Suze Orman's Practical Real-Estate Portfolio (The Wall Street Journal)

The Plaza Hotel’s most prized apartments offer sweeping views of New York’s Central Park. Suze Orman wasn’t sold.

Instead, in 2007 Ms. Orman and her wife, Kathy Travis, bought a 1,275-square-foot apartment in the Plaza that faces the courtyard for $3.6 million. “The same apartment on the other side with park views was $3 million more,” Ms. Orman explained. She also noted that by skipping the view, she and her wife can put guests in a hotel room across the way that faces their living room. “We’ll hold up a sign in the window that says, ‘breakfast is ready!’”

Ms. Orman, the 63-year-old personal finance expert and television personality, has made a name for herself giving Americans straight-talking, tough-love advice on saving money, investing cautiously and not overspending. Her oft-repeated mantra: “People first, then money, then things.”