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Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ramit Sethi Offers a Harsh Truth About Saving Money — And What To Do Instead
Ramit Sethi is a well known money guru who isn't afraid to speak his mind. He is the bestselling author of the book 'I Will Teach You to Be Rich,' as well as the host of the Netflix series 'How to Get Rich.' Read Next: Find Out: In a recent newsletter, Sethi shared the biggest mistake people make when it comes to their money: letting money sit in a checking account. Instead, Sethi explained, it's important for people to invest their money. He's not wrong: According to data from Charles Schwab's 2024 Modern Wealth Survey, 58% of Americans have investments. While that's a majority of the population, there is still a large percentage who don't. There are many reasons why people decide not to invest. Primarily, in order to invest, people need to have extra money to allocate to investing — and not everyone has access to a job that automatically invests their money into a retirement account to make investing easier. A quarter of people currently live paycheck-to-paycheck, according to 2024 research from the Bank of America Institute. With the prices of everyday goods increasing, it can be hard for people to prioritize investing when they're trying to afford groceries. Another reason is that some people distrust the stock market and prefer to keep their cash on hand rather than risk losing it. However, Sethi explained to his followers that investing is how people become financially free. Because of inflation, the value of cash sitting in a checking account will erode over time, whereas with investing, money has the potential to grow and outpace inflation. For You: Sethi recommended that people invest in target date funds or index funds, not hot stock picks. He explained that investing involves a long-term strategy, and that target date funds take much of the guesswork out. With these funds, people can choose the year they plan to retire, and the fund will automatically adjust to become more conservative as that year approaches. Sethi also praised index funds, which are funds that mimic a particular index, like the S&P 500. With an index fund, investors purchase a portfolio of stocks or bonds. That way, it's naturally diversified. If one company doesn't perform well, the fund still has several others to balance out the performance. Index funds also have lower expenses and fees, which can help investors to keep more of their money. Ultimately, Sethi's goal is to encourage his followers to invest, even if they place money in a high-yield savings account to start. He stressed that real wealth can't be built by putting money in a checking account and encouraged his readers to learn more about building wealth through investing. More From GOBankingRates 5 Types of Vehicles Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early 12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines Sources Charles Schwab, '2024 Schwab Modern Wealth Survey Shows Increasing Financial Confidence From Generation to Generation and Younger Americans Investing at an Earlier Age.' Bank of America Institute, 'Paycheck to paycheck: what, who, where, why?' This article originally appeared on Ramit Sethi Offers a Harsh Truth About Saving Money — And What To Do Instead Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'You Could Literally Cost Yourself Millions': Finance Expert Warns Against 'Panic Decision' On Trump Tariffs
Tariff announcements and pauses have led to high volatility within the stock market and have investors trying to decide what to do with investments and personal savings. A personal finance expert recently offered up some advice and commentary on President Donald Trump's potential tariffs. Author Ramit Sethi is best known for the book "I Will Teach You To Be Rich," hosting the "Money For Couples" podcast and hosting "How To Get Rich" on Netflix. Sethi offered some expert advice on how to survive these uncertain times due to Trump's tariffs. Here are three of the key pieces of advice and commentary shared by Sethi, as reported by Buzzfeed. Middle Class Hit Harder: Sethi said that tariffs will likely hit the middle class and poor Americans harder than wealthy people, something investors of all wealth levels should be aware of. "There is good data showing that on an annual basis, these tariffs will hit the median American household, costing them over $2,500 per year. Trump's tariffs are directly a tax on the poor and middle class," Sethi said. Sethi said tariffs could be instituted only to help provide a "big fat tax cut" for the wealthy. Don't Panic On Retirement Accounts: While there are increased levels of uncertainty due to tariffs, the author cautions against making drastic moves and changing investment strategies. "If you are in your 20s, 30s – even 40s – you can reasonably expect that the market will go up some years and it will go down some years," Sethi said. The personal finance expert said young investors have a luxury that their investments will compound over time. "What this means is, stop looking at your investment accounts and in general, keep investing consistently." Sethi said there is a concern that seeing stocks go down and too many red days will lead to panic selling. "I saw it happen in 2001, I saw it happen in 2008, I saw it happen in 2020. You can literally cost yourself millions of dollars if you make a panic decision." Selling during a high volatile time could be one of the "worst financial decisions you can possibly make in your entire life," the expert warns. Sethi said the stock market has recovered