I Will Teach You to Be Rich Summary | Ramit Sethi

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No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

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DISCLAIMER: The information presented here is for general purposes only. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making any financial decisions. Any actions taken based on this information are at your own risk.

Introduction

Are you tired of scraping by and ready to flourish your bank account? Do you want to break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and live your life your way? Look no further. Get ready to unlock the secrets of financial success with I Will Teach You to Be Rich. You will learn the best money management strategies and wealth-building techniques so you can build a financial success mindset. This guide is your ticket to a world where money is no longer a source of stress, but a tool for achieving your dreams. 

I Will Teach You to Be Rich is a practical approach delivered with a nonjudgmental style based on the four pillars of personal finance. These four pillars are banking, saving, budgeting and investing. From personal finance tips, to smart money habits, to debt reduction strategies, to investing for beginners, Ramit Sethi has you covered. 

Sethi also shares the wealth-building ideas of personal entrepreneurship. Specifically, he teaches how to automate your finances and adopt a plan that allows you to earn while sleeping. The book reached new heights of success as it transitioned into a major Netflix series.

Get ready for a revolution in wealth-building. It’s time to rewrite your financial story and embrace the life you deserve with our I Will Teach You to Be Rich summary.

I Will Teach You to Be Rich Audiobook Summary

About Ramit Sethi

A leading voice in personal finance and entrepreneurship, Ramit Sethi wrote the transformative book “I Will Teach You to Be Rich.” Sethi is passionate about empowering people to take charge of their financial futures. 

Sethi is a Stanford University graduate with a strong audience. He currently writes for over 1 million readers on his websites, including a website that this book is based on. Sethi is the founder of GrowthLab.com and IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com. He helps entrepreneurs start and grow online businesses. His no-nonsense style and witty delivery resonate with audiences around the world. He’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and The New York Times.

Sethi challenges conventional wisdom with his own experiences and extensive research. He’s helped countless people get out of debt, become financially independent, and live fulfilling lives. 

StoryShot #1: Start by Defining What Being Rich Means to You

You must decide what being rich means to you and become a conscious spender who prioritizes. It’s 100% okay to spend unapologetically on the things you love as long as you cut down on other stuff. Conscious spending is all about avoiding creating budgets. Track your spending using tools to see where your money is going and how it’s being allocated. Tracking tools raise questions you don’t usually think about. For example, ask yourself if you’d rather buy a coffee or put that money into a savings account. The reality might be that you would enjoy eating food out more than having a house.  Do what makes you happy in the long run If this is buying a sandwich twice a week, keep doing this. If you are tracking your spending, at least you are making an informed decision. Making these informed decisions is what Sethi calls being frugal. Frugality is choosing the things you love enough to spend extravagantly on. This is key to creating a financial success mindset.

There’s power in saying no to things we dislike or need. There’s even more power in saying yes to the things we love.

StoryShot #2: Start Right Now

Starting early is vital for getting rich. It’s a key factor in achieving financial success and building wealth. You can leverage the power of compound interest by starting earlier. Over time, compound interest can increase the value of your investments. With plenty of time, compounding can offer significant benefits.

Never blame yourself for not starting earlier. Starting ten years ago would have been better, but today is the next best time. Waiting for the perfect moment is pointless because it will never come. Take charge of your finances now.

Building wealth early helps you establish smart money habits. It encourages long-term thinking and creates a solid foundation for wealth creation. By starting early, we can better handle setbacks and market fluctuations. The earlier you start building wealth, the longer you have to recover and adjust. Time is an asset in wealth building. Early action can increase your chances of being financially independent, stable, and wealthy.

StoryShot #3: Excuses Hinder Growth

As barriers that stop us from progressing and growing, excuses have a big impact on our lives. They quietly invade our thoughts and behaviors without us even noticing. Excuses cleverly pretend to be valid reasons, making our lack of action or minimal effort seem justified.

Excuses are detrimental to our growth and success. We use them to avoid responsibility and accountability. Excuses prevent us from making meaningful progress towards our goals. 

