Ramit Sethi studied psychology and technology at Stanford University. During his time there, he made a few mistakes with money, and a bad investment led him to study exactly how money worked and to understand how to make it work for him.
Sethi repeatedly came across the same advice and found that no one was following it because it didn’t work. This is how “I Will Teach You to be rich” came into existence. Sethi is committed to sharing his findings and knowledge with as many people as possible, believing that everyone has the opportunity to improve their money habits. His book became an instant best-seller, and he can claim over 20,000 success stories from his courses (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
‘I will teach you to be rich ‘helps you identify where your money is going and gets it working for you so that you can save for the things that will bring you true happiness and lead a prosperous life. The six-week program identifies how to create a system for optimizing your bill payments, savings, and investments so that your money goes to all the right places with less than an hour of monthly maintenance. This book is excellent for anyone wanting a better handle on personal finances.
This summary will follow the format in Sethi’s book, taking you through each week of Sethi’s six-week program. The first week will be focused on optimizing your credit cards, followed by week two’s lesson on beating the banks. Week three will cover investing, and in week four, we’ll talk about conscious spending. Saving is covered in week five, and finally, week six will discuss myths and the idea that investing is for everyone, not just for the rich. We’ll finish the summary with a brief discussion on how easy it is to maintain your new money habits (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Credit card optimisation
Sethi explains that the first step you must take on your journey to wealth is building good credit. Personal credit takes into account your credit report and your credit score. Most adults own a credit card (or two), but Sethi points out that most people need to learn how to use them properly. However, credit cards can save you thousands of dollars in the long run when used correctly.
Credit reports and ratings – Sethi explains that a credit report provides information about your credit history, current and recent transactions, and any accounts you hold. This information is provided to lenders when you apply for a loan or any lending (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Your credit score is slightly different; you are assigned between 300 and 850. This number is used to explain to lenders your risk factor when it comes to lending. If you have a high credit rating, you are seen as less of a risk, and a low credit rating represents a higher risk. Therefore, it would help if you had a high credit rating for future purchases, including houses and loans. Lenders and banks will decide whether or not they will lend you money based on your credit report and rating (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Use them right – a credit card can be handy when used correctly. Sethi emphasizes the importance of paying your bills in full and on time. Stay on time on these payments, or you will find yourself facing interest. When this happens, your credit card essentially loans you the money you don’t have. Paying interest is something you want to avoid at all costs. Sethi explains that if you make a purchase on your credit card and have to pay interest, you are essentially paying more for your investment than it’s worth (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
“Building good credit is the first step in creating an infrastructure for being rich.”
Week one top tip: The following are several tips from Sethi to help you get your credit cards up and avoid common mistakes (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
1. Request your credit report and score. Understand what the numbers mean and what this means for your credit.
2. If you already have a credit card, check with the bank to see if it’s a no-fee card. If it still needs to be, request this. And if you don’t already have a card, get one. Again, ask to have all fees waived.
3. Set up an automatic payment to ensure your credit card bill is never missed and always paid in full. Ensure that this is done every month (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
4. If you have some debt, make a plan to start paying it off. Call your lender to restructure your payments to ensure it is paid off as quickly as possible. The aim is to get out of debt as fast as possible so you can start reaping the rewards (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Banks
Sethi emphasizes the importance of selecting the right bank and accounts when setting up your finances. Your bank plays a pretty important role, and you want to build a good relationship with them to ensure you save money on unnecessary fees (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Cheque accounts – Most people have a cheque account; this is a standard account that money can go in and out of regularly. Sethi recommends you treat this like an email inbox. If all your money can come into this main account, you can filter it into the appropriate side accounts, whether savings or investments. When deciding upon a cheque account, select one that pays interest like a savings account and is free; you don’t want monthly, yearly or transactional fees (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Savings accounts – Sethi explains that you should open a savings account for short-term to mid-term savings. Think of it as a place to keep your money for anywhere from one month to five years. You’ll use this account to save money for Christmas presents, vacations, and even more significant sums like a house deposit. A savings account should not be regularly withdrawn from, unlike your cheque account, and you should earn decent interest on the money in there (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Week two top tips:
● If you don’t already have one, open a cheque account. Double-check and make sure there are no fees (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
● If your current account has monthly or yearly fees, call the bank and negotiate to waive the fee. Other things to look out for are a minimum amount of fees and transactional fees.