after world wars, during pandemics and other crises. "I plan to be continuing to invest, and if you do the same, it will give you a very good shot at living at a very rich life." Beef Up Emergency Fund: The personal finance expert said, instead of panic selling and worrying about retirement accounts, the number one focus should be on savings. "I have an aggressive recommendation that I'm making, and that is to focus on assembling a 12-month emergency fund," Sethi said. The expert said an emergency fund is typically recommended to be three to six months worth of funds. "The only other time that I have recommended a 12-month emergency fund was when COVID hit, which should suggest the seriousness of the situation that we are in." Sethi said that the tariff war likely isn't over and many other countries now see America as "an unstable partner." "I see a lot of uncertainty ahead of us." Sethi cautioned that companies may lay off employees in the future. Having an emergency fund could provide a cushion from a job cut or other hardships. "You do not want to get into a situation where your back is against the financial wall, and you have to make really bad decisions." Read Next: Photo: Ground Picture/ Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'You Could Literally Cost Yourself Millions': Finance Expert Warns Against 'Panic Decision' On Trump Tariffs originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
"That's One Of The Worst Financial Decisions You Could Possibly Make": 7 Things A Personal Finance Expert Wants You To Know About The Trump Tariffs
Last week, President Trump announced blanket tariffs on imported goods from over 180 countries around the world. Shortly afterward, panic rippled through the market as stocks plummeted, and economists have been saying that we're now more likely to experience a recession and higher inflation (again, ugh) in 2025. What does this news mean for you and me? Last week, I spoke with an economic analyst about how the tariffs are likely to pan out, and the tl;dr is "not great." So, this week, I reached out to personal finance expert Ramit Sethi to get his advice for surviving a bad economy. Ramit Sethi is the author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, host of the Money For Couples podcast, and host of the Netflix series How To Get Rich. One of the things I love about Ramit's work is how he emphasizes that a "rich life" isn't about buying status symbols and hoarding wealth. Instead, Ramit talks a lot about how we can use our money as a tool to live more meaningful and enjoyable lives. Lately, he has also been answering viewer questions on Instagram and talking more about how money is inherently political. Here's what we talked about: Ramit said that the tariffs will impact middle-class and poor Americans far more than wealthier people. Ramit Sethi: Tariffs are going to hit the poor and middle class quite dramatically. There is good data showing that on an annual basis, these tariffs will hit the median American household, costing them over $2,500 per year. Trump's tariffs are directly a tax on the poor and middle class. All of this for no reason, so that wealthy people can get a big fat tax cut. These tariffs make no sense for America. Tariffs have very specific surgical uses, but putting a blanket tariff on essentially the entire world, minus, of course, Russia, for very conspicuous reasons, is unprecedented and unexpected, and as a result, the market dropped dramatically. 401(k) balances and retirement worries are dominating headlines, but Ramit cautions against taking drastic action right now, especially if you're still decades away from retirement age. RS: If you are in your 20s, 30s — even 40s — you can reasonably expect that the market will go up some years and it will go down some years, and because you have the ultimate luxury, which is time that allows continued compounding. And what that means is, stop looking at your investment accounts and in general, keep investing consistently. Now, I think this is a really important point because people make very poor life-changing decisions during chaos like this. I saw it happen in 2001, I saw it happen in 2008, I saw it happen in 2020. You can literally cost yourself millions of dollars if you make a panic decision. And the most common type of panic is that people see those charts in the red for one day, one week, one month, and they finally can't take it anymore, and they log in, freak out, and sell everything. That's one of the worst financial decisions you can possibly make in your entire life. That will cost you more than all the coffees, all the vacations, all the unscrupulous 1.5% AUM fees that you will ever pay is selling in a panic. There are so many other ways to protect yourself besides selling. But just to circle back, if you have the benefit of time, historically, the market has recovered and done very well through multiple World Wars, through pandemics, through oil crises. So I will tell everybody, I'm not selling. I plan to be continuing to invest, and if you do the same, it will give you a very good shot at living at a very rich life. he says your number one financial priority right now should be beefing up your emergency fund. RS: I have an aggressive recommendation that I'm making, and that is to focus on assembling a 12-month emergency fund. That's not typical. Most, a lot of financial experts recommend three to six months. I'm recommending 12. The only time, the only other time that I have recommended a 12-month emergency fund was when COVID hit, which should suggest the seriousness of the situation that we are in. Let me explain: Yes, the fact that the market dropped