I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

One of the rules that Sethi repeats throughout the book is that it’s better to start now and do something than wait to do the perfect thing. He calls this the “85% Solution”: “[G]etting started is more important than being an expert […]. The easiest way to manage your money is to take it one step at a time—and not worry about being perfect” (16). His calls to make a choice and take action make the messages of the book applicable to life beyond finances, thereby engaging a wider readership.

Sethi argues that most people fail to manage their money because they are overwhelmed by information, glutted with choices, and subject to emotional thinking that he calls “invisible scripts.” He aims to help his readers overcome these impediments by encouraging them to take action now in whatever small way they can. He defines this concept in the Introduction as one of the book’s “Key Messages,” ensuring that readers read the book with this concept in mind.

He returns to the 85% Solution in Chapter 2 on optimizing credit cards when he tells readers not to chase rates. Do the necessary research and then take action: “Figure out how much debt you have, decide how you want to pay it down, negotiate your rates, and get started” (67). This principle is also the backbone of Chapter 7 on investing. Most people avoid investing because they are nervous that they don’t know enough and because it feels overwhelming. Sethi recommends target date funds because they represent the 85% Solution—they are “not exactly perfect, but easy enough for anyone to get started—and they work fine” (238). He argues that “[d]oing nothing is the worst choice you can make” (9). Even if a reader can invest only $50 a month, it’s better than nothing. Sethi wants readers to form good habits and then build substance from there. This theme therefore highlights the actionable elements of the book.

The 85% Solution is Sethi’s answer to the difficulties that people face when making financial decisions, especially about investing. Quoting Barry Schwartz’s book, The Paradox of Choice (2004), Sethi argues that the onslaught of information from the media, friends, and bloggers about financial information leads to “decision paralysis” that can be combatted through prioritizing action over perfection. To help readers take action, Sethi enumerates and debunks the invisible scripts that govern people’s emotional thinking about financial decisions. For each major topic in the book—credit cards, banks, conscious spending, investing—Sethi lists the common invisible scripts that prevent people from taking action, and he controverts each one to show his readers that they can take control of their money decisions by combatting their own psychology.

One of Sethi's "10 Rules for a Rich Life" is for readers to "focus on the Big Wins” (20). Sethi believes that people avoid dealing with their finances because they get overwhelmed by what he calls “noise”: advice from family, click-bait peddled by the media and pundits, and overly complex investing concepts sold by financial professionals. All of this noise points people toward the minutiae of money management—whether this or that stock is going up or down, whether this or that credit card offers a 0.5% higher interest rate, how this or that country’s economy is going to affect the American economy. Instead, Sethi advises that readers ignore all the noise and focus on taking small, consistent steps toward the 5 to 10 things that get disproportionate results, including “automating savings and investing, finding a job you love, and negotiating your salary" (20). Sethi drives this point home in Chapter 2: “If you learn only one thing from this book, it should be to turn your attention from the micro to the macro” (77). This sentiment echoes the theme; it encourages readers to focus on one macro element of the book’s teachings above its minutiae.

He establishes the importance of focusing on the Big Wins in the Introduction and then returns to it as he addresses each subsequent topic. In Chapters 1 and 2 on credit cards and banks, respectively, he suggests that readers avoid wasting time looking for the most advantageous interest rates; instead, he recommends that readers choose a card offering accounts they like with companies they trust and stick with them, concentrating on the Big Wins of paying off debt and using credit cards to build credit. The Big Wins “may not be as obvious or sexy […], but the Big Wins will make you rich over the long term” (50). This statement reflects the book’s tone of practicality.

The idea of the Big Win is most significant in Chapter 4 on conscious spending, where Sethi tells readers that rather than trying to cut small amounts from every area of spending, they should identify two or three problem areas in their spending—that is, areas where their spending varies wildly—and cut back significantly on those. Similarly, in Chapter 8 on maintaining the financial system, Sethi urges readers to stop worrying about taxes because trying to beat the tax system is not worth the time. Readers need to know only one thing about taxes: They need to take advantage of their tax-advantaged investment accounts, their 401(k) and Roth IRA. Sethi uses this theme to highlight key takeaways and make the book’s advice pithy and memorable.