Book Brief: I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

I Will Teach You to Be Rich
By Ramit Sethi
2009, Workman Publishing Company

teach you to be richThe Idea
This book helps you take inventory of your financial situation, so you can put it on auto-pilot and get back to living your life sans looming money guilt.

Recommended For
If you’ve never had the time or energy to think critically about your financial situation (or if you have, but doing so gave you an uneasy feeling so you stopped), you may have luck with this book.

The Pros
I Will Teach You to Be Rich is so easy to read and implement. Ramit includes things like word-for-word scripts for negotiating with credit card companies and a flow-chart of a basic automated personal finance plan for both 9-to-5ers and freelancers.

Plus, unlike authors that dictate a life devoid of material pleasures, Ramit helps you figure out a way to spend lavishly on what you love while reigning in your spending in categories you care less about.

The Cons
There are very few drawbacks to reading this book. Though, if you’re already very confident about your financial situation, you may find the content to be somewhat basic. I’d argue, however, that the psychology behind the Ramit’s recommendations make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in “working smarter, not harder” to manage their money.

My Take
I have bought this book for more friends than I can count.

It saved my ass, financially. I read it before I had enough money coming into my bank account to automate, which was frustrating at the time but worked out for the better. Once I started collecting a paycheck, I immediately began building up my savings and contributing to my ROTH IRA.

Even though I read the book a long time ago, I still think about Ramit’s concept of living a rich life and cutting back in some places to make way for baller purchases in others. A friend visitng my house once laughed at seeing my drugstore-brand deoderant lined up in my bathroom next to top shelf skin care products from a luxury brand. But that’s how I roll now thanks to Ramit, and I love every minute of it.

Fun Fact
I had the chance to meet Ramit Sethi when I was a live audience member for his first CreativeLive course. It’s no longer up on the site, but I still have my signed, dog-earred copy of I Will Teach You to Be Rich.