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Money mastery isn’t always taught in school. In fact, only 11 U.S. states guaranteed students access to a personal finance course in high school before 2021, according to Next Gen Personal Finance — meaning, if you’re an adult in the U.S., there’s a good chance you were never taught how to manage your money.
But Ramit Sethi’s goal in life is to bridge that knowledge gap.
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“Many people drift through their 20s and 30s hoping money just figures itself out,” Sethi said in a video posted to his Youtube channel in June.
With his website, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, he created an empire built around clear, no-nonsense financial advice that anyone can put into practice today.
If you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s or beyond, his 9 money milestones are worth considering.
His first milestone is clearing all high-interest, meaning over 6%, debt.
“You cannot build a rich life while dragging credit card debt behind you — and you will be shocked at how fast your money grows once this anchor is gone,” Sethi says.
Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt, according to Sethi. It creates compound interest in reverse, counteracting any of the benefits you would otherwise receive from investing. Clearing this debt before doing anything else with your cash should be your number one priority.
The fastest path to understanding your debt is by creating a budget that tracks it all — credit card debt, student loans, mortgage, personal loans — alongside the APR, or the interest rate charged on your debt.
Monarch Money can act as your personal finance concierge, connecting with over 11,200 financial institutions. This means you can have a top-down view of your bank accounts and investment portfolios.
This can help you get a handle on your financial situation faster — then it’s time to pay down your debt strategically.
The two most common types of debt payment strategies are the avalanche and snowball methods. The avalanche technique starts with your largest, or highest interest, debt to create cascading relief once it’s settled. The snowball method aims to knock off smaller debts first and build momentum over time.
After your debts are under control you can use Monarch Money to start actively planning and tracking your financial goals. Want to build an emergency fund, save for a vacation or make a down payment on a home? Monarch Money can help you set these goals and track your progress.
Another, more difficult, option is to consider if any of your assets can be sold off to pay down your debt. This is something of a last resort, but if you’re drowning in debt identifying what you can cut could be an important step towards regaining your financial freedom.
After your debt is cleared, the next milestone is creating an emergency fund.
While many money influencers suggest three to six months so you can invest more of your money faster, Sethi believes six to 12 provides true psychological security. Building this extra layer of protection takes time, but is often worth the effort.
“Your goal is to build six to 12 months of core expenses in an emergency fund,” Sethi notes. “That includes rent or mortgage payments, transportation, groceries — and put that money in a boring high-yield savings account.”
His next milestone is all about ensuring you are investing regularly, without lifting a finger.
Automating your finances means you don’t have to do anything to invest — it happens automatically. This requires setting up automatic contributions with your banking and investing accounts, so a percentage of the money you earn is automatically invested every time your paycheck hits your account.
“The secret to getting rich is not about stock picks, it’s not about crypto, it’s definitely not day trading … it’s boring, automated, consistent investing,” according to Sethi.
He recommends investing at least 10% of your income into your 401k and/or Roth IRA every time you are paid.
He also suggests increasing that auto-investment by 1% every year to supercharge your investment plan — meaning if you invest 7% of your pay this year, next year you would revisit your automatic investment plan and set it to 8%. The year after would be 9%, and so on.
The best part? You don’t need a lot of money to start saving for your long-term financial goals.
Sethi notes that your income is your most powerful wealth building tool. Your career is where you earn money, and the more money you earn, the more you can invest.
“The majority of millionaires in America made it from having a nice stable salary and then investing their money in low cost investments,” he says. “They didn’t win an insurance settlement. They didn’t pick a lottery ticket.
“They literally had a nine-to-five job and they took part of that money and invested. That’s why it makes a lot of sense for you to pay attention to your career and build the skill of increasing your income.”
Sethi’s next milestone is all about finding and understanding the bank account balance you need to retire and achieve all the financial goals you want in life.
“What number in the bank is enough for you? Is it a million dollars in savings? Two million, five million? Okay, but why?” Sethi asks.
“Why do you want that number? Truly rich people know their number and they know their why.”
Ask yourself what number will make you feel like you have enough to retire comfortably, retire early or go on that dream sabbatical. Knowing how much you need and why is the backbone of any strong financial plan.
“If you don’t know what that money is for, then you are simply wasting your life chasing a number,” Sethi continues.