● Open a savings account with high interest. Ensure that you split up your spending money from your savings (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
● Ensure that you have one-and-a-half months of expenses in your cheque account and transfer any remaining money into your savings.
Investing
Investing can be an overwhelming subject, and for this reason, many people tend to avoid it altogether. Sethi wants to educate and empower people, so everyone feels confident to invest. Sethi explains that after the global financial crisis, many people were put off investing, but times like this are when investing is a wise move.
Five simple steps to follow to begin the process of investing:
1. Sethi explains that there is no better investment than one where you have a 100% return, so this is a no-brainer. This is also automatically done every pay cheque and therefore requires almost no input from you other than the initial set-up (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
2. Pay off your credit card debt. Once this is done, you will have more available money to invest. Take the time to devise an achievable plan to pay this off quickly.
3. Sethi recommends also opening up an individual retirement account or an investment fund. But, again, the aim is to contribute as much post-tax income as possible (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
4. If any money is left, put more into your savings account.
5. Once the four previous steps are completed, you’re left with money to play with. Either consider a non-retirement fund investment to invest your money to start a business.
Conscious spending
He explains that the one piece of advice he heard the most regularly was that all you need to do is create a budget. However, Sethi believes that this is easier said than done; nobody has the time or will to track every penny going in and out; for this reason, Sethi recommends conscious spending (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Conscious spending is easy enough to do. When money comes in, your priority will be looking after your savings and investment accounts. Once those have been replenished, you can consider all of the remaining cash yours to spend guilt-free (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
The best way to handle the remaining money is to decide where you want to spend your money ahead of time. Sethi explains that you should have a frugal approach (not a cheap approach). Frugality is preferred over being affordable with everything because you can save money on most of your purchases but have the freedom to spend more money in a few areas.
Consider your priorities; Sethi explains that if you want to go to the movies weekly as your splurge, consider buying something other than a $2.50 coke every lunchtime. Prioritize the film over the coke; it’s up to you to decide where you are willing to make sacrifices and where you want to splurge (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Week four top tips:
● When you get your next paycheck, try and minimize your spending and figure out where most of it goes (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
● Break up your income into fixed costs, long-term investments, saving goals, and guilt-free spending.
● Have a look at some of your fixed costs. Are you getting the best deal on insurance? Consider shopping around at these costs to see what you can minimize (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
● Determine what your conscious spending plan will look like. Where are you going to save, and where are you going to spend?
● Stick to your plan and update it every week. When you receive receipts, enter them into your plan to ensure you understand what’s happening.
● Sethi emphasizes the importance of ensuring your system is as straightforward and quick as possible; you need to be able to maintain this long-term (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Save
The next stage in Sethi’s plan is all about automating your systems for savings, investing, and spending. The aim is to have your income automatically filtered into the appropriate accounts without your intervention. Sethi explains that spending some time setting it up initially will save you plenty of time further down the track. It means that all your bills will get paid automatically, and you no longer have to worry about things like an overdraft (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
● Once a week/fortnight/month, you’ll receive your income.
● Your workplace should automatically deduct a portion of your saving.
● The remainder will go straight into your cheque account.
● Automate a portion of this to go to savings and investments.
● Have your credit card bill paid automatically via direct debit. (this covers all your fixed costs such as utilities, internet, etc.)
● Whatever is left can be considered guilt-free spending.
Week five top tips:
● You should aim to link all of your accounts. Sethi recommends ensuring you have all your login information in one place. Otherwise, you’ll waste time figuring various passwords and usernames out.
