Ramit Sethi, the New York Times bestselling author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” and host of Netflix’s “How to Get Rich,” has built his reputation by challenging conventional wisdom about money management. Unlike traditional financial advisors who preach extreme frugality, Sethi advocates for “conscious spending”—strategically investing money in things that genuinely improve one’s quality of life.
His approach centers around living a “Rich Life,” which isn’t necessarily about having millions in the bank. Instead, it’s about using money as a tool to create the lifestyle you want while still meeting your financial obligations. This philosophy has resonated with millions because it acknowledges a fundamental truth: money can buy happiness when spent thoughtfully on the right things. Here are the five things he recommends buying for yourself if you want to be happy.
The Core Philosophy: Buying Back Your Time vs. Penny-Pinching
Sethi frequently distinguishes between “big wins” and small, inconsequential decisions many people obsess over. He encourages people to ignore what he terms “$3 questions,” like whether to buy coffee and instead focus on major financial moves that have a meaningful impact.
The cornerstone of his philosophy is “buying back your time”—strategically spending money to eliminate tasks that drain your energy or prevent you from focusing on higher-value activities. This approach considers opportunity cost: What could you accomplish with the time you save by outsourcing specific responsibilities? If you could earn more money, reduce stress, or enjoy life more, paying someone else might be worth every penny.
This mindset shift moves beyond traditional budgeting constraints and asks a more important question: what would make your life genuinely better?
1. Credit Card Points Management: Turn Travel Into a Strategic Asset
One area where Sethi practices what he preaches involves travel optimization. He has shared that he hired someone to train his assistant on maximizing credit card points for travel benefits. This person learned how to search for flight deals, understand which credit card points transfer to which airlines, and leverage airline partnerships to secure better travel arrangements.
This example illustrates a key principle: leveraging expertise in areas where you lack knowledge can save both time and money. Rather than spending hours researching travel hacking strategies, Sethi invested in having someone else master this skill on his behalf.
For those without assistants, this principle can still apply through one-time consultations with travel experts, specialized apps that optimize point usage, or even taking a course to learn these skills once rather than repeatedly figuring them out.
2. Errand Services: Eliminate Time-Wasting Tasks That Drain Your Energy
Sethi has discussed hiring couriers to handle mundane tasks like package returns and post office visits. While he could certainly handle these errands himself, he chooses to pay others to manage them so he can focus on activities that better utilize his skills and time.
This approach recognizes that specific tasks, while necessary, drain mental energy disproportionate to their importance. Standing in line at the post office or driving across town to return a package might only take an hour, but the mental overhead of planning and executing these tasks can affect your entire day.
Modern gig economy services have made this type of outsourcing accessible to more people. Whether through dedicated errand services or general task platforms, you can often find someone willing to handle these time-consuming activities for a reasonable fee.
3. Meal Preparation: Invest in Your Health and Reclaim Your Evenings
Sethi employs someone to prepare his meals according to his dietary preferences and health goals. This arrangement eliminates the need for meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking while ensuring he maintains good nutrition habits. As he puts it, this represents what “buying back your time looks like.”
Meal preparation services offer multiple benefits beyond time savings. They can improve your health by ensuring consistent, well-planned nutrition. They also eliminate the daily decision fatigue of figuring out what to eat, which can be surprisingly mentally taxing.
You don’t need to hire a personal chef to apply this principle. Meal delivery services, batch cooking on weekends, or even subscribing to a service that delivers pre-planned ingredients can achieve similar results while fitting different budget levels.
4. Fitness Training: Pay for Accountability and Consistency
Sethi maintains trainers in multiple cities – New York and Los Angeles – to ensure he stays consistent with his fitness routine regardless of where he’s traveling. This setup provides expertise and accountability, two crucial elements for maintaining long-term health habits.
Professional fitness guidance offers value beyond knowing which exercises to perform. Trainers provide accountability, help prevent injuries through proper form instruction, and adjust routines as fitness levels change. They also eliminate the mental work of planning workouts, making it easier to maintain consistency.
This investment in health pays dividends over time through increased energy, better health outcomes, and improved quality of life. Even for those on tighter budgets, occasional sessions with a trainer or group fitness classes can provide similar benefits at a lower cost.
5. Professional Investment Guidance: Even Experts Need a Second Opinion
Perhaps most surprisingly, despite being a renowned financial expert, Sethi pays fee-only financial planners for objective reviews of his investment portfolio. He seeks their input on asset allocation, risk assessment, and tax strategies he might overlook.
Sethi explains, “A second opinion gives me peace of mind — and potentially saves me a lot of money in the long run.” This demonstrates remarkable humility and wisdom: experts benefit from outside perspectives, especially in financial decisions.
This principle applies broadly – sometimes, paying for professional expertise in areas where you have blind spots or emotional attachments can prevent costly mistakes and provide valuable peace of mind.
How to Apply This Philosophy on Any Budget
You don’t need Sethi’s income level to implement these principles. Begin by identifying your most significant pain points –those that consistently stress you out or consume disproportionate mental energy. Start with small experiments: try a meal delivery service for a week, hire someone once to clean your house, or use a task service for a particularly annoying errand.
Track how these small changes affect your stress level, productivity, and overall satisfaction. As your income grows, you can gradually expand the areas where you choose to buy back your time. The goal isn’t to outsource everything but to strategically eliminate the activities that drain your energy without providing corresponding value.
Sethi’s decision-making process for outsourcing centers on a simple but powerful question: “What could you do instead of the thing you’re considering outsourcing?” This opportunity cost analysis considers potential income, stress reduction, and overall happiness improvement.
Conclusion
Sethi’s approach represents a fundamental shift in thinking about money and happiness. Rather than viewing every expenditure as money lost, strategic spending on time-saving services can be viewed as investments in your overall quality of life. The key lies in being intentional about these choices and measuring their impact on your well-being.
This philosophy doesn’t advocate wasteful spending or living beyond one’s means. Instead, it encourages thoughtful analysis of how money can be used to create the quality of life you want. By focusing on buying back time and reducing stress in areas that matter most, you can achieve a richer life far beyond your bank account balance.