{"id":237141,"date":"2019-05-14T03:19:55","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T10:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/?p=237141"},"modified":"2023-12-05T14:18:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T21:18:20","slug":"i-will-teach-you-to-be-rich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/i-will-teach-you-to-be-rich\/","title":{"rendered":"Book review: I Will Teach You to Be Rich (2019 Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I started Get Rich Slowly in 2006, I had no idea other money blogs existed. I’d been blogging about cats, computers, and comic books since 1997 — before blog was even a word!<\/a> — and I thought my new venture might be the first blog about personal finance.<\/p>\n I was wrong.<\/p>\n I learned quickly that there were already dozens (dozens!) of people blogging about money on the interwebs. For instance:<\/p>\n <\/a>All four of these folks built and grew successful sites because they produced quality content. But Ramit might be the most successful of all. Nowadays, he produces helpful courses on a variety of personal development subjects<\/a>. He hosts conferences. He wrote a best-selling book<\/a>. And he never sold his website.<\/p>\n Instead, I Will Teach You to Be Rich has evolved as he’s evolved. In recent years, Ramit has distanced himself from the world of personal finance. Nowadays, he’s focused on the many different ways his readers can build a Rich Life.<\/p>\n In fact, “how to live a Rich Life” is the core theme of the brand-new second edition of I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em><\/a>, the book. In 2009, Ramit wrote, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em> is about sensible, banking, budgeting, saving, and investing.” In the 2019 edition, that’s been changed to, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em> is about using money to design your Rich Life.” I think you’ll agree that this is a much more compelling theme.<\/p>\n If you’ve read my other book reviews, you’ll note that I sometimes shy away from giving an overall evaluation, opting instead to talk about some aspect of the book I liked (or didn’t). When this happens, it’s usually because I don’t think the book is that great.<\/p>\n I won’t be coy today. I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em> is one of the best personal finance books on the market. It’s great.<\/p>\n Let’s take a closer look at why I like it so much.<\/p>\n “Your goal probably isn’t to become a financial expert,” Ramit writes at the start of I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em>. “It’s to live your life and let your money serve you.” His book aims to show you how to make that happen.<\/p>\n To start, he urges readers to not get hung up on minutiae. He warns them not to give in to modern “victim culture”. Instead, he wants people to put the excuses aside and agree to take an active role in building their financial future.<\/p>\n Crafting that future starts by asking a simple question: Why do you want to be rich? “When you picture your ideal life,” he asks, “what are you doing in it?” Similarly, I ask new GRS readers to take the time to write a personal mission statement<\/a>. Ramit doesn’t go that far, but he does<\/em> urge his audience to do some self-reflection.<\/p>\n The bulk of the book is devoted to a “six-week action plan” designed to create a solid financial infrastructure.<\/p>\n This six-week action plan gives I Will Teach You to Be Rich<\/em> a clear, logical structure. Having written one print money manual and two ebooks, I know how difficult this can be. (Of my books, only the Money Boss Manifesto<\/em><\/a> has a structure I like.) Ramit gets this right, and it makes a huge difference.<\/p>\n The last few chapters cover miscellaneous subjects that couldn’t be shoe-horned into this six-week program. Ramit discusses pre-nups, for instance, using his own recent marriage as an example. He explores student loans, taxes, and financial independence.<\/p>\n Plus, he includes an excellent eight-page section on salary negotiation. This is something for which he has a $588 for-profit course<\/a>, yet he doesn’t ever mention that course in the book. I appreciate that.<\/p>\n For more about Ramit’s opinions of the early retirement movement, check out his appearance on the Mad Fientist podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
<\/span>Why Do You Want to Be Rich?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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