Suze Orman warns these 4 financial blunders will set you back in a major way

Once you’ve linked the Acorns app to your bank account, it will automatically round up every purchase you make to the nearest dollar and invest those extra cents in a diversified portfolio tailored to your financial goals.

Read more: Here are 5 simple ways to grow rich with real estate — whether you have $10 or $100,000 to invest

Don’t take a tax refund

“If you’re getting a tax refund, something is radically wrong,” Orman told Yahoo! Finance in 2021.

More recently, Suze urged listeners to “make a date with their money” in October 2024. Why? Because you've got to take a close look at optimizing your gains and losses on a yearly basis. When you get a tax return it means you have effectively given the government an interest-free loan.

That being said, it is possible to use your return wisely as part of your wealthbuilding plan.

"There is no smarter move than working on your emergency savings account if you’ve yet to accumulate up to a year’s worth of living expenses," Suze Orman wrote on her blog in March 2023. And a tax refund can be your kick-off point for doing just that.

Just make sure that you park your emergency fund in a high-interest account that will allow your savings to grow over time.

One way you could do this is with the Wealthfront Cash Account , which can help you build an investment base through a combination of high-interest rates and ease of access.

A Wealthfront Cash Account can help you earn up to 4.25% APY on your uninvested cash for your first three months (0.50% APY boost on top of the 3.75% base variable APY) provided by program banks. That’s over ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s September report.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can ensure your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, the Wealthfront Cash Account has balances of up to $16 million insured by the FDIC through program banks.

Don’t take on debt for things you don’t need

In an October 2024 blog post, Orman urged readers to watch their spending. "Carefully stop yourself every time you are about to spend money and ask yourself: Is it for a need or a want?" she wrote.

She challenged her readers to commit to the lifestyle of needs vs. wants for three months and review the boost to their finances at the end of that time. If you’re not ready to eliminate all of your “want” purchases, the least you can do is spend a bit smarter — that means optimizing your savings and avoiding debt.