I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program That Works.

by Ramit Sethi

People love to argue minor points, partially because they feel it absolves them from actually having to do anything.

The single most important thing you can do to be rich is to start early.

Cynics don’t want results; they want an excuse to not take action. Ironically, even if they win their own manufactured argument, they lose overall, because they’re stuck in a prison of their mind.

CEO Method: Cut costs, Earn more, and Optimize your existing spending.

In relationships and work, we want to be better than average. In investing, average is great.

The single most important factor to getting rich is getting started, not being the smartest person in the room.

The 85 Percent Solution: Getting started is more important than becoming an expert.

Spend extravagantly on the things you love and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.

Every December, I sit down with my wife and we get intentional about the next year. Where do we want to travel? Who do we want to invite with us? What can we imagine doing in the next year that we’ll remember for the next fifty years? This planning process—where we get to intentionally design our Rich Lives—is one of the most fun things we do together as a couple.

Sometimes the most advanced thing you can do is the basics, consistently.

(For more on maximizing travel rewards, look up forums on “credit card churning.”)

If you’re booking travel or eating out, use a travel card to maximize rewards. For everything else, use a cash back card. The card I use for travel and eating out is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. For everything else, I use an Alliant cash back card. And for business, I use a Capital One cash back business card. For extra benefits, I have an Amex Platinum card.

you should call your credit cards and lenders once a year to ask them what advantages you’re eligible for. Often, they can waive fees, extend credit, and give you private promotions that others don’t have access to.