this dramatically in a matter of three days is extremely dangerous. This isn't normal ups and downs of the market. This is one dangerous dictator who, on a whim, decided to wreak havoc across trillions of dollars, and he cost most Americans tens of thousands of dollars in a single day. This isn't a joke. It's not something to be made light of. It's not something that just disappears. The toothpaste is out of the tube, meaning other countries now regard America as an unstable partner. And even if Trump waved his hands and undid the tariffs tomorrow, they would still treat America like an unstable partner because, frankly, we are. So, what does it mean for individual investors? That is why I say a 12-month emergency fund because I see a lot of uncertainty ahead of us. And when there's uncertainty in the market, companies re-branch, they lay people off. That's very dangerous. You do not want to get in a situation where your back is against the financial wall, and you have to make really bad decisions. Those can haunt you for decades. you, like a lot of Americans, don't have much in savings at the moment (much less a fully-stocked emergency fund that could cover your basic living expenses for a full year), Ramit offered a five-step plan for socking away cash. RS: First, I would take a look at my discretionary spending, and I would get serious about tamping down or eliminating most of it. Discretionary spending is the fun stuff. It's stuff like going out, travel, drinks, eating out those kinds of things, and I would immediately redirect that toward savings. Second, I would pause and stretch out expenses as I could. A simple example would be any major plans to move, to buy a major purchase, like a car, home renovation, anything that can be paused. I would pause it and anything that can be stretched out, for example. You know, even if you were able to stretch out, say, regular purchases that you make, for example, let's say, any type of self-care, even if you stretch that out one month over the course of a year, you can save hundreds of dollars. Next, I would consider decreasing [payments toward] any low-interest debt that I am overpaying. For example, if I have a 3% mortgage and I'm paying an extra $200 a month, not anymore, I'm sending that $200 a month straight to my savings account to build that emergency fund up. Number four is, if necessary, I would consider decreasing my 401(k) [contributions] just to get the match. I would really try hard not to eliminate it altogether, but I would consider decreasing it for the time being. And then finally, and I really, really try not to get to this, but it's an option if necessary. If you're aggressively paying high-interest debt, like a credit card debt, I might, in the worst case, consider decreasing the amount I am paying towards that to build up a savings account, but I would try as hard as possible not to get to that level. you're torn between paying off debt and building your savings, Ramit explained that paying it all off could come back to bite you in the ass if you don't also have an emergency fund you can draw on. RS: In America, most people are taught that debt is like a snakebite. You do anything you can to avoid it, and so the way that people think about debt is like they have two pedals in their entire financial life. Pay off debt or not. That's a very simplistic way of looking at the world. There's a different way to look at it. If you have low-interest debt in usual times, mathematically, you can pay the minimum and maybe invest any extra money you have, because you can probably make more investing than you would paying off a 3% mortgage or student loan. But in times like this, when you have people who take who just hate debt, and they pay it off as fast as they can. The problem is, you might end up debt-free, and then you might get laid off the next month, and now you're in a real pickle. You have no money in a savings account, and because you thought you were doing the right thing, "Oh, I'm paying my debt off." Well, you need to build a savings account as well because times are very chaotic, and if you end up getting laid off, you need to have money to survive. make your savings do the most work for you, Ramit advises keeping your emergency fund in a very specific type of savings account that offers higher-than-average interest rates. RS: A high-yield savings account is the place to put it. There are a number of great accounts. Pick a great account, store your money there. The important thing is not agonizing over which account to open. They're all fine. The point is to set your money up to automatically go there every single month. That's the most important thing you can do. And then second is to take a very critical look at your spending right now, eliminate expenses that you can and be sure to redirect that money to savings. Ramit gave his take on one of the most common questions people have been asking him about the tariffs. RS: "What's Trump's plan here?" Oh, God, there is no plan. Trump is a fucking moron who decided on a whim to light a fire through the global economy. There is no economic justification, which is why virtually no economist will back what he did. I will say it's quite hilarious to watch the many people who previously supported him turning a blind eye to deporting legal residents, restricting women's reproductive rights, but suddenly, when their 401(k) goes down, suddenly they're outraged. That's a huge condemnation of the Republican voters. You can follow Ramit on Instagram. What's a piece of financial advice that's helped you get through tough or uncertain economic times? Tell us all about it in the comments!
