I think one of the reasons that it’s so difficult for many people to work out regularly is that it can be an overwhelming experience if you’ve never done it before.
The first step is often the most difficult because no one teaches you how to train. All those machines and weights seem intimidating the first time you step foot in a gym.
I was lucky on that front.
I was nervous the first time I walked into the gym, but I had a friend in high school whose mom was a personal trainer.
He showed me how to lift weights the right way. He gave me a routine and explained how to do each exercise correctly using proper form. Without these tips, I would have been lost.
I’ve been lifting weights since I was 16 because someone taught me how to do it right and gave me a routine that I could do consistently.
It would have been a lot harder to develop these habits if I hadn’t had someone to show me the ropes early on.
The same goes for personal finance.
No one teaches you how to save, how to spend, how to invest, or how to handle your finances.
You are alone.
The first personal finance blog I started reading regularly was Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to be Rich in 2006.
I came across a profile of Ramit that detailed the origins of his blog which looked like this:
He wanted to teach his classmates at Stanford about personal finance, but none of them would show up in person for one of his seminars. So he started the blog as a way to reach people and make it easier for them to consume the content.
I have learned a lot from Ramit over the years about the psychology of personal finance and what it means to live a wealthy life.1
So I was excited when I heard about his new Netflix show How to Get Rich.
I can’t believe we’ve gotten to the point where they’re doing personal finance shows. And the show is good too!
It feels like a mix between House Hunters on HGTV or one of those million dollar real estate shows on Bravo.
Michael and I had Ramit on Animal Spirits to talk about the show and more:
This one was fun. We talked:
- The evolution of personal finance.
- What it’s like to make a show for Netflix.
- Why television is so important to so many people.
- What it means to live a rich life and why it’s so different for everyone.
- Why is personal finance education not working?
- Pay for convenience and more.
The podcast version is here:
Further reading:
My personal finance mentor
1Ramit’s book is also excellent.