ebook img

I Will Teach You to Be Rich PDF

270 Pages·2009·2.85 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Additional Praise for Ramit Sethi and I Will Teach You to Be Rich “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 “The easiest way to get rich is to inherit. This is the second best way— knowledge and some discipline. If you’re bold enough to do the right thing, Ramit will show you how. Highly recommended.” —SETH GODIN, AUTHOR OF TRIBES “You’ve probably never bought a book on personal finance, but this one could be the best $13.95 you ever spent. It’ll pay for itself by the end of Chapter 1 (check out the box on page 24 to see what I mean).” — PENELOPE TRUNK, AUTHOR OF BRAZEN CAREERIST: THE NEW RULES FOR SUCCESS “Most students never learn the basics of money management and get caught up in the white noise and hype generated by the personal-finance media. Ramit’s like the guy you wish you knew in college who would sit down with you over a beer and fill you in on what you really need to know about money—no sales pitch, just good advice.” — CHRISTOPHER STEVENSON, CREDIT UNION EXECUTIVES SOCIETY “Smart, bold, and practical. I Will Teach You to Be Rich is packed with tips that actually work. This is a great guide to money management for twentysomethings —and everybody else.” — J.D. ROTH, EDITOR, GETRICHSLOWLY.ORG “Ramit demystifies complex concepts with wit and an expert understanding of finances. Not only is this book informative, it’s fun and includes fresh tips that will help anyone master their finances.” — GEORGE HOFHEIMER, CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER, FILENE RESEARCH INSTITUTE I WILL TEACH YOU TO BE RICH BY RAMIT SETHI For my parents, Prab and Neelam Sethi, who taught me that being rich is about more than money Copyright © 2009 by Ramit Sethi Design copyright © 2009 by Workman Publishing All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced— mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying—without written permission of the publisher. Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. ISBN 978-0-7611-4748-0 Cover illustrations by Peter Sucheski Interior illustrations by Nora Krug Author photo by Scott Jones Workman books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for premiums and sales promotions as well as for fund-raising or educational use. Special editions or book excerpts also can be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Director at the address below. Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 225 Varick Street New York, NY 10014-4381 www.workman.com Printed in the United States of America First printing February 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acknowledgments The process of writing this book repeatedly made me wish I were dead. But once I was done, I felt great, my posture improved, my eyesight got clearer, and the world seemed great. I imagine this is what giving birth feels like. I was fortunate to have a great team of people who helped me turn this book into its final form. Jeff Kuo is simply the finest researcher I’ve ever worked with. He was instrumental in helping bring this book together. I’m grateful to Chris Yeh, who’s not only a brilliant marketer but perhaps the most frugal man I have ever met. And to Ben Casnocha, a deep thinker who forced me to dig deeper into everything I wrote. Noah Kagan and Charlie Hoehn helped me spread the word about this book. Couldn’t have done it without them. Several friends helped immensely by reviewing drafts of this book, including Ben Abadi, Julie Nguyen, Vivek Sankaran, and Jen Tsang. The folks at Workman were amazing: Margot Herrera, my editor, was incredibly skilled at helping me organize my thoughts into a coherent book. Plus, she’s fun: In one of the first chapters, I wrote an over-the-top joke just to see how fast she’d cut it. She just said, “I think we should keep it. It’s pretty funny.” What more could I ask for? Cassie Murdoch, the perfect complement to Margot, is ultra-organized and constantly thinking two steps ahead. Many thanks to Peter Workman, who is brilliant and eccentric—exactly as rumored—and to all the people who helped tell the world about this book: Andrea Bussell, Kristin Matthews, David Schiller, Andrea Fleck, and Justin Nisbet. Kudos to Janet Parker, Beth Levy, Barbara Peragine, Doug Wolff, David Matt, and Nora Krug. Lisa DiMona has now worked with me on two books. You couldn’t ask for a better agent. Seth Godin, who took a chance on a college kid with a cocky attitude and a lot of ambition, got me started in publishing. BJ Fogg, my mentor and professor, first showed me that you can use psychology for pro-social uses, not just to get people to buy more stuff. To my family, Prab and Neelam Sethi, Nagina, Ibrahim, Rachi, Haj, and Maneesh—thanks for keeping me motivated