Not Making the Perfect Choice

The first thing that you can do today is to set up an online savings account. You should be able to withdraw money without fees and earn a lot of interest on this account. All you have to do is search for high-interest rate savings accounts on Google. One of the most common excuses is worrying the results may not have the highest interest rate. Even worse is believing there’ll be a higher-interest savings account coming out soon. Neither of these excuses will get you started on your financial journey. Indecision will cause you more loss than mediocre decisions. To highlight Sethi’s preference for mediocrity over delaying, he speaks about the 85% solution. He says that he would much rather get it 85 percent correct than do nothing at all. 

Small Results

Insufficient funds is another excuse not to open a savings account today. Many people don’t see the point of setting up a savings account when the interest they get isn’t worth it. But, it is important to notice that no amount is too small when forming great money habits. Having less money gives you an even better reason to start as the stakes are low. It is the ideal time to try out your money management strategies. Just because a band dreams of playing Madison Square Garden doesn’t mean they should turn down an invitation to a smaller festival. The band should view it as an opportunity to practice and get better. You can’t expect to handle millions well if you are struggling with hundreds of pounds.

Excuses are self-imposed limitations that impede your financial and personal growth. We can break free from the cycle of inaction by acknowledging and overcoming excuses.

Don’t get caught up in minutiae! You don’t have to get it perfectly right the first time. You just have to start at some point, and today is a great day for that.

StoryShot #4: Swap Your Attention from Micro to Macro

Save on three dollar lattes, get a temporary 0.1% increase on your interest rate by switching your bank and use clip coupons. These three examples represent micro-decisions. Engaging in such activities may make you feel like you’re part of the Lean FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement. This is not where the battle is won. We should focus our energy on five to ten things that really matter. These pursuits should yield exceptional results and a good return on invested energy.

Here are a few of those key personal finance tips:

1. Automate your money system. 
2. Keep a great credit score.
3. Use credit cards to get free cashback and rewards.
4. Contribute money towards a 401(k) to get at least the full employer match.
5. Pay off your credit card debt.
6. Cancel your subscriptions and instead buy monthly. On Netflix, you can pay for a 30-day subscription and then cancel it immediately if you don’t like the show. You’ll have time to watch the series that you created the account for. You also won’t end up paying for a product that you’re not using, say, three months down the line.
7. Focus on cutting your costs in a few problem areas. The areas you often tell people that you have probably spent too much on.
8. Negotiate a raise.
9. Do freelance work.
10. Buy a house that you can afford.
11. Buy a car that you can afford and focus on the total cost of ownership rather than the price tag.
12. Allocate your capital correctly.

Use this as a checklist. If you can get five of these right, you can buy as many $3 lattes as you want.

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StoryShot #5: Learn How to Set Up an Automatic Money System

Setting up an automatic money system is one of the most important money management strategies for financial success. It simplifies money management, allocates it effectively, and reduces manual labor. Automation saves time and mental energy, so people can focus on other things. Financial goals should be aligned with personal values using this system. By customizing the system, people ensure their money is directed towards specific objectives.

For your system, you’ll need:

1. A checking account: This is where the money goes first. Think of it kind of like a distribution center. By using automatic transfers, it feeds your other accounts and pays off all your bills.
2. A savings account: This is a parking spot for short-term to mid-term savings goals, like vacations or a wedding. Pick one with no fees, no restrictions on withdrawals and a high-interest rate.
3. A credit card: Used correctly, this is a free short-term loan with rewards and perks. Get at least one that gives cashback.
4. A retirement savings account: Like 401k or Roth IRA. This will be country-specific.
5. An investment account: Get one from an online broker.

Set up an automatic money system to manage finances, establish good habits, and allocate money efficiently.

Rating

We rate I Will Teach You to Be Rich 4.4/5.

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Editor’s Note

This article was first published in April 2021. It was revised and updated substantially on 15/06/23.

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