From Skeptic to “Ah hah!”: A Review of The Show ‘How To Get Rich’ with Ramit Sethi

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I have to admit, I was skeptical about Ramit Sethi’s main message when I first heard him speak at FinCon in 2019. A copy of his book I Will Teach You To Be Rich was on the seat of my conference chair, and I moved it so I could sit down. There was no denying he was a good speaker as he explained his finance philosophy:

Rich Life means you can spend extravagantly on the things you love as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.

Ramit Sethi

“Wow,” I thought, “No one’s ever thought that before. Cut back in some places and spend more in others? Mind blown.” I was being unfairly sarcastic, but it really didn’t seem like anything new. Then, Sethi had us all consider what “money dials” we would turn up in our rich life. What would we say YES to, so we could get excited about the future of our finances? I turned to my partner and we both said something vague about travel.

I Don’t Want To Live A Rich Life, I Want To Live A Free Life

The problem with Ramit’s tagline for me was that people already spend extravagantly on the things they love. They convince themselves that they love everything, and find it extremely hard to cut costs anywhere. Without that step, all that ends up happening is people justify frittering every paycheck away because they are trying to live a Rich Life. They love travel, they love convenience, they love good schools and fitness and frequent Amazon purchases.

Everyone is already trying to live a ‘rich’ life, when my wish is to see people live their free lives.

After his talk, a line of people grew to meet Ramit outside of the conference room. I had heard of him, seen his face larger-than-life on his website, but I thought: he’s just a regular guy, why is everyone waiting in a long line just to meet him? I soon became a hypocrite and joined the line when it was shorter. I introduced myself, knowing it would be lost in the sea of other names and blogs bombarded at him that day. He signed my book and I considered leaving it behind for someone more enthusiastic, but it’s hard to part with a free finance book as a frugal finance nerd, so I kept it instead.

I did eventually read the book, giving it a chance even though I thought the title was a bit overboard. I don’t need you to teach me, Ramit, I’m doing just fine. Besides, my “Rich Life” is retiring early, and to do that I don’t want to spend like crazy on stuff I enjoy. The point is to spend as little as possible and then later I can work as little as possible. That’s the philosophy I jive with.

A Change Of Heart For “I Will Teach You To Be Rich”

However, with his recent podcast and new Netflix special How To Get Rich, Sethi completely blew me away. It helped me understand what he really meant by a “Rich Life.” I started listening to his podcast just a few weeks ago, where he interviews couples who are struggling to reach their financial goals. He’s like a financial version of Esther Perel, who digs into each person’s past and helps them see how their childhood scripts inform how they act as adults.

I’m a big fan of Perel’s Where Should We Begin, and it didn’t take long for me to get sucked into Ramit’s one-time financial coaching sessions on air. What I love about both of the shows is that they aren’t vague: there are real people with real problems. In Ramit’s case, there are real financial numbers. You find out each persons’ income, spending habits, financial goals, and individual struggles. Soon after I found his podcast, Sethi announced he would have a Netflix special coming out soon.

I signed up for his newsletter, curious about what he might share about what it took to get a Netflix show. He did not disappoint. In the emails, he detailed how the offer came through, how he prepared for the show, his workout regime, and even how he styled each outfit for each scene. Everything I’ve always wondered! I really appreciated the behind-the-scenes perspective Ramit gave, and it made me appreciate all the work that goes into making a TV show.

When I sat down to watch his show, I recognized his approach immediately. Here we go with the “Rich Life” stuff again.

Is It YOUR Rich Life, Or Someone Else’s?

However, I noticed that in the podcast and in the show, Ramit would dig deeper. In one of my favorite vignettes in the show, one young woman says her rich life is to go on vacations with friends, not worry about bills, and own a house. But when Ramit goes deeper, it turns out that owning a house is more about making her seem successful to others. Ramit shows her how owning a house— with the accompanying HOA fees, maintenance costs, and unforeseen repairs down the line— meant she was spending more than she made. Owning a house was actually preventing her from her other goals of living a rich life.

