I think one of the reasons 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 hardest because no one teaches you how to work out. All of those machines and weights look daunting the first time to step foot in a gym.
I was lucky on this front.
I was nervous the first time I entered the gym but had a friend in high school whose mother was a personal trainer.
He showed me how to lift weights the right way. He gave me a routine and walked me through how to do each exercise correctly using the proper form. Without that guidance, I would have been lost.
I’ve been lifting weights since I was 16 because someone taught me how to do it the right way and gave me a routine I could do on a regular basis.
It would have been much harder to develop those habits if I didn’t have someone to show me the ropes early on.
The same is true of personal finance.
No one teaches you how to save, how to spend, how to invest or how to behave when it comes to your finances.
You’re on your own.
The first personal finance blog I started reading regularly was Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to be Rich, back in 2006-ish.
I stumbled across a profile of Ramit that detailed the origins of his blog which went something like this:
He wanted to teach his classmates at Standford about personal finance but none of them would show up in person to any 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’ve learned a lot from Ramit over the years about the psychology of personal finance and what it means to live a rich life.1
So I was excited when I learned about his new Netflix show How to Get Rich.
I just can’t believe we’re at a point where they’re actually making shows about personal finance. 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 much more:
This one was fun. We discussed:
- The evolution of personal finance.
- What it’s like to make a show for Netflix.
- Why TV is so important to so many people.
- What it means to live a rich life and why it’s so different for everyone.
- Why doesn’t personal finance education work?
- Paying up for convenience and much more.
The podcast version is here:
Further Reading:
My Personal Finance Mentor
1Ramit’s book is also excellent.
