During a recent outing, I learnt that a friend had changed her job. Another friend chimed in to state that she had embarked on a job I would be interested in. Without missing a beat, I mentioned something about linking people and developing the capacity of rural communities.
It turned out that my friend had undertaken a job with Providend. I guess I do have a keen interest in money because I binge-watched all 8 episodes of “How to Get Rich” on Netflix.
What struck me most was the easy way in which Ramit Sethi interacted with his clients and people on the streets. Everyone just seemed to pour their financial worries on him. Yet he remained unfazed by it all, maintaining his clarity and giving good analogies and making people laugh. Honestly I hope to be like him. I love meeting people from all walks of life too. Though I doubt if many would be interested to learn from the expertise I have acquired wrt English Teaching all these years lol.
The title of his show sounds crass but after realising how he relates his advice to the concept of a “rich life”, it kinda grew on me. Ramit Sethi met clients from a multitude of backgrounds in the show: soon-to-be-married couples, struggling couples, successful single millennials, a rich socialite. Their money worries are as varied as day and night, but Ramit puts everyone at ease, getting them to consolidate their finances and come up with a conscious spending plan and visualise their rich life. Over the course of the show, his clients develop a glow that’s compelling to watch. It’s amazing how people can turn their financial narrative around in just six weeks. And how Ramit manages them with a unique blend of sensitivity and assertiveness, getting them to shed their flawed money personalities and develop better money habits.
As for me, I realise that I have given scant thought to my vision of the rich life, having always preferred to go with the flow. But what Ramit did with a young couple was to make them realise what their rich life in the present entailed. Which was to have enough money for a dream wedding. It’s quite inspiring watching the couple inviting both sets of parents to a meal and asking them if they could help finance their wedding partially because a dream wedding was not only their vision of a rich life, but also what their elders would have wanted. I guess I should look into designing my rich life - and pursuing it with all my ferocity.
