I Will Teach You To Be Rich

I listen to a podcast called I Will Teach You To Be Rich. My husband listens to it too, and we often discuss it afterwards. It is like our version of watching reality TV.

In the podcast, finance expert Ramit Sethi sits down with a couple and helps them with their financial situation and relationship with each other (as it pertains to money). It is fascinating stuff.

One thing that continues to blow my mind is that people are willing to go on this widely listened-to podcast and share personal information about their relationships and finances. That is something I would never ever EVER do.

I’m not saying this in a judgemental way, like “oh I would never do that because it is bad”. There are many advantages to being the type of personality who would do that. Who is willing to share, to be vulnerable, and ultimately ask for help. People receive more when they are eager to ask for more!

I’m just saying I would never do it because it is the complete opposite of some deeply-ingrained beliefs and behaviour I have.

• You don’t overshare with strangers.
• You don’t talk about how much money you have.
• You are independent and capable at all times. You help yourself.

Many people on the podcast turn up without having read Ramit’s book about personal finance. The thought of this makes me shudder. If I were to go on IWTYTBR, I would have read the book, implemented it, and be reporting back to Ramit how well I’m following his instructions, and he would just be commending me on what a good job I’d done. It would be the most boring episode and wouldn’t air.

It is wild how being the over-achieving child who lived for “gold stars” still affects so much of my behaviour in my late 30s.

Again, I’m not saying I’m better than these people. I can just see how incredibly different our perspectives are. It’s like the asking vs. guessing thing. No one is better, just different.

I love podcasts for exposing me to different perspectives and making me think about stuff like this.