I am going to kick some personal-finance ass--yours

Posted at 10:16 on Tuesday January 03, 2006 | Filed Under Introductory Articles

Welcome to 2006. This year is the one where I'm going to help you take control of your personal finances and start investing for the future. This is in contrast to most people, who have no clue where they are spending money, what investing really is, or why it's important.

Think of me as your drill sergeant, only a frail, Indian version with a larger vocabulary and, frankly, better etiquette.

So take this week and get all your other errands out of the way. Finish your emails, feed your cat, whatever.

Because starting next week, we are going to be taking a multi-week journey down the yellow brick road of personal finance. And I will drag you by your hair if necessary!!!

Want to figure out how much you spend every week, and how it compares to others? We'll do that.
Want to know how much of your income you should save? No problem.
Do you have questions about paying off debt vs. investing? Ok.
Want to know where you should invest? Does a Roth IRA make sense for you? What about your 401(k)? We'll do all of these, and more.

So handle your stuff this week. Because next week, I am going to kick some personal-finance ass--yours!!!!!!!!!!

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Comments (16)

1.: bring it on...

Posted by sparky at January 3, 2006 11:15 AM

2.: Cant wait......

Posted by Sripathi Ramadurai at January 3, 2006 03:29 PM

3.: Sounds like fun!

Posted by Neo at January 3, 2006 05:01 PM

4.: I work in a very large company. Before I started here 4.5 years ago, I worked in a .com in Seattle and helped build it in to a large publicly traded company.

I find that people do have very low expectations and tend to take waaay too long to get something done. Sometimes they just don't do it at all. This would have been completely unacceptable at my previous company, yet it happens every day in this large company.

It has taken me a long time to get used to the pace people move here, but it has also worked to my advantage. Because of my ability to do things quickly I'm known as a top performer, even though I'm not working nearly as hard as I was at my previous company.

I came here for the incredible benefits and great salary. I joke that I'm "semi-retired" at 34.

What I haven't done is let other people's low expectations impact my ability to get things done. I'm very clear about negotiating commitments from people and then I hold them to those commitments. I even check on them prior to their deadline to see what time they will be getting back to me. Many times, these people will try to use the "Who's got the monkey" excuse. You know the one, "Oh, I needed something from someone else". That just means, Oh, the monkey is on someone elses back so it isn't my problem to work until I hear back from them. I make it very clear that they own the monkey regardless of who's back they might think its on. By being persistent, I find that I am able to get people to realize that their commitments to me are real and I will call them to the carpet if they miss them.

Posted by Hazzard at January 3, 2006 05:35 PM

5.: Ready!

Posted by Mike Willingham at January 3, 2006 11:53 PM

6.: I just read a great book, the Automatic Millionaire, which started the process of kicking my personal-finace ass and now I am reading The Millionaire Next Door, which is not as good of a book but is still helping. I hope your information is as helpful as the books

Posted by Mike at January 4, 2006 07:53 AM

7.: Not sure if this is your expertise, but maybe you could cover some of the basic rules of thumb regarding buying a house (or in my case a downtown loft).

Posted by jtc at January 4, 2006 08:00 AM

8.: Sounds great! Coincides nicely with my own resolution to accomplish said actions. >.

Posted by derek at January 4, 2006 09:46 AM

9.: Ramit - Sounds great. This is the kinda of stuff that add value to your readers. With this you will blog your way to the top!
Thanks again.

Posted by Ravi Char at January 4, 2006 01:19 PM

10.: I'm ready. I have been reading a lot about financing all over the internet and can't wait to hear your advice.

Posted by Araceli at January 4, 2006 05:53 PM

11.: Sounds great, I've actually included financial stuff (investing) to my resolutions for the year. Awesome coincidence!

Posted by Devin Reams at January 5, 2006 12:12 AM

12.: Im intrigued to see what you are going to come up with and any fresh new ideas for the NEW year. Thanks!

Posted by Visionary at January 8, 2006 07:59 PM

13.: I have no interest in the following website, but have you heard of the Early Retirement Forum? http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/

There are thousands of messages on personal finance (most geared towards achieving early retirement), and dozens of knowledgeable posters.

Posted by Jay Gatsby at January 10, 2006 06:40 AM

14.: Alright, next week is here and is almost over too.

Is this an empty promise :) ?

Posted by sunil at January 12, 2006 08:00 AM

15.: It's up now!

Posted by Ramit Sethi at January 12, 2006 08:22 AM

16.: Thank you Ramit!

Posted by Sunil at January 12, 2006 11:29 AM

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