1 00:00:08,180 --> 00:00:13,079 Suze: December 7th, 2025. Welcome everybody to the Women in Money podcast, 2 00:00:13,420 --> 00:00:17,540 Suze: as well as everybody smart enough to listen. And today 3 00:00:17,540 --> 00:00:18,780 Suze: is Suze School. 4 00:00:19,579 --> 00:00:22,260 Suze: So get out your Suze notebooks. 5 00:00:23,469 --> 00:00:26,969 Suze: And we're going to start Suze School with a story. 6 00:00:27,950 --> 00:00:33,400 Suze: And the lesson of the story is this friendship isn't 7 00:00:33,590 --> 00:00:34,418 Suze: a financial plan. 8 00:00:36,090 --> 00:00:43,000 Suze: Friendship isn't a financial plan, OK? That's the lesson of 9 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:43,900 Suze: this story. 10 00:00:44,729 --> 00:00:45,380 Suze: Are you ready? 11 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:46,939 Suze: So... 12 00:00:48,250 --> 00:00:51,379 Suze: I'm telling you this story truthfully because I really think 13 00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:55,599 Suze: every one of you needs to hear this, especially, you know, women, 14 00:00:56,060 --> 00:00:58,659 Suze: we tend to do things we don't want to do. 15 00:00:58,779 --> 00:01:01,340 Suze: We say yes when we want to say no. We 16 00:01:01,340 --> 00:01:04,660 Suze: think one thing, yet we say another, and I include 17 00:01:04,660 --> 00:01:07,179 Suze: myself in this, by the way. I've learned that lesson, 18 00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:10,540 Suze: trust me. My new lesson is don't say yes, Suze Orman, 19 00:01:10,620 --> 00:01:11,759 Suze: when you want to say no. 20 00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:17,980 Suze: So, if we're not careful, then this situation could possibly 21 00:01:17,980 --> 00:01:21,660 Suze: happen to you, and it can cost you a whole 22 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:24,940 Suze: lot of money. There's this woman, and let's just call 23 00:01:24,940 --> 00:01:26,940 Suze: her Susan, OK. 24 00:01:27,790 --> 00:01:32,449 Suze: And she had about $2 million invested with a financial 25 00:01:32,449 --> 00:01:37,429 Suze: adviser who had been doing absolutely remarkable for her. 26 00:01:38,239 --> 00:01:44,169 Suze: And we're talking consistent 15, 20, even 28% returns over 27 00:01:44,169 --> 00:01:48,050 Suze: the past few years, which is spectacular. 28 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,489 Suze: And he charged her a 1.5% advisory fee. Now, I know, 29 00:01:53,569 --> 00:01:55,889 Suze: I know, I told all of you I wouldn't be 30 00:01:55,889 --> 00:02:00,370 Suze: paying more than 1% in an investment advisory fee, but 31 00:02:00,370 --> 00:02:03,639 Suze: sometimes when an advisor is in incredible demand. 32 00:02:04,540 --> 00:02:08,579 Suze: And they are producing results like the ones I just 33 00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:12,740 Suze: told you about year after year after year that if 34 00:02:12,740 --> 00:02:17,220 Suze: they want to charge 1.5% and after that 1.5% fee 35 00:02:17,220 --> 00:02:22,300 Suze: they're still talking 15, 20, 28, 30% returns, I don't 36 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:23,820 Suze: have a problem with that. 37 00:02:24,910 --> 00:02:26,029 Suze: So here we are. 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,070 Suze: And one day, Susan is out to lunch with her really, 39 00:02:31,169 --> 00:02:34,759 Suze: really good friend. And what do good friends do? They 40 00:02:34,758 --> 00:02:36,190 Suze: always talk about their kids. 41 00:02:36,899 --> 00:02:42,149 Suze: And the good friend happens to say, Susan, my son 42 00:02:42,149 --> 00:02:45,470 Suze: just became a financial advisor. 43 00:02:46,538 --> 00:02:50,169 Suze: And is it possible that you could do me a favor? 44 00:02:51,008 --> 00:02:54,899 Suze: Do you think you would transfer your account to him 45 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:59,160 Suze: so he can look like he has clients that have money? 