I will Teach You to be Rich

A bit of a crass title, but this is the brand Ramit Sethi built and his advice and reasoning is impressively sound.

• “People spend time on $30 problems instead of $30,000 problems”
• “What does a rich life mean to you” some answers: comfort, options,  happiness, balance, no-stress, freedom
  • “what does that mean to you” – think about and detail out exactly what a rich life means to you – specificity is key – a rich life can evolve and change as you meet your goals
• “people crave the truth about money that has not been addressed”
• Money: “In 20s we ignore it, ah… later. 30s probably should do something. 40s uh oh – i better do something about this”
• “We have been taught to budget, but no one has taught us how to spend”
• A rich life: “what did you spend money on in the last 2 weeks that made you smile? How do use money to create your rich life.”
• “Good advice is timeless”
• Financial Journey “Fall in love with the craft. Discipline to keep going every day.” Being able to do and live a rich life means you have done and compounded all the right things.
• Money Dial: “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, as long as you cut mercilessly on the things you don’t. What is something you love spending money on?”
  • books, cleaning company, nannies, eating out, hotels, vacation, vinyl records, collections, convenience, food, travel, health & fitness ,self-development … – there is no wrong answer
  • why do you love spending on your list: list out the emotions (safe, relief, luxury, comfort, happy), how it makes you feel, what about the process makes you happy, what you learn, how you grow
  • “money dials is the thing you love spending money on, give you joy, price is a mere triviality” – like a radio dial you can turn it up or down
  • what if you could quadruple spending on the thing you love? – “don’t think linearly, think in a multi-dimensional way – think and dream bigger” e.g. from spending on clothes at a discount brand to shopping at more expensive brands to getting custom tailor made clothes to flying and meeting with the designers at a factory…
• “Your rich life is yours”
• “Cut cost mercilessly on the things you don’t” What do you value, what do you care about?
• Need to tackle your money psychology, before the disciplines, automations, calculators and tools will exponentially work for you “”

Ramits 10 money rules

1. Always have one year of emergency funds, cash
2. Save 10%, invest 20% of gross annual income
3. Pay cash for large expenses (engagement ring, dream trip, wedding) and 20% down, minimum, on a house
4. Never question spending money on books, appetizers, health, or donating to a friend’s charity fundraiser
5. Business class on flights over 4 hours
6. Buy the best and keep it as long as possible
7. No limit on spending on health or education
8. Earn enough to work only with people you respect and like
9. Prioritize time outside the spreadsheet
10. Marry the right person