● Now spend time setting up your ‘automatic money flow.’ Once the accounts have all been linked, this should be simple. Set up individual automatic payments to each of your accounts (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Financial expertise myths
Sethi explains that most people are intimidated by the finance industry, financial advisers, and fund managers. However, he believes that the majority of people are completely capable of making their investments (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Sethi explains that you don’t need to pay people to invest. Fund managers aren’t magical, and they can’t foresee what the markets are going to do. Sethi points out that fund managers fail with 75% of investments. Mutual funds often have unnecessary fees paid out to the fund manager (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
“Index funds (similar to mutual funds, but managed by a computer which matches what the markets are doing) can provide better returns with much lower fees. So ignore the pundits’ predictions. Ignore the last year or two of a fund’s performance (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).”
Sethi believes that although fund managers may seem to perform well in the short term, they will never beat the market long-term. This is based on fees, expenses, and the mathematical probabilities that come into play when selecting stocks (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Is investing only for the rich? Everyone can invest, not only the rich. Sethi explains that having a straightforward and low-maintenance investment portfolio is possible. However, he emphasizes the importance of diversification in your investments. It would help if you considered diversifying by buying a few different stocks and having different assets, considered stocks and bonds (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Sethi explains that the time to take moderate risks when it comes to investing is when you are younger, you have more time and are more likely to be able to rebound from a considerable loss. Therefore, you want to be more conservative with your investments and take fewer risks as you age (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).
Where should you invest? – Sethi recommends index funds as an excellent first option. He explains that they are less expensive than mutual funds. However, the downside is that you need to invest in a few different funds to ensure that you are diversifying. This will involve more time and research on your behalf than a mutual fund would.
“Multiple funds mean you have to rebalance your funds regularly, usually every year, which is a laborious process of redistributing your money to different investments, so you get back to your target asset allocation (I Will Teach You To Be Rich).”
Another low-cost option is a lifecycle fund. Sethi explains that lifecycle funds consider your age and will automatically diversify your investments. He explains that lifecycle funds are really ‘funds-of-funds.’
“For example, a lifecycle fund might include large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, and international funds. (and those funds, in turn, will hold stocks from each of those areas.) In other words, your lifecycle fund will own many funds, which all own stocks and bonds.”
Week six top tips
● It’s essential to decide on your investing style before you get started. Remember that a lifecycle fund is simple and requires little input, but you have less control. Otherwise, index funds are a good option if you are confident in diversifying your portfolio.
● Spend time investigating your investments. Do plenty of research and understand what you are investing in.
● Once you’ve decided on investments, purchase your chosen funds.
● If you don’t have enough money to invest immediately, start dedicating some money to your investment account and set a savings goal. Once you reach your goal, you can make your purchases.
Where to from here?
Sethi explains that once your accounts are all in order and investments are under control; it’s easy to maintain your systems. Instead, he recommends returning to your conscious spending plan and trying to squeeze any extra money out that can be distributed between savings and investments. This is where your money is going to have the most value.
Sethi recommends that you log into your investment accounts only a few times a week, this only causes extra stress, and you’ve set up an automatic system for a reason. Instead, commit to checking once a month and wait for the money to grow.
” Be careful about selling out of your investments too soon. In your twenties and thirties, there are only three reasons to sell your investments: you need the money for an emergency, you made a terrible investment, and it’s consistently underperforming the market, or you’ve achieved your specific goal for investing.”
Key takeaways
● Learn how to use your credit card appropriately.
● Never miss bill payments; you never want to pay interest.
● Automate bill payments, so you don’t have to worry.
● Request no-fee accounts with your bank.
● Open a high-interest savings account and a standard cheque account.
● Ensure that you have one-and-a-half months of expenses in your cheque account and transfer any remaining money into your savings.
● Pay off all debt.
● Also, open up an individual retirement account or an investment fund.
● Decide on your investing style before you get started.
● Do plenty of research and understand what you are investing in.