Imagine how much money it takes to care for 14 kids. Yup, I can't really fathom that either. Octomom, Nadya Suleman, had become a hated public figure after it was revealed that she had been unemployed and unable to care for her first six kids financially when she decided to have another eight kids. Nadya admitted on the show that she was "self-medicating through children."
Something that rang really true was Oprah's response to Nadya's confession. Oprah said, "People do it with their things all the time. How many people have things that they can't afford and then they go get something else they can't afford, living in houses they can't afford?"
Nadya, who had $300 to her name before Suze Orman stepped in, fixed her finances by listening to the personal finance expert's advice. She got rid of her three nannies, had a garage sale to sell things she didn't need, got an agent (which she was unwilling to get because she didn't want to sell out her children), and went to church to pray.
One big lesson I took away from this episode is the importance of accepting reality. Nadya said she didn't want to take public assistance because she was afraid of what people thought, to which Suze said, "What do you care? Everybody already hates you." Reality might not be as harsh as Suze's words to Nadya, but everyone needs to face the truth about their finances and learn to really live within their means.
