Suze Orman Was Asked Where's The Best Place To Invest $150,000 For Retirement — But She Warns That Question Could Get You Ripped Off

You come into a chunk of money — maybe it's a bonus, an inheritance, or finally cashing out of something that actually worked. You're feeling hopeful, maybe even a little proud, and you do what responsible people do: you start thinking about how to grow it for retirement. The logical next step? You walk into a financial advisor's office and ask, "What should I do with $150,000?"

Big mistake, according to Suze Orman.

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"This is a dangerous question," Orman warned during an episode of her podcast when a listener named Cheryl posed exactly that. "Let's say it wasn't me that you're writing into," she said. "Let's say you just came into $150,000 and you walk into some financial advisor's office… and the person says to you, ‘What can I do for you?' And you say, ‘I have $150,000. How should I invest it?'"

That, Orman says, is how people get taken for a ride.

"If they tell you immediately, ‘Oh great. You should buy this. You should do an annuity, you should do that' — all things that probably will make that advisor a lot of money in commission — you are setting yourself up to really possibly be taken advantage of."

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In other words, the problem isn't the question itself — it's how incomplete it is. Orman explained that before anyone gives you investment advice, they should know the full picture of your financial life.

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"You need to tell me… how old are you? Do you have any debt? Are you healthy? Do you own a home? Do you have a mortgage on that home? What is the interest rate on that mortgage? Is your job secure? Do you have a will? Do you have a trust? Do you need a new car?"

Without that context, she says, "Never just ask anybody, ‘What should I do with $150,000?'"

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Instead, she urges people to think about the basics first. If you have high-interest credit card debt? Pay it off. Still carrying a mortgage into your sixties? That might be the smarter use of your windfall. "Let's possibly pay off the mortgage on that home," she said. "Oh, you have $30,000 of credit card debt? Let's pay off the credit card debt. Oh, you need a new car? Whatever it may be."

Orman's message isn't to scare people out of investing — it's to remind them that good advice is personal, and any one-size-fits-all answer is a red flag. So if you find yourself with a windfall to grow, take a breath before diving into stocks, annuities, or whatever hot thing your buddy at the gym swears by.

Figure out your priorities. Ask the right questions. And make sure whoever you're asking takes the time to ask you a few back. 

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