46 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:05,789 Suze: Think about what this good friend just asked Susan. 47 00:03:07,380 --> 00:03:11,038 Suze: To change her account to her son who just became 48 00:03:11,339 --> 00:03:12,979 Suze: a financial advisor. 49 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:15,279 Suze: Just so he can look good. 50 00:03:16,270 --> 00:03:19,070 Suze: Now, besides the fact that I've told all of you. 51 00:03:19,929 --> 00:03:23,089 Suze: In general, I wouldn't pay more than 1% for an 52 00:03:23,089 --> 00:03:27,449 Suze: investment advisory fee unless the advisor is seriously worth it 53 00:03:27,449 --> 00:03:29,070 Suze: and the numbers tell the story. 54 00:03:30,309 --> 00:03:36,169 Suze: I've also said to you, I wouldn't dare invest with somebody, 55 00:03:36,910 --> 00:03:40,940 Suze: especially in these kinds of markets who hadn't been an 56 00:03:40,940 --> 00:03:44,740 Suze: advisor for at least five years, 10 years, 15 or 57 00:03:44,740 --> 00:03:48,429 Suze: 20 years, many, many years. 58 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,960 Suze: I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. 59 00:03:54,089 --> 00:03:59,339 Suze: However, OK, but because Susan didn't want to upset her friend. 60 00:04:00,429 --> 00:04:03,270 Suze: Because even though she may have wanted to say no, 61 00:04:03,429 --> 00:04:08,429 Suze: she said, OK, yes, yes, I'll do it, and I 62 00:04:08,429 --> 00:04:11,570 Suze: find that most women say yes out of guilt. 63 00:04:12,350 --> 00:04:13,899 Suze: You know, I say this all the time. 64 00:04:14,690 --> 00:04:18,969 Suze: Women would rather say yes out of fear that somebody 65 00:04:18,970 --> 00:04:23,250 Suze: won't like them any more versus no out of love 66 00:04:23,250 --> 00:04:24,829 Suze: for herself. 67 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:30,820 Suze: So what did she do? She actually called her financial 68 00:04:30,820 --> 00:04:32,100 Suze: advisor up. 69 00:04:33,269 --> 00:04:36,760 Suze: And told him, I'm moving my account. 70 00:04:37,459 --> 00:04:40,859 Suze: And when the adviser said, why in the world are 71 00:04:40,859 --> 00:04:42,099 Suze: you moving your account? 72 00:04:42,869 --> 00:04:47,200 Suze: And she said, well, number one, and the most important 73 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:54,459 Suze: reason is because he's only charging me 1% instead of 1.5%. 74 00:04:56,369 --> 00:04:59,230 Suze: OK, now I just want you to think about this. 75 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:05,350 Suze: And this is the Suze School lesson of the day 76 00:05:05,730 --> 00:05:09,230 Suze: and the one mistake I want you always to avoid. 77 00:05:09,850 --> 00:05:15,250 Suze: You never base financial decisions on friendship. You never judge 78 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:18,029 Suze: an adviser solely by their fee. 79 00:05:18,549 --> 00:05:23,170 Suze: It's not the fee that matters. It's the results. It's 80 00:05:23,170 --> 00:05:27,630 Suze: the track record. It is the performance. Would you rather 81 00:05:27,630 --> 00:05:32,308 Suze: pay someone 1.5% who has proven that they can make 82 00:05:32,309 --> 00:05:36,670 Suze: you real sizable returns year in and year out? 83 00:05:37,529 --> 00:05:40,519 Suze: Or 1% to someone who's absolutely brand new. 84 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:42,410 Suze: Untested. 85 00:05:43,019 --> 00:05:46,859 Suze: And simply hoping to save that half a percent and 86 00:05:46,859 --> 00:05:48,200 Suze: to help them out. 87 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,118 Suze: You have to know the answer to that. You just 88 00:05:52,119 --> 00:05:53,159 Suze: have to know. 89 00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:58,350 Suze: And the lesson here is what friendship is not a 90 00:05:58,350 --> 00:06:03,890 Suze: financial plan. Guilt is not a strategy. Do you get this, everybody? 