Women & Money

by Suze Orman

From humble beginnings as a waitress, Suze Orman has made hers a household name in the world of personal finance. Now her column is available to newspapers on a weekly basis.

Orman has a deep and impressive resume, including five consecutive New York Times best sellers, her own award-winning TV show on CNBC, and three American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Allen Awards.

"Women and Money" addresses issues of interest to women, but not exclusive to them, covering a wide breadth of subjects. The issues covered are unusual and extremely useful — such as how finances affect a person's life, the philosophy of money, and money's emotional attachment. Roughly half the columns are Q&A, with the other half essays.

Orman's book Women & Money will be published by Spiegel & Grau in March 2007.

Samples

Four Signs It's Time to Find a New Job

Building a satisfying career requires a commitment to playing offense rather than defense. Take control of your job destiny and make the moves that will put you in a position to actually enjoy your work. Simply waiting for things to work out, or sticking with a bad situation — playing defense — is a breach of self-respect.

You deserve to enjoy your job, to feel appreciated and challenged by it, and to be fairly compensated for your work. If that's not how things are playing out at the moment, it's time to take responsibility for your future.

Now, I'm well aware of how daunting it can be to contemplate changing your job, let alone changing careers. And it can take time. But you can't afford to just suck it up and stay in a job or industry that bores or frustrates you. Professional dissatisfaction is bound to seep into your personal life.

Deep inside, you probably already know if you need a new job. But let me provide the final nudge: If any of the following scenarios ring true, it's time to make a change.

1. Friday Is Your Favorite Day

If all you can think of Monday morning is how many hours until Friday, you've got a problem. You don't have to love every minute of every working day, nor every colleague all the time — let's be real — but if your overriding approach to the work week is dread, don't stay where you are.

2. You're Bored

If you still have another 10, 20 or 30 years of work ahead of you, coasting is not an option. What seems "easy" now is actually very dangerous. You won't get the promotions — and raises — you want, and you won't acquire the skills to keep professionally growing.

An unmotivated and lazy worker is the easiest to let go. And if you're forced out of a job where you have underachieved, it's going to be that much harder to impress future employers.

3. You're Underappreciated (and Overworked)

You deserve respect. It's that simple. If you have a boss who doesn't value your work, or your company doesn't treat its employees well, it's probably time to move on. Of course, it always makes sense to try and turn around a bad situation. Talk to your boss about how you can better work together, or look for other opportunities in the company.

4. You Keep Saying, "If I Could Do It All Over, I Would Be a ..."

Don't sell out your dreams so fast. If you're constantly thinking about doing something else with your work life, you owe it to yourself to see if you can make a go of it.

I'm not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow and go after your dream. Switching careers can take years of planning, both in terms of scoping out the new work and preparing for the financial changes the switch can entail. But the career you start with is not necessarily the one you must end with.

Scoping out a job or industry that truly interests you, and then researching what it will take to both start and succeed in that field, is a career plan. If it's clear that you need to go back to school, then go for it. But simply using education as a shelter from the work world is a lousy move.

Don't Wait Till You Hit Breaking Point

The most important step is to take responsibility for your future. The idea here is to strategize and plan. Think about where you want to be one year or three years from now. Make an appointment with your boss to talk about what work you need to do and skills you need to acquire to put you in a position for a promotion. Check in every month or so to discuss your progress.

If your boss isn't interested in your career progress but you like the company, scope out other opportunities at the organization. A division you really want to work with may not have a job for you today, but if they know you're interested, you may get a call a few months down the line.

It's your job to make your career work for you.

^ Top | View more samples