In the fast-paced world of personal finance, the Ramit Sethi Netflix show is the new kid on the block. And it’s been generating buzz and winning fans for its unique approach to building wealth. “How to Get Rich” is not your typical financial advice series. Hosted by finance guru Ramit Sethi, the show dives deep into the lives of everyday people grappling with everyday money challenges.
But can a TV show truly teach you how to achieve financial success? In the case of “How to Get Rich“, the answer is yes.
Let’s take a look at the three best strategies from the show.
Ramit Sethi: The Modern-Day Finance Guru
At first glance, Ramit Sethi might seem like just another “finance expert”. But he brings a fresh perspective to the proceedings and he is not a meat-and-potatoes money guy (boring). He was into the “Psychology of Money” before it became a mainstream thing. And his book, “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” was published in 2009, and laid the groundwork for his innovative approach.
Sethi’s background in psychology, combined with his personal finance expertise, makes him a unique beast. He focuses on helping everyday people design and live their “Rich Lives”. He is a financial contrarian, and provides unpopular advice like “don’t buy a house”. And he is a big fan of financial optimization, automation, and education.
Through his Netflix show, Sethi has taken his “Rich Life” mainstream. The show is fresh, engaging, and fun, making it accessible to anyone, regardless of their financial background. There is a lot to learn and enjoy within How to Get Rich. So let’s take a look at why the show actually CAN show you how to get rich. For reals. Here we go.
1. The Power of a Rich Life Mindset
Sethi helps everyday people live their rich lives. But what is a rich life? It doesn’t mean having cash to burn or pimping your ride. You don’t actually need to be rich to live a rich life. Sethi introduces the concept of a “Rich Life” as a mindset where money is a tool to bring happiness and meaning to your life. This approach dismantles the belief that frugal living and penny-pinching are the only paths to financial success.
A key takeaway from the show is that living a rich life is achievable regardless of one’s financial status. By prioritizing what truly matters and allocating resources to what is important, anyone can design and live their version of a rich life. And Sethi does just that, as he helps a diverse cast of people, all in different stages of life with different money issues and dreams for the future. One by One, Sethi helps these people design their rich lives with a plan to achieve those goals. And it’s fantastic to watch.
Rich Life Mindset: Key Takeaway
The show’s central message is clear: define your own rich life, establish a money system to support it, and work towards your vision. Whether it’s starting a business, indulging in daily pleasures, or creating memorable experiences, a rich life is within reach. And best of all, it is achievable.
2. Financial Strategy: Automate and Spend Guilt-Free
Budgets are never fun and don’t work. Sethi is all about ditching the spreadsheet and never tracking every dollar that is spent. One of Sethi’s greatest strategies is his “Conscious Spending” plan. Unlike traditional budgeting, this approach focuses on automating finances and allocating funds to four categories.
| Fixed costs (rent and bills) | 50-60% of take-home pay |
| Important investments (401k, Roth IRA, emergency fund) | 10% |
| Savings goals (home down payment, vacation fund) | 5-10% |
| Guilt-free spending (dining out, movies, happy hour drinks) | 20-35% |
Percentages are allocated to these categories based on income and Rich Life plan.
Sethi automates everything so he doesn’t have to worry about transferring money around manually. And his Conscious Spending system means that he doesn’t have to log in daily and obsess about his spending. No more micromanaging money and living inside a spreadsheet. He sets his money to auto-pilot and lives within his system.
But that system does require some budget restraint. And many of the people on the show get a Dr. Phil reality check when they analyze their monthly spending. And that reality can be confronting because those lifelong Amazon delivery habits can be hard to break. Spenders want to spend and are doomed… right?
Well, no. Because Sethi’s Conscious Spending plan has Guilt-free spending in it. So there is some room in your budget to buy cool stuff. Or even having money to go out for drinks every week. If it is important and is part of your rich life and in your budget, you can spend guilt-free.
Automate and Spend Guilt Free: Key Takeaway
The takeaway here is to set your plan on autopilot and automate your finances. Forget the spreadsheet but make sure your spending is conscious and within your budget. By automating your finances and spending consciously, you can build financial stability while enjoying a balanced, enjoyable life.
How to Get Rich isn’t just a show about money, it’s a show about people and their relationship with money and each other. Sethi guides the couples through a process of understanding each other’s financial perspectives, co-creating a vision for their rich life, and developing a plan to achieve it.
The biggest moment in the show came in the last episode. When Millie and Christian shared their plan to retire Christian’s mother so she didn’t have to work anymore. The emotion of that decision, their happiness, and visually, how their relationship grew stronger, really drove home the Rich Life narrative.
Finance books always tell you that having the right partner, or aligning with your partner is important. But they never showed you why that is important, No book could ever capture the emotion that comes with finances and the dreams of everyday people. That final episode brought it all home. And the profound impact of designing a rich life and its impacts all clicked in those moments on the show.
Achieving Financial Independence Together: Key Takeaway
The takeaway here is that financial independence is a team sport. And true success is achieved when partners work together, towards a shared vision of their rich life. With complete transparency and honesty, the highs and lows of achieving a Rich Life together will only bring you closer together.
The Ramit Sethi Netflix Show showcases the “Conscious Spending plan”. The categories of spending are similar to the Barefoot Investor Bucket Strategy. Both are worth considering, for your financial plans.
Conclusion: A Path to Riches Beyond Numbers
The Ramit Sethi Netflix Show “How to Get Rich” is a great introduction to Sethi and his Rich Life strategies. It is not a typical finance show. And it’s not about numbers in a bank account or living in a spreadsheet. It promotes a new mindset that prioritizes happiness, meaningful spending, and shared dreams. It reimagines wealth and Sethi provides practical advice, with psychological insights that make personal finance accessible to everyone.
Through the show, viewers learn they don’t need to be wealthy to lead a rich life. By automating finances, spending consciously, and aligning with their partners, they can create a path to financial success. And that elusive “Rich Life” is achievable and we have witnessed various levels of success over the course of 8 episodes of the series.
On a personal note, after that final episode, I became a huge fan of Ramit Sethi and his Rich Life strategies. I have since read I will teach you to be rich, with the intention of designing my own Rich Life. And I have signed up for his emails, and I listen to his podcasts. His focus on couples and their relationships with money and each other is a big part of it. And I continue to learn from his interactions with the couples and their finances.
So did How to Get Rich, get me rich? Well, my bank account hasn’t seen the impact yet, but my mindset has as I design my own Rich Life. Ramit Sethi and everything he does is fantastic and I encourage everyone to watch this show and learn how to design and live a rich life.
M. Moneyman