91 00:06:04,190 --> 00:06:09,529 Suze: And loyalty does not grow your money. It does not. 92 00:06:10,070 --> 00:06:13,039 Suze: So I want you to write this one lesson down. 93 00:06:13,549 --> 00:06:19,160 Suze: You must protect your own financial security, even if that 94 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,429 Suze: means saying no to someone you care about. 95 00:06:25,119 --> 00:06:27,679 Suze: All right, so now that we know that friendship isn't 96 00:06:27,678 --> 00:06:31,160 Suze: a financial plan, the next thing I want you to 97 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:36,760 Suze: learn is about tax-loss, harvesting the correct way. And the 98 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,479 Suze: reason that I say the correct way is because a 99 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,868 Suze: few weeks ago I talked about this, and I told 100 00:06:42,869 --> 00:06:44,649 Suze: you some of the things that I was doing in 101 00:06:44,649 --> 00:06:47,600 Suze: my own account, and then you go to do it 102 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,380 Suze: and you write me and I go, no, no, don't 103 00:06:51,459 --> 00:06:52,440 Suze: do that. 104 00:06:52,970 --> 00:06:55,890 Suze: So, let's try this again. 105 00:06:56,899 --> 00:07:02,659 Suze: Tax-loss harvesting is when you have gains in your investment 106 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:07,920 Suze: account outside of a retirement account and possibly losses as well. 107 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,549 Suze: And you want to offset your gains with your losses 108 00:07:12,549 --> 00:07:15,790 Suze: so you don't owe as much in income tax as 109 00:07:15,790 --> 00:07:19,510 Suze: you would if all you had was gains. So let's 110 00:07:19,510 --> 00:07:23,589 Suze: talk about this. You need to first know the difference 111 00:07:23,589 --> 00:07:29,010 Suze: between realized gains versus unrealized gains. 112 00:07:29,899 --> 00:07:33,859 Suze: So what is a realized gain? A realized gain. Think 113 00:07:33,859 --> 00:07:38,089 Suze: of the words that I'm using. A realized gain is 114 00:07:38,089 --> 00:07:42,359 Suze: obviously you realized your gain. You actually got it, which 115 00:07:42,359 --> 00:07:47,619 Suze: means you sold something. You took a profit, and you 116 00:07:47,619 --> 00:07:50,500 Suze: took a profit because you sold it for more than 117 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:51,779 Suze: you paid, and 118 00:07:51,885 --> 00:07:56,605 Suze: that's a realized gain. The IRS sees it, and then 119 00:07:56,605 --> 00:08:01,845 Suze: the IRS taxes you on it. Just that simple. What 120 00:08:01,845 --> 00:08:05,964 Suze: is an unrealized gain? And this again is just a 121 00:08:05,964 --> 00:08:11,285 Suze: fancy word for you haven't realized them. You have a profit, 122 00:08:11,684 --> 00:08:15,045 Suze: but you haven't sold it yet, so the gain lives 123 00:08:15,045 --> 00:08:19,924 Suze: only on paper. You haven't realized it, so there's nothing 124 00:08:19,964 --> 00:08:21,565 Suze: taxable yet. 125 00:08:22,750 --> 00:08:26,410 Suze: So how does tax-loss harvesting work? All right, just listen. 126 00:08:26,989 --> 00:08:30,049 Suze: Let's say you have a stock you don't want anymore, 127 00:08:30,589 --> 00:08:34,989 Suze: and it's sitting at a loss. You can sell that stock, 128 00:08:35,549 --> 00:08:40,809 Suze: realize the loss, and use that loss to offset any 129 00:08:40,809 --> 00:08:43,789 Suze: realized gains that you already have. 130 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,479 Suze: That's one way that you can do it now. Sometimes 131 00:08:47,479 --> 00:08:51,239 Suze: you actually have more of a loss than you do gains. 