A middle-aged Fort Lauderdale brunette named "Janet" laid out her finances on television Saturday for CNBC financial advice maven Suze Orman. And it was kinda sad, in a rich people tumbling into the middle class way.
Janet and her significantly older husband had entrusted Madoff with $5 million. On the bright side, the 75-year-old hubby pulls in $300K a year as a shrink, the couple has $200K stashed in a non-Madoff financial institution, and the family's $2 million pad is paid off. Pretty soon, though, they'll have three kids in college (one is already attending a private university).
We had to quit our clubs -- we quit our golf club," Janet recounted. "We're trying to keep our expenses to a minimum."
Orman advised that a life insurance policy on the hubby would be too expensive based on the couple's slim remaining assets and the few years Mr. Breadwinner can last in the working world. (ouch!) The smartest move they could take, according to Suze: Make the kids pay their own higher education bills. Say hello to student loans, little ones!
Before signing off, Janet related a recent exchange she had with her husband. He grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "Alright, babe. Now we'll find out what we're really made of."
In these trying times, won't we all?
Unfortunately, CNBC has not uploaded the clip of Janet.If they do, we'll update this post.