Buzz Feed
09-04-2025
- Business
- Buzz Feed
"That's One Of The Worst Financial Decisions You Could Possibly Make": 7 Things A Personal Finance Expert Wants You To Know About The Trump Tariffs
Last week, President Trump announced blanket tariffs on imported goods from over 180 countries around the world. Shortly afterward, panic rippled through the market as stocks plummeted, and economists have been saying that we're now more likely to experience a recession and higher inflation (again, ugh) in 2025. What does this news mean for you and me? Last week, I spoke with an economic analyst about how the tariffs are likely to pan out, and the tl;dr is "not great." So, this week, I reached out to personal finance expert Ramit Sethi to get his advice for surviving a bad economy. Ramit Sethi is the author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, host of the Money For Couples podcast, and host of the Netflix series How To Get Rich. One of the things I love about Ramit's work is how he emphasizes that a " rich life" isn't about buying status symbols and hoarding wealth. Instead, Ramit talks a lot about how we can use our money as a tool to live more meaningful and enjoyable lives. Lately, he has also been answering viewer questions on Instagram and talking more about how money is inherently political. Here's what we talked about: 1. First, Ramit said that the tariffs will impact middle-class and poor Americans far more than wealthier people. Ramit Sethi: Tariffs are going to hit the poor and middle class quite dramatically. There is good data showing that on an annual basis, these tariffs will hit the median American household, costing them over $2,500 per year. Trump's tariffs are directly a tax on the poor and middle class. All of this for no reason, so that wealthy people can get a big fat tax cut. These tariffs make no sense for America. Tariffs have very specific surgical uses, but putting a blanket tariff on essentially the entire world, minus, of course, Russia, for very conspicuous reasons, is unprecedented and unexpected, and as a result, the market dropped dramatically. 2. Declining 401(k) balances and retirement worries are dominating headlines, but Ramit cautions against taking drastic action right now, especially if you're still decades away from retirement age. RS: If you are in your 20s, 30s — even 40s — you can reasonably expect that the market will go up some years and it will go down some years, and because you have the ultimate luxury, which is time that allows continued compounding. And what that means is, stop looking at your investment accounts and in general, keep investing consistently. Now, I think this is a really important point because people make very poor life-changing decisions during chaos like this. I saw it happen in 2001, I saw it happen in 2008, I saw it happen in 2020. You can literally cost yourself millions of dollars if you make a panic decision. And the most common type of panic is that people see those charts in the red for one day, one week, one month, and they finally can't take it anymore, and they log in, freak out, and sell everything. That's one of the worst financial decisions you can possibly make in your entire life. That will cost you more than all the coffees, all the vacations, all the unscrupulous 1.5% AUM fees that you will ever pay is selling in a panic. There are so many other ways to protect yourself besides selling. But just to circle back, if you have the benefit of time, historically, the market has recovered and done very well through multiple World Wars, through pandemics, through oil crises. So I will tell everybody, I'm not selling. I plan to be continuing to invest, and if you do the same, it will give you a very good shot at living at a very rich life. 3. Instead, he says your number one financial priority right now should be beefing up your emergency fund. RS: I have an aggressive recommendation that I'm making, and that is to focus on assembling a 12-month emergency fund. That's not typical. Most, a lot of financial experts recommend three to six months. I'm recommending 12. The only time, the only other time that I have recommended a 12-month emergency fund was when COVID hit, which should suggest the seriousness of the situation that we are in. Let me explain: Yes, the fact that the market dropped this dramatically in a matter of three days is extremely dangerous. This isn't normal ups and downs of the market. This is one dangerous dictator who, on a whim, decided to wreak havoc across trillions of dollars, and he cost most Americans tens of thousands of dollars in a single day. This isn't a joke. It's not something to be made light of. It's not something that just disappears. The toothpaste is out of the tube, meaning other countries now regard America as an unstable partner. And even if Trump waved his hands and undid the tariffs tomorrow, they would still treat America like an unstable partner because, frankly, we are. So, what does it mean for individual investors? That is why I say a 12-month emergency fund because I see a lot of uncertainty ahead of us. And when there's uncertainty in the market, companies re-branch, they lay people off. That's very dangerous. You do not want to get in a situation where your back is against the financial wall, and you have to make really bad decisions. Those can haunt you for decades. 