132 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,460 Suze: So if you don't use up all of your loss, 133 00:08:54,599 --> 00:08:57,839 Suze: you can carry it forward to future years. 134 00:08:58,590 --> 00:09:01,510 Suze: If you don't have any gain at all, you can 135 00:09:01,510 --> 00:09:06,150 Suze: take $3,000 off and keep doing that every year. 136 00:09:07,289 --> 00:09:12,530 Suze: So why am I telling you all this? Because a 137 00:09:12,530 --> 00:09:16,549 Suze: lot of you heard me say you sell your losses 138 00:09:17,210 --> 00:09:21,890 Suze: against your gains so you don't owe income taxes. But 139 00:09:21,890 --> 00:09:27,089 Suze: here's the problem, you never ever sell a stock at 140 00:09:27,090 --> 00:09:31,569 Suze: a loss if you want to own that stock, and 141 00:09:31,570 --> 00:09:33,890 Suze: you best write that down. 142 00:09:35,109 --> 00:09:38,150 Suze: You never sell a stock just to take a tax 143 00:09:38,150 --> 00:09:40,909 Suze: loss if you believe in that stock. 144 00:09:42,179 --> 00:09:45,579 Suze: Because listen to me, when a stock you love goes down, 145 00:09:45,820 --> 00:09:49,099 Suze: that is not the time to run from it. That 146 00:09:49,099 --> 00:09:52,739 Suze: is the time to do what, everybody? Dollar cost average 147 00:09:52,739 --> 00:09:56,819 Suze: into it. That is the time to buy more. So 148 00:09:56,820 --> 00:09:58,510 Suze: let's say you love Apple. 149 00:09:59,140 --> 00:10:02,789 Suze: And it drops. It's down. You don't sell it to 150 00:10:02,789 --> 00:10:05,869 Suze: take a tax loss. You buy more shares at a 151 00:10:05,869 --> 00:10:09,949 Suze: lower price and bring down your average cost. So can 152 00:10:09,950 --> 00:10:13,710 Suze: we just get that one thing straight? If you still 153 00:10:13,710 --> 00:10:17,549 Suze: want the stock, you keep it. You only sell a 154 00:10:17,549 --> 00:10:21,270 Suze: losing stock if you wanna get rid of it and 155 00:10:21,270 --> 00:10:25,270 Suze: you don't wanna own it anymore. Got that? 156 00:10:26,010 --> 00:10:30,669 Suze: So you really need to understand that. Because some of 157 00:10:30,669 --> 00:10:33,090 Suze: you are doing this because you're writing me. 158 00:10:33,940 --> 00:10:38,559 Suze: You have some losses in stocks that you actually like, 159 00:10:39,260 --> 00:10:40,900 Suze: stocks like Oracle. 160 00:10:41,789 --> 00:10:45,650 Suze: Stocks like PayPal, great stocks. 161 00:10:46,429 --> 00:10:50,419 Suze: And you wanna sell those stocks to take a loss, 162 00:10:50,909 --> 00:10:55,909 Suze: to offset some realized gains that you have in your portfolio, 163 00:10:55,989 --> 00:10:58,429 Suze: obviously outside of a retirement account. 164 00:10:59,909 --> 00:11:04,429 Suze: And I'm like, please don't do that. And people are 165 00:11:04,429 --> 00:11:08,190 Suze: asking me, well, why shouldn't I do that? And the 166 00:11:08,190 --> 00:11:11,150 Suze: reason you shouldn't do that is when you take a 167 00:11:11,150 --> 00:11:15,929 Suze: loss in a stock, you cannot buy that stock back 168 00:11:16,070 --> 00:11:20,809 Suze: for at least 30 days. Now, 30 days may seem 169 00:11:20,809 --> 00:11:22,700 Suze: like a really short period of time. 170 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,530 Suze: But not in these markets. I have seen stocks go 171 00:11:28,530 --> 00:11:32,090 Suze: down 40 points and all of a sudden in two 172 00:11:32,090 --> 00:11:35,809 Suze: weeks they're up 60 points. So you think you're gonna 173 00:11:35,809 --> 00:11:38,530 Suze: outsmart these markets and all of a sudden you sold 174 00:11:38,530 --> 00:11:42,630 Suze: for a little loss and now 30 days hasn't passed 175 00:11:42,849 --> 00:11:46,049 Suze: and now you sold it at let's just say $50 176 00:11:46,049 --> 00:11:46,669 Suze: a share. 177 00:11:47,510 --> 00:11:48,949 Suze: You bought it at 60. 