I’m Ramit Sethi

No get rich quick schemes, no shady tips and tricks. Just tried and true methods to spend guilt-free while building real wealth.

I started this journey in 2004 while studying technology and psychology at Stanford. Coming from a middle-class family, the only way I could afford college was to pay my own way. I built a system to apply to more than 60 scholarships — and it worked. I eventually earned enough to cover my undergrad and grad school. When I got my first scholarship check, though, I invested it in the stock market. I immediately lost half my money.

Losing that money was a wake-up call. I decided to learn how money really works. What I found was that most money advice out there is irrelevant. I refused to accept that financial stability meant restriction, caution, and confusion. Money is about psychology. Once you’re in the right mindset, the rest falls into place.

From the very beginning, I’ve called out financial experts that scold us for buying lattes or avocado toast. Why does typical money advice focus on restriction?

But after teaching millions of students, I’ve found that systems, rules, and tactics aren’t what hold people back. It’s their money psychology. Everyone’s money psychology is made up of invisible scripts. These are the beliefs that form someone’s entire outlook on money. Beliefs that shape our everyday actions and we don’t even notice them.

Don’t buy lattes. Don’t go on vacations. Don’t get new jeans. Just eat asparagus and hoard your money and maybe you can use it when you turn 80. Here’s a radical thought: What if you used your money to say “yes”?

To help break people from their invisible scripts, I’ve developed my Rich Life Rules over the last 20 years.From the very beginning, I’ve called out financial experts that scold us for buying lattes or avocado toast. Why does typical money advice focus on restriction?