You’re welcome. Are you sure you turned off your coffee maker?
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2nd character for minimum length requirement
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Ahhhhhh I just read this one and:
- This couple needs to see a marriage counselor. I’m not sure if they’re compatible anyway
- I think Ramit is not a very emotional person at all. I think he’s kinda like a robot.
But yeah, this one was painfully “your issues are not really financial ones”.
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Yes yes yes to all of this! It feels like Ramit really does go into these episodes having already decided what his advice will be.
Idk. It was really sad to hear how far apart they were. It just felt mean.
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I just listened to this one and I was just astounded. I feel like this guy just isn’t mature and I also felt like it was full of giant red flags. I completely don’t understand how you can be 46 and not have any kind of plan for life at all.
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I’m fascinated by who Ramit is.
I went to his website and it seems to be a lot of selling courses/coaching in how to get rich via an online business, and his online business experience is selling courses/coaching in how to get rich online…? Is there more?
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Nope! That’s it! His university side hustle was trying to teach personal finance, first in person and then online/the first book. Then courses in making online businesses and things like that
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He also wrote a book with the same title as the podcast but I think that’s pretty much it! His educational background is interesting too, I get the sense he pretty much stayed in academia straight through and then started doing what he’s doing now. He grew up in a pretty ritzy area of CA too, which I think comes through a lot. The only other thing is that he was a co-founder (but came in after it started) for https://www.pbworks.com but he isn’t listed as even C-Suite (or anywhere on their site) so I’m not sure what his involvement level was. Like, he states himself as a co-founder on Wikipedia but the company doesn’t even mention him on their site.
In 2004, he graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts (Information & Society) in Science, Technology & Society with a minor in Psychology.[6] In 2005 he received a Master of Arts in sociology (Social Psychology and Interpersonal Processes), also from Stanford.
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Just did a bit more digging. He actually started this whole thing with a blog, which he began as an undergraduate. From his blog site (dude has a lot of sites):
"I started this site in 2004 while I was studying technology and psychology at Stanford. Since I came from a middle-class family, the only way I could afford college was to pay my own way. That’s when I built a system to apply to 60+ scholarships. My hard work paid off and I earned enough to attend undergrad and grad school at Stanford. But when I got my first scholarship check, I invested it in the stock market…and immediately lost half my money. Oops.
That’s when I decided to learn how money really worked."
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I get the feeling that he’s done very well with his business and now the podcast is his way of “giving back”, helping people be able to enjoy their money after they’ve made it. I also think it’s also fun and fulfilling for him, otherwise it’s all the same stuff and it gets old, especially when he’s managed to automate his whole business and doesn’t need to hustle anymore.
I used to be on his mailing list and he’s definitely a smart guy. But super analytical, he needs to define a strategy for everything and then he goes and implements it. So now it’s like “identity your values! Ok, what are you doing that aren’t aligning with those?”.
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I think he’s a professional writer/motivational speaker more than anything else! ind of like Tony Robbins or something. He has a strong, compelling, consistent voice. And I think he packages the whole personal finance advice in a unique way that’s very appealing to a lot of people, like how he’s very anti-deprivation and anti-guilt and insists that daily costs don’t matter (like $5 coffee every day, which is an example he uses a lot).
He also focuses heavily on spending and imagining your rich life through things you can buy/pay to do. He writes about that like ten times as much as he writes about investing, earning, etc. He also says learning about financial vehicles is mostly irrelevant, and I think people like that a lot because most people who need financial help don’t like that stuff.
But then on the flip side, his tone is as if he’s telling people to buckle down and be tough with themselves. He often says things like, “no one is coming to save you, you have to do it yourself!” It’s like Dave Ramsey delivery but the opposite message, so I think people feel empowered and like they’re getting tough love, but they also don’t have to do a lot of the things they don’t like.
I also think his psychology stuff is very appealing for high earners and particularly people who have an identity crisis around being so privileged (because he talks about systemic things and uses words like conditioning and toxic and inequity a lot). That’s my take. I think his whole deal is totally brilliant!
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Did you used to be on his mailing list? It used to be pretty salesy… these really, really long mails about why you should sign up and find your niche and build a business out of it, but only if you have no credit card debt. If you have CC debt, he won’t let you sign up.
Eventually I unsubscribed because he’d have some interesting stuff sometimes but I got bored with the sales pitches.
But yeah, with his current self I totally agree with you! He’s pretty compelling. You and I already made some changes (enjoying your salads? 
).
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Yeah I did! I had to write about his stuff a few times for work. He writes like a copywriter all the time IMO. And girl you know I’m loving my salads, hahaha.
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I have followed Ramit so long I actually remember when he got all that pushback for his first paid product! Laptop keyboard is acting wonky so I’ll come back and add more after dinner on my phone…
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I really appreciate insight into Ramit. This thread and the podcasts are the first I have come across him.
I agree I am enjoying his take on personal finance. Also I’m getting nice sheets for my bed #richlife
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i had to unsubscribe from his mailing list because he insists on conflating personal finance with weight loss in a really ignorant and ableist way. he actually seems to take pride in his unsupportable take. he doesn’t do that as much on his podcast, at least not on the episodes i’ve listened to.
i’m just so tired of dudebros being like “everyone can make their body what they want it to be.” stop for a second and consider who you are including in “everyone,” okay?
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Whoohoo!!
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The episode I liked the most was with Michelle and Charles. The part about being cheap resonated with me, and it’s helped me to start spending more freely. Yes I bought plane tickets a week before Christmas because I decided I really wanted to go. It’s time to replace some of this bike clothing and no it’s not worth waiting until it goes on sale. I like it, it fits, sold.
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I’m finally getting around to this and jumping in with the $425k Carmel beach house people
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Ok holy S*** today’s episode is exactly my parents yikes. The couple seems “nice” enough facing Ramit but I can’t help but fill in a lot of blanks (and he calls out how mean they are to each other)
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