178 00:11:49,599 --> 00:11:51,840 Suze: And now it's at 80, but you weren't able to 179 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,000 Suze: still be in it because you sold it at a 180 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,718 Suze: loss simply to take a loss? No. 181 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,130 Suze: Again, you only sell a loss when you no longer 182 00:12:04,130 --> 00:12:07,409 Suze: want to own that stock, and you can use that 183 00:12:07,409 --> 00:12:12,489 Suze: loss to help yourself for tax purposes. Anything else? I 184 00:12:12,489 --> 00:12:13,909 Suze: don't think so. 185 00:12:15,250 --> 00:12:19,929 Suze: So you're confused about that. If you have, however, a 186 00:12:19,929 --> 00:12:23,728 Suze: stock that you no longer want, which was true in 187 00:12:23,729 --> 00:12:26,530 Suze: my case, there were two stocks that I had a 188 00:12:26,530 --> 00:12:31,130 Suze: loss on, and I no longer wanted to own those stocks. 189 00:12:31,250 --> 00:12:35,630 Suze: I made a mistake. Fine, I'm going to take the loss. 190 00:12:36,429 --> 00:12:38,919 Suze: But at the time when I did that, I didn't 191 00:12:38,919 --> 00:12:43,820 Suze: have any realized gains to offset that loss. 192 00:12:44,909 --> 00:12:47,069 Suze: I didn't realize any gains yet. I had a lot 193 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:53,729 Suze: of unrealized gains, lots of unrealized gains, but no realized gains, 194 00:12:53,869 --> 00:12:57,229 Suze: cause I still like all the stocks that I own, 195 00:12:57,590 --> 00:12:59,679 Suze: except for those two. OK. 196 00:13:00,739 --> 00:13:03,900 Suze: So what did I do? And this was just an example. 197 00:13:04,969 --> 00:13:08,280 Suze: I sold the number of shares of stock that I 198 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,929 Suze: had a big gain in that was equivalent to the 199 00:13:12,929 --> 00:13:18,929 Suze: loss that I was taking, so they offset each other directly. 200 00:13:19,929 --> 00:13:23,089 Suze: So what did I do then? I immediately bought the 201 00:13:23,090 --> 00:13:26,210 Suze: stock that I had to gain in back, the exact 202 00:13:26,210 --> 00:13:29,770 Suze: same numbers of shares. Now, what did I gain by 203 00:13:29,770 --> 00:13:30,429 Suze: doing that? 204 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,799 Suze: Let's just say I bought that stock at seven. 205 00:13:35,739 --> 00:13:40,099 Suze: And now that stock is 160 or 70. 206 00:13:41,049 --> 00:13:44,559 Suze: Which is true in this one particular stock, Palantir. 207 00:13:45,909 --> 00:13:49,468 Suze: So even if I just sold 10 shares of Palantir 208 00:13:50,309 --> 00:13:52,630 Suze: to offset my loss, let's say that was true. 209 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:57,700 Suze: And I bought those 10 shares back immediately. Now my 210 00:13:57,700 --> 00:14:00,239 Suze: cost basis on those 10 shares 211 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:07,400 Suze: is $170 a share. If Palantir continues up, and I 212 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:11,500 Suze: now sell it at, let's just say $300 a share. 213 00:14:12,669 --> 00:14:16,989 Suze: I'm only going to have a gain of 130 points 214 00:14:17,190 --> 00:14:23,750 Suze: versus $7 to $300. Do you understand what I did? 215 00:14:24,780 --> 00:14:28,250 Suze: So don't think it's just so simple where you sell 216 00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:30,400 Suze: stocks to offset gains. 217 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,640 Suze: You only sell stocks that have a loss in it 218 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:39,729 Suze: to offset gains if you don't wanna own those stocks 219 00:14:39,919 --> 00:14:41,460 Suze: ever again. 220 00:14:42,630 --> 00:14:44,559 Suze: Am I clear on that now? 221 00:14:45,669 --> 00:14:49,390 Suze: So, I have one more Suze school for you today. 222 00:14:49,789 --> 00:14:52,390 Suze: And this lesson is about we live in a day 223 00:14:52,390 --> 00:14:56,590 Suze: and age where scamming is rampant. 