4. If you, like a lot of Americans, don't have much in savings at the moment (much less a fully-stocked emergency fund that could cover your basic living expenses for a full year), Ramit offered a five-step plan for socking away cash. RS: First, I would take a look at my discretionary spending, and I would get serious about tamping down or eliminating most of it. Discretionary spending is the fun stuff. It's stuff like going out, travel, drinks, eating out those kinds of things, and I would immediately redirect that toward savings. Second, I would pause and stretch out expenses as I could. A simple example would be any major plans to move, to buy a major purchase, like a car, home renovation, anything that can be paused. I would pause it and anything that can be stretched out, for example. You know, even if you were able to stretch out, say, regular purchases that you make, for example, let's say, any type of self-care, even if you stretch that out one month over the course of a year, you can save hundreds of dollars. Next, I would consider decreasing [payments toward] any low-interest debt that I am overpaying. For example, if I have a 3% mortgage and I'm paying an extra $200 a month, not anymore, I'm sending that $200 a month straight to my savings account to build that emergency fund up. Number four is, if necessary, I would consider decreasing my 401(k) [contributions] just to get the match. I would really try hard not to eliminate it altogether, but I would consider decreasing it for the time being. And then finally, and I really, really try not to get to this, but it's an option if necessary. If you're aggressively paying high-interest debt, like a credit card debt, I might, in the worst case, consider decreasing the amount I am paying towards that to build up a savings account, but I would try as hard as possible not to get to that level. 5. If you're torn between paying off debt and building your savings, Ramit explained that paying it all off could come back to bite you in the ass if you don't also have an emergency fund you can draw on. Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao / Getty Images RS: In America, most people are taught that debt is like a snakebite. You do anything you can to avoid it, and so the way that people think about debt is like they have two pedals in their entire financial life. Pay off debt or not. That's a very simplistic way of looking at the world. There's a different way to look at it. If you have low-interest debt in usual times, mathematically, you can pay the minimum and maybe invest any extra money you have, because you can probably make more investing than you would paying off a 3% mortgage or student loan. But in times like this, when you have people who take who just hate debt, and they pay it off as fast as they can. The problem is, you might end up debt-free, and then you might get laid off the next month, and now you're in a real pickle. You have no money in a savings account, and because you thought you were doing the right thing, "Oh, I'm paying my debt off." Well, you need to build a savings account as well because times are very chaotic, and if you end up getting laid off, you need to have money to survive. 6. To make your savings do the most work for you, Ramit advises keeping your emergency fund in a very specific type of savings account that offers higher-than-average interest rates. D3sign / Getty Images RS: A high-yield savings account is the place to put it. There are a number of great accounts. Pick a great account, store your money there. The important thing is not agonizing over which account to open. They're all fine. The point is to set your money up to automatically go there every single month. That's the most important thing you can do. And then second is to take a very critical look at your spending right now, eliminate expenses that you can and be sure to redirect that money to savings. 7. Finally, Ramit gave his take on one of the most common questions people have been asking him about the tariffs. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images
