Suze with a “Z”

As a financial writer, I’m frequently asked the following question: “What do you think of Suze Orman?”

That’s a tricky one. Orman is, without a doubt, the most famous voice promoting the need for women to take control of their personal finances. (She doesn’t exclude men from her mission, but she seems to have discovered that motivating women is where the money is.) Her 2007 schedule has her crisscrossing the globe from St. Louis, MO to Cape Town, South Africa to London, Ontario. Apparently, she’s a hot international ticket. (Her “SailWithSuze” Caribbean cruise was cancelled, though. A day of financial proselytizing is apparently tolerable, but seven of them may give some people “su-ze-sickness.”)

She has a dazzling array of financial products, including books, tapes, and kits, and can be found on television, radio, newspapers, and in Oprah magazine. According to a press release issued by none other than Suze herself, her recent Gracie award for “Outstanding Talk Show”—her fourth—gives her more trophies than any other television personality in the history of that award. (By George, four Gracies!) Anyone who lives and breathes would be hard-pressed not to have an opinion on Suze with a “z.”

In my opinion, her material—her substance—is great. But her style is off-putting. Personally, I find her obnoxious, annoying, and charm-free. There…I said it. Even so, I’m not immune to her marketing techniques. I confess that I’m the owner of a five-part Suze Orman boxed set on personal finance that I bumped into on QVC one day while I was channel surfing. No matter what I think of her, she apparently has the last laugh, and a small chunk of my money.

Her story is compelling (and unbelievably long, if you read her online bio). Basically, she was an underachieving student as a child, a college dropout who, at one point, lived out of her car. She worked as a waitress for six years, when a group of customers gave her $50,000 to make her dreams come true. (She must’ve served a helluva cup ‘o joe!) She gave that money to a Merrill Lynch broker who lost it all. Then she became a broker and sued Merrill Lynch, and the rest, apparently, is history.

Even though I find Suze long-winded, I admire her spunk. More importantly, I admire the fact that she has somehow inspired thousands, or maybe even millions, of people to become more conscious of their financial lives. She’s certainly not the only obnoxious successful personality in the financial media (Jim Cramer and Larry Kudlow jump immediately to mind). But Suze has been the most successful at reaching out to everyday people—harried housewives included—and making an impact on their relationships with personal finance.

She is definitely the most well known financial educator of women. Therefore, to Suze Orman, even though I have no idea how people can stomach her, I give a tip of the harried housewife’s hat and a thank you for your work to enlighten women—and men, too—throughout the world.