If you’re unsure of what that number should be, a financial advisor can help you get a better picture of your goals. You can quickly find the right financial advisor for you through Advisor, by answering a few questions.
If you are married, or considering marriage, this is crucial advice.
Sethi notes that there should never be one person in the relationship who controls all the fiances — as that can be a breeding ground for resentment. A shared dashboard means you actively look at your money together, share financial goals and make long-term plans together.
His advice isn’t just about emotions. It’s also practical.
“If you happen to get hit by a bus one day, you’re going to leave your grieving family not even sure where the money is.”
If one partner holds access to all the accounts, and that person is suddenly gone, this creates extra chaos for the partner left behind.
With this in mind, Monarch Money also offers tools for couples to track your combined finances across multiple accounts. This can help you and your partner create a shared dashboard to manage your full financial picture.
What don’t you care about? Cut it out ruthlessly.
“This checkpoint is about clarity. It’s about knowing what doesn’t matter to you,” Sethi notes. “Here’s what you need to do: Write down three things you don’t care about spending money on, then write three things you want to spend money on unapologetically.”
This means actively looking at what you spend money on by tracking spending for a few months. Make sure your spending is aligned with the things you actually care about.
“Once you know what is not part of your rich life, then you can cut those things without guilt, and you can actually redirect that money to the things you love,” Sethi says.
Tracking your spending could show that you’re actually spending $120 a month on subscription services you haven’t used in years, allowing you to make cuts and put your money toward something more meaningful.
While you’re tightening up your finances, it might be a good idea to look at other monthly expenses like insurance. A big part of this is shopping around for the best rates, but this can take a lot of time and energy.
One option is to use OfficialCarInsurance.com to do the hard work for you. The platform lets you compare reputable providers like Geico and Progressive in minutes with offers as low as $29/month.
For homeowners, you could instead look at OfficialHomeInsurance.com to see if they beat the rates you’re currently paying. On average, you can save $482 per year using side-by-side comparisons of providers in your area. From here, you could put the money you’ll save each month toward investments instead.
Keep in mind that, in most cases, you don’t need to wait until your policy is up for renewal to make a switch.
Sethi’s next milestone is all about simplicity.
It is easy to get caught up in financial optimization to the detriment of enjoying your life.
An all-consuming obsession with getting the best deal possible, or carrying around a wallet full of credit cards that need a spreadsheet to keep track of the best cash back rates for each spending category, is not how you create a healthy relationship with money.
“Do you really want to spend the rest of your life optimizing a spreadsheet of cash back rewards?” Sethi asks.
This takes up time you could better spend earning money, recharging by watching your favorite show or being with family. All that work to save an extra $50 a year isn’t always a worthwhile use of time.
Instead, he recommends keeping “one to two solid rewards cards.”
“Cancel those junk cards, including those predatory f—ing credit cards with 30% plus APRs that you got from Gap and Kohl’s to get $10 off a sub par pair of jeans,” he continues. “And then monitor your interest rates like a hawk while you’re paying off debt.”
Finally, Sethi recommends using everything you learned from the other milestones to create a financial vision that you revisit yearly.
What you think you want out of life in your 30s will not be the same as what you might want in your 40s or 50s. At the end of each year, update your plan to suit your current lifestyle and future goals — a recurring calendar event can help with this.
Sethi recommends asking yourself the following questions during these check-ins: “What do I want more of in this coming year? What doesn’t matter to me anymore? What do I want less of? And finally, what’s next?”
For some, a big goal might include real estate investing to create generational wealth. But not everyone can afford a mortgage, or a big downpayment.
Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100, meaning even if you never want to own your own home, you can still benefit from investing in the market without the hassle of home ownership.
Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived helps you invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning passive income from real estate without the midnight maintenance calls about burst pipes.
If you have at least $25,000 to invest, you could instead consider Homeshares, which offers exposure to hundreds of owner occupied properties around the U.S.
Homeshares can help you access this market through their U.S. Home Equity Fund. The fund provides homeowners with substantial, property-based equity access to liquidity through Home Equity Agreements, without incurring debt or additional interest payments.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Ramit Sethi, credit card debt, Jeff Bezos, how to manage your money, financial institutions, emergency fund
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