Suze Orman's Webcast Transcript

Kelly: Yes, it does.

Suze: I don't believe you.

Kelly: Well, no, it really does. I mean, right now I made sure that I diversified within my 401(k). I have international funds, national funds, I have large cap, medium cap, small cap, a little bit of—of the balance funds, and I—you know, I thought the funds were doing really well right up until, you know, the market tanked. You know, I had done some research. They had really good Morningstar ratings on them and I felt really comfortable with it, which is why I was surprised when people were saying, "Oh, no, now is the best time to move things around," and it's like so many people had saying it maybe, you know, I'm not thinking this out properly and sitting on it really isn't the logical thing to do. So I'm beginning to question myself.

Suze: So I know you called in about mutual funds.

Oprah: Mm-hmm.

Suze: But the point that I'd like to make there that she's saying is that sometimes we're doing the exact right thing. And then everybody else starts talking about it and we start doubting—

Oprah: Yeah.

Suze: —our own actions.

Oprah: Wasn't that your advice to me? Because I called you and asked—because the book wasn't done yet and I said, "Could you please get me the book now? I need that book because I'm sitting at the end of the year with all of my money advisers and they're saying one thing and I'm feeling another thing," and you, like, in great big e-mail letters said, "Follow your own mind."

Suze: Yeah because, Oprah, it's your money.

Oprah: Absolutely.

Suze: It's my money. It's Kelly's money. It's all of your monies. And there's an interesting thing when it's your money. It's like you have this connection with it because you earned it.

Oprah: That's right.

Suze: And because you earned it, you have a feeling about it that they can't feel. So today here at Harpo we gave a seminar, as you know, to many of the people who work for you. Do you know how many people came up to me and said, "Suze, right before the market went down, I called my financial adviser and I said, 'I want to come out of the market totally.' And the response was, 'You can't come out of the market. Please, these markets are great, da, da, da.'" And she said, "No, I really want to come out. I can feel it." And the adviser said no. Guess what? She's now down 40 percent.

Oprah: Forty percent. Yes.

Suze: Listen to yourself.

Oprah: And that is the worst kind of pain.

Suze: That's right.

Oprah: That's the worst kind of pain because you already knew. You knew. Or you felt it. You felt it and didn't follow your own voice.

Suze: Yeah. So then the question is, whose voice is that?

Oprah: Yeah.

Suze: Is that your own voice? Is that even possibly going to last night's conversation, the voice of God even guiding you what to do in that situation—

Oprah: Yeah.

Suze: —who knows what it is. But when you doubt that, you have now given yourself the greatest insult ever. And you have to learn a lesson, because otherwise when it really matters and you don't listen—

Oprah: Right.

Suze: —oh, my God.

Oprah: Yes.

Suze: Oh, my God.

Oprah: Yes.

Suze: So if you listened and you came out of the market—

Oprah: But I have always followed that rule that you're talking about. And I know that I'm in a different category and you're in a different category than the people—

Suze: But always we weren't in a different category.

Oprah: But always we weren't in a different category. And I will say the reason I've done so well through all of this because I was cash heavy being advised by all of my folks not to be. You know, everybody's saying—and I always followed that rule that you're telling everybody else. If you don't understand it, if you don't understand it, then don't do it. Then don't do it.

Suze: That's right. And for me, because you know, I have money. But when you have money, you don't want to lose your money.

Oprah: Absolutely.

Suze: And I don't even care about having more money. I just don't want to lose money I have.

Oprah: Lose the money you have. That's—

Suze: That's all I want. So all of my money starting quite a few years ago was in municipal bonds, as I told all of you two years ago. And the newspapers attacked me. People attacked me. "You should be in the stock market. You shouldn't be in municipal bonds. What's Suze talking about municipal bonds?" Well, guess what, everybody. That's the only thing that worked out. But I didn't go into municipal bonds because I knew the markets were going to go down.

Oprah: You went into the municipal bonds—I call it my "Bag Lady Fund."

Suze: They make me—I'm happy, and when I'm happy I'm powerful and when I'm powerful, what happens? I get more speaking engagements. I make more money. I earn the money.

Oprah: Right.

Suze: So—

Oprah: Because you're not trying to make a lot of money on the money that you have.

Suze: That's right.

Oprah: You're just trying to keep the money that you have.

Suze: Yeah. Just a thought, everybody.

Oprah: Just a thought. Okay. Thank you so much. That was Kelly on the phone. Raleigh, North Carolina.

Suze: Thank you.

Oprah: So so much of what you're talking here tonight is really about changing the way you think about money—

Suze: Yes.