I Will Teach You To Be Rich (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: credit utilization rate, lifecycle funds, online savings account, Conscious Spending Plan, Automatic Money Flow, Percent Solution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

At last, for a generation that's materially ambitious yet financially clueless comes I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi's 6-week personal finance program for 20-to-35-year-olds. A completely practical approach delivered with a nonjudgmental style that makes readers want to do what Sethi says, it is based around the four pillars of personal finance— banking, saving, budgeting, and investing—and the wealth-building ideas of personal entrepreneurship.

Sethi covers how to save time by not wasting it managing money; the guns and cars myth of credit cards; how to negotiate like an Indian—the conversation begins with "no"; why "Budgeting Doesn't Have to Suck!"; how to get things rolling—for real—with only $20; what most people don't understand about taxes; how to get a CEO to take you out to lunch; how to avoid the Super Mario Brothers trap by making your savings work harder than you do; the difference between cheap and frugal; the hidden relationship between money and food. Not to mention his first key lesson: Getting started is more important than being the smartest person in the room. Integrated with his website, where readers can use interactive charts, follow up on the latest information, and join the community, it is a hip blueprint to building wealth and financial security.

Every month, 175,000 unique visitors come to Ramit Sethi's website, Iwillteachyoutoberich.com, to discover the path to financial freedom. They praise him thoughtfully ("Your site summarizes everything I want with my life—to be rich in finances, rich in experience, rich in family blessings," Dan Esparza) and effusively ("Dude, you rock. I love this site!" Richard Wu). The press has caught on, too: "Ramit Sethi is a rising star in the world of personal finance writing . . . one singularly attuned to the sensibilities of his generation. his style is part frat boy and part silicon Valley geek, with a little bit of San Francisco hipster thrown in" (San Francisco Chronicle). His writing is smart, his voice is full of attitude, and his ideas are uncommonly sound and refreshingly hype-free.

From the Back Cover

You don't have to be perfect to be rich. Or the smartest person in the room. Or a type-A personality. In fact, with Ramit Sethi's six-week program to financial independence, you can start with any amount of money, do just 85 percent of what he suggests, and succeed brilliantly through good times and bad.

As irreverent and entertaining as he is practical and wise, Sethi explains how to beat banks and credit cards at the fee game, automate your cash flow, negotiate for a raise, manage student loans, and enjoy your lattes and Manolo Blahniks by practicing conscious spending. It's how to master your money with the least amount of effort—and then get on with your life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 1 edition (March 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761147489
• ISBN-13: 978-0761147480
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,345 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your parents' money management book, March 23, 2009

By	Susan Roberts - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, here's what this book is not: It's not your parents' money management and investing book, although as a parent I wish I had done in my twenties what Ramit Sethi tells the twenty-somethings they should be doing right now.

Ramit starts with the premise that most people are so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of financial information available that they just shut down and do nothing. So Ramit tells you exactly what to do with your money and why. Want to know whether it's smarter to pay extra on your student loans or put that money into your 401(k) instead? Ramit will tell you. Want to know some specific financial companies that offer the low-cost index funds you should invest in through your Roth IRA? Ramit will tell you. Do you not even know what the heck an index fund is? Ramit will tell you!

Ramit also tells the truth about brown bagging your lunch and curbing your latte habit; and the truth is that these actions on their own are virtually pointless. Instead, you should go after the big wins, like getting the lowest interest rate and the best price on your next car because you have impeccable credit and negotiated "like an Indian" (negotiation scripts included).

Ramit maps out exactly how to get from where you are now to where you want to be financially, including how to create a personal money management system that practically manages itself. Ramit's system starts with a no-fee checking account and an online high-interest savings account. (He even tells you which online bank he uses.) He then walks you through setting up automatic bill payments and regularly scheduled transfers to your investment accounts. Throughout, he includes easy-to-understand charts, as well as short pieces by other personal finance bloggers.

I wish I could quote some of the passages that I found especially useful or entertaining--Ramit writes with an appealing, if oddball, humor--but I have already mailed my copy of the book to my 24-year-old son, who called me last night to tell me it never would've occurred to him to ask his bank to waive an overdraft fee. (That gem is in chapter 2, I think.)

Thank you, Ramit! I hope this enthusiastic review by an "old person" will not stop the young people from buying your book!

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Taught To Be Rich., March 22, 2009

By	M. Oleary (Puget Sound, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Length:: 3:09 Mins

Ramit is part of the new round of financial savants. It is one thing to know about finance, another to be able to write about it, and another entirely to write about it in a way to motivate the younger crowd. Ramit hits the tri-fecta here.

I'm good with my money and pretty knowledgeable but am the kind of person who needs a nudge now and again. Ramit gave me that nudge (and some great tips to boot) with this book. I'm barely through chapter two and already have a savings/profit of about $860 (as I explain in the video...)

Get this book for yourself, and with the money you save, buy another copy for a teenager or college student you know and care about.

84 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new here, very disappointing, April 13, 2009

By	C. Thompson (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I kept reading each chapter hoping to find something new or worthwhile, but it didnt come. A better title would have been "I will teach you not to be poor"

Ramit seems to be restating all the general personal finance advice that you can get by watching/reading mainstream media. He packages this info in "hip" language so its targeted to those in their 20s. There is so much waffle and padding around the content, which when stripped back, has no originality.

Are you rich Ramit? How do you propose to teach us to be rich when you don't even understand the way that the banking system multiplies money. His idea of rich seems to be retiring at the usual age and living off a frugal income - which, eroded by inflation, will probably be half the average wage.

In light of the current economic crisis, it is appalling that he is publishing such awful generic advice. It is just not possible to get rich and be lazy, and not learn anything about sophisticated investment strategies.

The usefulness of the book was in the idea of automation and budgeting, which has some merit, and will save you money.

This book would be useful for people with no clue about money, but if you've ever read a book about investing, you can skip this.

If you can wait until you are 65 to retire on a below average income, then this book is for you. If you want to get wealthy, read something else!