A rich life might bring to mind limos, lavish parties, and jumping off yachts, but that’s not necessarily your rich life. Owning a house might be what you consider something a ‘successful adult’ does, but what is someone else’s rich life might not match your vision. Each person has to go a little deeper than other peoples’ expectations of a Rich Life.

Dream Bigger, Get Richer

In another example, one couple on the podcast said their rich life was giving their kids whatever they wanted. To do this, they nearly bankrupted themselves: $400,000 in debt and $50 in savings. But on the outside, they were living a “Rich Life”: huge birthday parties for their kids and a house “to grow old in.” By the end of the episode, Ramit had guided them to a different flavor of rich life: long term financial stability and modelling good money habits for their children. With that type of Rich Life in mind, earning more, saving more, and investing for the future suddenly makes more sense than when the goal was simply, “Give my kids what I didn’t have materially growing up.”

It made me realize that what first comes to mind as your rich life might be distracting from your true long term vision of a rich life. In that conference room, I was thinking too small. Taking the time to envision your dream life— and dreaming BIG— makes “cutting costs mercilessly” completely worth it. In this way, people can decide whether they truly love travel, convenience, good schools and fitness and frequent Amazon purchases. Some of these things might actually be part of their Rich Life, but likely only a couple of these categories will align with that big dream.

Does Your Rich Life Spark Financial Joy?

Now folks have a way to frame their money management in a positive way. Frugality can turn people off, because it can feel like you’re cutting out things you love, and for what? So a hundred-million-or-so-it-feels-days away you can finally be “rich”? What about now? Ramit’s approach lets you dream in the now for a bit, allowing for spending on what truly brings you happiness. If it doesn’t, make like financial Marie Kondo and declutter the spending categories that don’t spark joy.

In the end, I really appreciate Ramit taking finance to the public sphere, helping couples and singles figure out what a Rich Life looks like to them and educating viewers in the process. Real people sharing real stories is one of the best ways to learn. I highly recommend checking out both the podcast and the show.

What Do You Think?

Have you listened to the podcast or seen the show? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Have you ever felt conflicted between pursuing financial success and pursuing your passions and interests? How do you balance these two aspects of your life to create a fulfilling “Rich Life”?

What steps have you taken to live your “Rich Life”?

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Sojones
Sojones
10 months ago

Wow, I have had such a similar journey with my opinion of Ramit. I used to be very skeptical but thoroughly enjoyed watching his Netflix series and have recommended it to multiple people. I think it’s very engaging, which can be hard to do when talking about finances.
Thank you for your write-up, I love you’re writing as always! 🙂

Claire
Claire
10 months ago

I’m still sceptical of him. From what you’ve said and the reading I’ve done on his website, he seems to have the right idea and to actually want to help people. I can’t fault that. I think my reticence towards him is that his brand seems built around him as a personality and to reflect well on him. He’s a businessman at the end of the day, and everything he does is to earn him money and success. It’s not “You can be rich, here’s how”, it’s “*I* will teach you to be rich.” Perhaps that’s what it takes to build a brand, but what he’s saying isn’t anything new. If the packaging speaks to others and works for them, cool, but it doesn’t for me.

Allyson
Allyson
10 months ago

Similar to you, I was skeptical of Ramit based on what I saw and heard. It was hard to know if he was a ‘finance bro’ marketing to just make money for himself or something more. I picked up his book used a few years ago, but I haven’t read it. I don’t have Netflix so haven’t watched the show BUT I did start listening to the podcast earlier this year and appreciate the ‘case study’ approach.

I got his meaning on ‘living your rich life’ and, for the most part, I think he is doing some good for the individuals and maybe promoting a different way of looking at money management for the broader populace. For those of us already in the personal finance world for a while, I agree with you that it’s nothing new, just maybe a new way to talk about it. He is also marketing his other finance products, etc. on the podcast or as commercials – but not heavily to the participants unless it makes sense.

I listened to a lot of his podcast episodes and realized it was my guilty pleasure – my ‘reality show’ if you will. (And I normally don’t watch reality shows!) I will probably continue to listen to the podcast and treat it as my guilty pleasure to motivate me to do my chores. 🙂