According to bestselling author, podcast host, and Netflix star Ramit Sethi, changing economic times call for changing financial habits.
According to Sethi, Baby Boomers may have benefitted from decades of company-sponsored 401(k) plans, affordable housing, and low interest rates, but in today’s era of shrinking pensions, nonexistent housing, and inflation, the financial headwinds felt by Millennials and Gen Zers feel nearly insurmountable.
Not surprisingly, Sethi explains his wealth-building principles through digital platforms. With more than a million combined followers on X, YouTube, and Instagram, Sethi also hosts the Spotify podcasts Money for Couples and I Will Teach You to Be Rich, which is based on his bestselling 2009 book of the same title. In 2023, he starred in the Netflix series How to Get Rich.
Curiously enough, Sethi never intended to make personal finance his career. At Stanford University, he studied science and psychology, but he openly revealed how he lost half of his first scholarship check by making speculative investments. “I didn’t realize investing is much more than just picking whatever company you think is cool and then putting a bunch of money in it,” he told TheStreet back in 2009.
Understanding that he had much to learn about finance, Sethi studied extensively, then developed his own long-term wealth-building system that transformed him into a millionaire in his 20s. Now, his goal is to help others live their own definition of a “Rich Life”—a life they love and find fulfilling.
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Ramit Sethi’s 5 best personal finance tips
Sethi’s advice stands apart from other financial gurus: Unlike Dave Ramsey, he thinks it’s “outdated” to strive to pay cash for a house. And contrary to Mark Cuban, who eschews credit cards entirely, Sethi believes that using credit responsibly can be your friend.
Sethi’s strategy is less about frugality than it is about disciplined investing and maximizing earnings. It mixes psychology with setting small but achievable goals that make it seem easy to start building wealth—even in the year 2026.
Here are his five best financial tips:
1. Automate your finances
One of Sethi’s cornerstone principles is to make automation your friend. His website uses the example of a survey of companies that made employees opt out instead of opt in to contributing to their 401(k) accounts, which meant that employees automatically participated, rather than deciding to do so on their own. “Doing so raised contribution rates from less than 40% to nearly 100%,” he revealed.
Sethi suggests sending money from your paycheck directly into your savings, your investments, and your bills whenever possible to avoid the constant decision-making that too often creates inaction.
By investing at regular intervals, individuals open themselves up to the miracle of compounding, which accelerates wealth building over time.
“The beauty of this system is that it works without your involvement… You’re accumulating money by default,” he says.
2. Spend ‘consciously’
After saving and investing each month, Sethi encourages people to use the rest of their money “guilt-free however they want.”
His principle of conscious spending flies in the face of traditional penny pinching. He reframes the guilt-based psychological approach to money and focuses instead on the bigger-picture items. “Buy all the lattes you want,” Sethi says on his website, “A $5 coffee is not going to change your life. But learning how to automatically invest, how to select the right asset allocation, and how to negotiate a $15,000 raise will.”
In fact, in the pages of his book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit even includes a script on exactly what to say when negotiating that raise.
3. Design a ‘Rich Life’
Sethi popularizes the concept of “$30,000 decisions” versus “$3 decisions.”
$30,000 decisions are big, impactful decisions, such as changing careers, making investments, or building savings, while $3 decisions are those trivial impulse purchases you could do without.
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You can spend extravagantly on the things you love as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t, Rami told Nerdwallet. He suggests directing 50%–60% of your take-home pay to your bills and other fixed costs, then allocating 5%–10% to savings, another 5%–10% for investments, and enjoying 20%–35% for “pure, guilt-free spending.”
Sethi says he has saved hundreds of dollars a month simply by avoiding going out to restaurants and bars.
“Most financial advice is condescending and filled with shame,” he adds, “Mine is built on freedom, clarity, and action.”
4. Simplify your investing strategy
Simplifying your investments is one of Sethi’s biggest takeaways. People don’t need to chase trends or day trade to build lasting wealth, he believes. Rather, they should practice “boring” disciplined investing through low-cost, diversified index funds that enjoy steady, long-term gains.
He also emphasizes the importance of being fully invested at all times.
“If you resign yourself to fear and just pull your money out [of the market], all you’re doing is locking in your losses and becoming a follower, ” he told TheStreet.
5. Do the math before you buy real estate
Sethi challenges the traditional assumption that all real estate investments are smart purchases. He doesn’t believe that renting is “throwing money away,” either. In a blog post, he debunks the age-old belief by citing propaganda the government and powerful real estate lobbyists have ingrained in people’s heads—even going so far as to offer “tax incentives” to buy a home, which often serve political goals and mask hidden costs.
“In reality, real estate is not always the best investment. It comes with significant phantom expenses. And there are often better investments, such as a simple low-cost index fund,” he says.
In fact, Sethi himself chooses to rent rather than buy a property in his current hometown, New York City.
Ramit Sethi’s net worth in 2026
According to Fortune, Sethi had an estimated net worth of $25 million in 2023. As his popularity has grown in the past three years, it’s safe to assume that number is now higher.
His wealth stems from the sales of his book, which remained on the New York Times Bestseller list ten years after its publication, as well as his media presence, including his Netflix series, How to Get Rich, content monetization from his podcasts, and his financial coaching programs, courses, and speaking engagements.
Ramit Sethi’s personal life
Ramit Sethi was born on June 30, 1982, in California (he has not specifically mentioned where). His parents are Indian immigrants, and he considers his upbringing to be “very middle class.”
In 2018, Sethi married Cassandra Campa, a fashion entrepreneur and founder of Next Level Wardrobe. The couple met at a friend’s barbecue in New York and tied the knot in Lake Tahoe. They do not have any children.
