Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.<\/p>\n
Some people hit midlife with a financial blueprint, a carefully built retirement fund, and confidence in the future. Others wind up staring down their 50th birthday realizing the future has no blueprint at all.<\/p>\n
Kathleen lands in the second group. She lives in New York City, makes “good money,” has a “nice apartment,” and treats herself to “an expensive cup of coffee.” But saving for retirement? She never really bothered.<\/p>\n
“I really never gave it much thought,” she admitted on an episode of The Suze Orman Show<\/a> posted to Orman’s official YouTube channel. “50 years old, with nothing saved.” She asked Orman to “snap me out of it.” And that’s when the ride began.<\/p>\n Don’t Miss:<\/p>\n Before Orman even got to Kathleen, she kicked off the episode with a bold thesis<\/a>: “I want you to spend your way to retirement.” The idea was simple: instead of throwing money at lifestyle inflation and recurring payments, eliminate bills you won’t want in retirement \u2014 car loans, credit cards, student loans, even a too\u2011expensive housing market. “If you just spend your money to reduce your expenses… you will be able to retire one day.”<\/p>\n Then came the house call \u2014 and the reality check.<\/p>\n Kathleen explained that no matter what job she’s had, “I have not saved for retirement.” Her philosophy went something like: this is New York, anything can happen. “I step off the curb and get hit by a bus… and then it’s all over. And you know, what was all that saving for?”<\/p>\n On top of that, being single made it too easy to avoid planning. “Do I value myself enough to think about my own future? Well, no, I guess.” Her parents, meanwhile, had retired with stability and longevity runs in her family. “They’ve retired for like 20 years… They would be very disappointed to know that I haven’t contributed to any 401k plan whatsoever.”<\/p>\n Orman took a moment to acknowledge what Kathleen had achieved: no credit card debt, no mortgage debt, nearly $60,000 in emergency and retirement savings combined<\/a>, despite not having a 401(k) or IRA. “There are so many people out there that don’t even have $1,000 in savings that are your age,” she told her. But the sympathy didn’t last long.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n Trending: Wall Street’s $12B Real Estate Manager Is Opening Its Doors to Individual Investors \u2014 Without the Crowdfunding Middlemen<\/a><\/p>\n Kathleen confessed she didn’t love her job and thought switching careers might be the answer. Orman shut it down. “Changing your job is not going to change you.” And then came the plan.<\/p>\n “You’re going to stop drinking coffee and you’re going to stop eating out,” she instructed. “For six months.are not going to eat out. That is your plan.” She even added a warning: “You’re lucky I didn’t say two years.”<\/p>\n With that money, Kathleen would “fully… fund a Roth IRA.” Then she would work until age 70 \u2014 the point Orman estimated she would receive about “$3,000 a month” from Social Security and could be “just fine.”<\/p>\n Kathleen wasn’t thrilled. “Working \u2018til 70 just makes my heart sink.”<\/p>\n Orman reacted instantly. “That working to 70 just absolutely breaks your heart? Oh poor, poor Kathleen. It’s like my heart is breaking for you. Are you kidding me?” She repeated it. “Are you kidding me?”<\/p>\n “You have wasted all these years doing what you wanted to do, not saving for yourself, drinking coffee as much as you want, not investing in a retirement plan. And now working for 20 more years breaks your heart? Are you kidding me?”<\/p>\n Orman kept going. “You should be happy that I’m not saying to you you are never going to be able to retire,” she said, warning that if Kathleen called in “another 10 years in this exact situation,” the answer would be very different. “Retirement \u2014 that’s a joke. You’re going to have to work till the day that you die, Kathleen.” She told her that unless she changed her behavior and “became more of a warrior” instead of staying “this poor me, poor me, the self\u2011deprecating woman,” she was “going to destroy your own life.”<\/p>\n See Also: Warren Buffett once said, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Here\u2019s how you can earn passive income with just $100.<\/a><\/p>\n Although her advice may have sounded extreme, Orman reminded her that this was exactly what she asked for. “You asked for a \u2018Moonstruck’-style slap down so you could snap out of it. So bam, I’m giving it to you.”<\/p>\n Then the signature line: “You have got to wake up and smell the coffee \u2014 and stop drinking it.”<\/p>\n The message wasn’t just about cutting expenses. “You have to start loving your job. You have to start loving saving. You have to live below your means so you can save even more money.”<\/p>\n For viewers who see themselves in Kathleen \u2014 good income, no savings, fear of giving up what makes life enjoyable \u2014 Orman’s advice may feel like shock therapy. But small steps can help build momentum<\/a>. Arrived is a platform that lets people invest in fractional shares of short-term rental properties for as little as $100, offering a way to earn passive income without the hassle of being a landlord. It might even help offset small indulgences \u2014 like that daily coffee \u2014 without derailing retirement goals.<\/p>\n By the end, Kathleen was still recovering. “I am still in recovery from the smack down you gave me,” she said. But Orman reminded her of what comes next. “Only you can determine your success. And only you can determine your failure. The choice, girlfriend, is up to you.”<\/p>\n Read Next: Earn While You Scroll: The Deloitte-Ranked #1 Software Company Growing 32,481% Is Opening Its $0.50\/Share Round to Accredited Investors.<\/a><\/p>\n Image: Shutterstock<\/p>\n This article Suze Orman Tells NYC Woman, 50, With ‘Nice Apartment’ But No 401(k) ‘Snap Out Of It’ And Be Glad She’s Not Working ‘Til You Die’ \u2014Just Until 70<\/a> originally appeared on Benzinga.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. 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