224 00:14:57,250 --> 00:15:01,090 Suze: And you cannot be somebody who just sticks your head 225 00:15:01,090 --> 00:15:03,890 Suze: in the sand, and you don't check your statements, you 226 00:15:03,890 --> 00:15:06,890 Suze: don't check your accounts, you don't check your credit reports, 227 00:15:06,969 --> 00:15:10,169 Suze: you don't look at your credit score. You cannot do 228 00:15:10,169 --> 00:15:13,559 Suze: that in a day and age like this. You have 229 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,270 Suze: to freeze your credit reports. You have to do things 230 00:15:16,270 --> 00:15:17,890 Suze: that protect you. 231 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:19,960 Suze: And by the way, I'm just going to say, and 232 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,609 Suze: to that end, come March next year, I will have 233 00:15:23,609 --> 00:15:28,010 Suze: something that will seriously protect you and would have protected 234 00:15:28,010 --> 00:15:31,859 Suze: you in this particular situation, but you're going to have 235 00:15:31,859 --> 00:15:34,130 Suze: to wait for March to see that, OK. 236 00:15:35,150 --> 00:15:37,760 Suze: And here's how it goes from Cheryl. 237 00:15:38,530 --> 00:15:40,650 Suze: I've been a fan of yours and always have been 238 00:15:40,650 --> 00:15:46,119 Suze: grateful for your advice and wisdom. In 2022, I purchased 239 00:15:46,130 --> 00:15:47,419 Suze: two I bonds. 240 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,239 Suze: With all the financial fraud, I check all my investments 241 00:15:52,239 --> 00:15:54,010 Suze: at the beginning of every month. 242 00:15:54,849 --> 00:15:59,090 Suze: On July 4th I was unable to access my Treasury 243 00:15:59,090 --> 00:15:59,789 Suze: Direct account. 244 00:16:00,750 --> 00:16:04,979 Suze: As I never received an OTP and an OTP is, 245 00:16:05,109 --> 00:16:08,909 Suze: once you go to sign in, they send you a 246 00:16:08,909 --> 00:16:12,909 Suze: one-time password, and that's the password that you use. 247 00:16:13,710 --> 00:16:19,020 Suze: Again, Treasury Direct is a governmental institution. 248 00:16:19,780 --> 00:16:24,169 Suze: And most people who wanna buy Series I bonds, inflation bonds, 249 00:16:24,390 --> 00:16:28,619 Suze: you have to buy them through Treasury Direct and have 250 00:16:28,619 --> 00:16:34,190 Suze: a Treasury Direct account, OK? So you would imagine, wouldn't you, 251 00:16:34,469 --> 00:16:38,609 Suze: that they were safe and sound. Please listen to this story. 252 00:16:39,940 --> 00:16:44,570 Suze: To make a long story short, someone changed the bank 253 00:16:44,570 --> 00:16:49,070 Suze: linked to my account and requested a distribution which was 254 00:16:49,070 --> 00:16:54,679 Suze: completed on July 8th. No one from Treasury Direct verified 255 00:16:54,679 --> 00:17:00,369 Suze: that it was me, and my account of just $11,000 256 00:17:00,369 --> 00:17:01,710 Suze: was emptied. 257 00:17:03,049 --> 00:17:08,140 Suze: Even worse, my account was still locked. I called repeatedly 258 00:17:08,140 --> 00:17:12,900 Suze: with no adequate response and did not find out about 259 00:17:12,900 --> 00:17:17,780 Suze: this fraud until TD sent an email to my secondary 260 00:17:17,780 --> 00:17:24,969 Suze: email in October. This was July. Now it's October. Because 261 00:17:24,979 --> 00:17:28,180 Suze: I don't always check that email. Oh, I will do 262 00:17:28,180 --> 00:17:29,180 Suze: it daily now. 263 00:17:29,550 --> 00:17:32,349 Suze: I only found out about it at that time. 264 00:17:33,229 --> 00:17:36,589 Suze: I called at 8 o'clock in the morning asking to 265 00:17:36,589 --> 00:17:38,689 Suze: speak with a fraud specialist. 