for the last two years of writing. Finally, to my readers. I hope this book helps you on your way to being rich. Contents INTRODUCTION Would You Rather Be Sexy or Rich? Why do people get fat after college? The eerily similar guilt about spending and not working out • Counterintuitive but true: We need less personal-finance information • Common excuses for not managing money • Stop debating minutiae and get something done • The key messages of I Will Teach You to Be Rich • “Rich” isn’t just about money: What does it mean to you? CHAPTER 1 Optimize Your Credit Cards How to beat the credit card companies at their own game Why Indian people love negotiating • How credit can help you be rich • Picking the best credit card for airline miles, cash back, and rewards • Getting a card when you have no income • The six commandments of credit cards • How to negotiate with your credit card company to get fees waived and receive lower rates • Why you should always buy electronics, travel, and furniture on your credit card • What not to do with your cards • The burden of student loans • When credit cards go bad • Five steps to ridding yourself of debt • Week One: Action Steps CHAPTER 2 Beat the Banks Open high-interest, low-hassle accounts and negotiate fees like an Indian Why old people are afraid of online banks—even though they offer the best new accounts you can get • How banks rake it in • Why you really need a separate savings account • Opening high-interest, no-fee accounts • Five marketing tactics banks use to trick you • My personal favorite accounts • Negotiate out of fees with your current bank (use my script) • Week Two: Action Steps CHAPTER 3 Get Ready to Invest Open your 401(k) and Roth IRA—even with just $50 Why your friends probably haven’t invested a cent yet • Investing is the single best way to get rich • The ladder of personal finance • Everything you need to know about your 401(k) • The importance of crushing your debt • Why everyone should have a Roth IRA • Week Three: Action Steps CHAPTER 4 Conscious Spending How to save hundreds per month (and still buy what you love) Spend less—without making a detailed, irritating budget • The difference between cheap and frugal • Conscious spending: how my friend spends $21,000 per year going out—guilt-free • Using psychology against yourself to save • The four buckets: fixed costs, savings, investments, and guilt-free spending money • The envelope system for not overspending • How to make more money • Handling unexpected expenses • Week Four: Action Steps CHAPTER 5 Save While Sleeping Making your accounts work together—automatically The power of defaults: Give yourself fewer choices • How to spend only three hours a month managing your money • Where does your next $100 go? • Setting up a bill-pay and transfer system that works for you • Consultants and freelancers: What about irregular income? • Week Five: Action Steps CHAPTER 6 The Myth of Financial Expertise Why professional wine tasters and stock pickers are clueless—and how you can beat them We’ve been tricked by “expertise”—why financial “experts” can’t even match the market • You can’t time the market • How experts hide their poor performance • You don’t need a financial adviser • Pundits worth reading • Most mutual fund managers fail to beat the market • Why I love index funds CHAPTER 7 Investing Isn’t Only for Rich People Spend the afternoon picking a simple portfolio that will make you rich What’s your investor profile? • The beauty of automatic investing • Asset allocation: more important than the “best stock of the year!” • Convenience or control? You choose • The many flavors of stocks and bonds • Creating your own portfolio: How to handpick your investments • Investing the easy way: lifecycle funds • Feeding your 401(k) and Roth IRA • The Swensen model of asset allocation • Week Six: Action Steps CHAPTER 8 Easy Maintenance You’ve done the hard work: Here’s how to maintain (and optimize) your financial infrastructure Feed your system—the more you put in, the more you’ll get out • Ignore the noise • The tricky part of managing your own portfolio: rebalancing your investments • Don’t let fear of taxes guide your investment decisions • When to sell • For high achievers: a ten-year plan • Giving back—an important part of being rich CHAPTER 9 A Rich Life The finances of relationships, weddings, buying a car, and your first house Student loans—Pay them down or invest? • Don’t let your parents manage your money • Role reversal: How to help when it’s your parents who are in debt • The

Description:
I Will Teach You To Be Rich PDF is a popular Self Help Book written by Ramit Sethi. It was originally published on January 1, 2009. The book follows the genre of Finance, Non Fiction, Personal Finance, Business,
See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.