Could You Follow Suze’s Action Plan?

Suze Orman, the personal finance guru, was on Oprah last week with her 2009 Action Plan to get people’s budgets and finances in order after last year’s horrible stock market and the increasing layoffs.

As usual- she laid out the reality of most people’s situations: they’re overspending and have nothing in savings.

What to do?

She lists three things to try now to start getting your budget in order:

1. Go one day without spending ANY money.

2. Go one with without charging anything.

3. Go one month without eating out at ANY restaurants.

If you didn’t see it- the Oprah audience was none too pleased about these options- especially the one about not eating out.

Is it really that hard to NOT eat out? Apparently so. But imagine how much money you’d save by making a frozen pizza instead of ordering Pizza Hut?

But if you follow the action plan, you’re not exactly helping the economy, are you?

So- there’s the conundrum. Fixing your own finances means it will damage the nation’s.

Three-fourths of GDP is consumer spending. If the consumer pulls in by even 5%, we’re in deep trouble. But we’re already in deep trouble and a consumer pullback is inevitable.

Suze laid out the reality to several of the guests on Oprah- they can’t keep spending like they are.

Can you?

If you try Suze’s action plan- let me know how it goes. I’m thinking it’s hard than it looks.