my own restaurant. It's really the only thing I ever wanted to do, I loved being a waitress more than life itself. I wanted to be just like Helen. Helen, who at the time had worked at the Buttercup Bakery for like 24 years. She had red hair, it was in a beehive, she smoked cigarettes, and I thought she was the greatest woman I had ever met in my life. And I still do one of them for sure. Because she knew her own thoughts, she knew who she was, and she was so happy being a waitress. She shouldn't have to be anything else, she defined her life, what she did did not define her life. So all I wanted to do was to be a waitress. And when all those customers gave me $50,000 and I gave it to Merrill Lynch and the broker lost it. Now I needed to do something rather than make $400 a month. So now I go to get that job at Merrill Lynch. You'll listen to one of the podcast and you'll hear the story about how that happened. But anyway, I didn't really want to be doing that. So I didn't really study, I didn't really care. Even though as time was going on I was liking it. So six months later when I find myself in New York and I have to take the Series 7 Exam, I flunked it the first time. They were like, four or five of us that flunked it, maybe 60 people that past it, but I was one of the ones that flunked it.I'm not good at reading, you know, I'm dyslexic, all these things, and it was just hard for me. I got the concept, but I never scored well on exams ever in my life. Now I'm there going, whoa, I have one week, they're going to give me one week to take this exam again. And that's when I came up with this mantra: I'm a warrior, and I'm not gonna turn my back on the battlefield. And I studied because that's when I decided I do want this, I want this to happen. I could make this happen, I just have to give it my all, because I haven't given it my all before. And I passed, which is one of the reasons that I'm sitting here in front of you now.But what is the point of what I am saying? I want you to not be like KT, that always is thinking it's OK, I don't have to deal with it. Later. And, yeah, we had a serious argument over it. That's all right, because I love her more than life itself, and it's just her nature. KT is so good, she's so good, and the truth is, we never fight. But, you know, we can argue about things because I'm just a strong-headed as she is. And I was like KT, when I'm in a situation knowing that we have to make a decision together, I need you not to be afraid to face the truth. I need you not to think everything's OK and therefore we don't do anything. I need you to help me and make decisions with me.So there are so many reasons for this podcast. It is so that you gather your strength and you face any financial hurricane that's out there, but that you make sure you do everything you need to do today to protect your tomorrows. Everything. You get that will and trust that I've been talking to you about, you make sure you have the right type of insurance in place, you make sure that your insurance covers you for disasters that may come your way. You make sure that you're in the right retirement plan and that you're investing in the right mutual funds, stocks, and ETFs. You make sure that some financial advisor isn't telling you that something's going to happen and it's going to be great, and I guarantee you X amount of money. Make sure of everything, you check and double-check, and I want you to be clear, and crystal clear because I don't want any financial hurricane to destroy your financial home. I want you to be secure, I want you to be those warriors. And I also want you to have a really great relationship so that if you're with somebody, if you're with somebody that isn't being strong with you, you talk with them and you tell them what it is that you absolutely need. If you happen to be listening to this and you are in hurricanes in the future or whatever, make sure you have gathered all your must-have documents, all your paperwork, everything that you need so that if you ever have to evacuate or go, you are going with everything you need to have.So, this podcast you are listening to was recorded for the September 5, 2019 podcast. And the one after that obviously is September 8, that's Sunday. And normally I do stories, I do all kinds of things then, but here's our problem. I'm leaving, and I don't know when I'm gonna be able to come back to my little studio to record these. So, therefore, I've decided, and if you'll bear with me, and by the way for those of you… I think, Tanya, you're one of them that I said that I would be answering your questions on today's podcast, September 5th, please bear with me, I'll try to do it for September 12th. All right, so stick with me, I usually keep my word, but this time I'm just postponing it a little bit, all right? But I don't want you to think I forgot you. But coming up this Sunday, we're going to hear from Tiffany, and Tiffany is another one of those incredible women who have survived domestic violence. She is a survivor, that is how she refers to herself. So I just want to read just a little bit about her story, because it's so incredible, really. She's 28 years old, she has a nine-year-old daughter, a six-year-old son, and currently, she is divorced. But here's what she says in her own words.In addition to all the emotional and financial abuse, I also suffered from financial abuse with my ex-husband. It started about three months after we moved together. We were living in Florida. At that time, I do not have my green card, therefore, I was working off the books, just barely making $80 per week. He wanted to be in control of everything, including my only $80. So he spent it for himself, mostly to buy weed. After a year, I found new employment and I was bringing in a higher income. When my son was born, I started hiding some money from my husband. I knew I needed money in order to plan my escape. I saved for two months. One day, I wanted to go out with my friend. My husband was asking for more money and I told him that I didn't have any. While I was taking a shower, he searched and found the money that I had saved. He not only took all my money but also ripped my clothes so I could not go out. He left the house for two days. During those two days, I didn't have any money even to buy milk for my child.And it goes on from there. It's a fascinating story, I hope, really, really that you listen to it because these women deserve to be heard. The topic of financial abuse needs to be known, and we need to put an end to it. So wish me luck, wish everybody in the path of the hurricane luck. May nobody suffer, even though I know that that's not going to be the outcome for many. But at least we can hope for the best because hopefully, everyone has planned for the worst. See you soon. In providing answers neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze 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 makes any recommendations as to any specific securities or investments. All content 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 loss, which may arise from accessing or reliance on the information in this podcast and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for loss or damages, direct or indirect, arising from use of the information. To find the right Credit Union for you, visit https://www.mycreditunion.gov/. Interested in Suze's Must Have Documents? Go to https://shop.suzeorman.com/checkout/cart/index/.