266 00:17:39,630 --> 00:17:44,000 Suze: And I was told that the only communication available to 267 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,079 Suze: me was to respond to the email when I continued 268 00:17:48,079 --> 00:17:51,729 Suze: to argue with the person that I was talking to. 269 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,589 Suze: Her name was Rose, by the way, she hung up 270 00:17:54,589 --> 00:17:55,139 Suze: on me. 271 00:17:56,079 --> 00:18:00,560 Suze: I did respond to the email, but I Googled, Treasury 272 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:07,399 Suze: Direct complaints and found many similar stories. Every person posting 273 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,040 Suze: about these problems had their money sent to a checking 274 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,640 Suze: account at Pathword National Association. 275 00:18:16,369 --> 00:18:20,020 Suze: And it goes on and on. Now I obviously wrote 276 00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:22,899 Suze: Cheryl back a variety of things that she should do 277 00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:25,819 Suze: and she should try, but the first thing I wanna 278 00:18:25,819 --> 00:18:28,489 Suze: say to all of you, if any of you are 279 00:18:28,489 --> 00:18:35,560 Suze: connected with Pathword National Association or if you have any 280 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:37,938 Suze: account that does business with them. 281 00:18:38,599 --> 00:18:41,649 Suze: I am warning you right here and right now, I 282 00:18:41,650 --> 00:18:46,130 Suze: would change that account. If you look them up, if 283 00:18:46,130 --> 00:18:49,530 Suze: you Google them and everything, you can see all the 284 00:18:49,530 --> 00:18:51,770 Suze: complaints that they have against them. 285 00:18:52,609 --> 00:18:56,329 Suze: But the reason that I'm telling you this story is 286 00:18:56,329 --> 00:18:58,849 Suze: that you would think that the money that you have 287 00:18:58,849 --> 00:19:03,380 Suze: in your Treasury Direct account is the safest of them all. 288 00:19:05,180 --> 00:19:09,260 Suze: Obviously it may be, but it may not be. 289 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,469 Suze: So it wouldn't kill you to check it all the time, 290 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,919 Suze: meaning at least once a month, twice a month, and 291 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:24,159 Suze: pay attention to your secondary email addresses just in case 292 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,069 Suze: Treasury Direct happens to contact you. 293 00:19:28,420 --> 00:19:32,520 Suze: All right. Do I think that's enough for Suze School today? 294 00:19:33,369 --> 00:19:36,810 Suze: I think I do. So what did we learn? We 295 00:19:36,810 --> 00:19:40,719 Suze: learned that friendship is not a financial plan. We learned 296 00:19:40,729 --> 00:19:45,449 Suze: that you only sell stocks at a loss to offset 297 00:19:45,449 --> 00:19:50,109 Suze: gains when you no longer want to own those stocks, 298 00:19:50,329 --> 00:19:53,510 Suze: and we learned that we have to be on top 299 00:19:53,510 --> 00:19:55,209 Suze: of all of our accounts. 300 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:01,389 Suze: Everywhere we have an account and continuously check our credit reports, 301 00:20:01,479 --> 00:20:06,339 Suze: our credit scores, our statements, and make sure that everything 302 00:20:06,339 --> 00:20:11,560 Suze: is as it should be. So until Thursday when Miss 303 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:12,920 Suze: Travis joins us again. 304 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:17,199 Suze: For another Ask KT and Suze and me thing, there's 305 00:20:17,199 --> 00:20:18,839 Suze: only one thing that I want you to know when 306 00:20:18,839 --> 00:20:22,109 Suze: it comes to your money, and it's this: people first, 307 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:26,500 Suze: then money, then things. Now you stay safe.