Frugality & Saving Josh on 15 Jan 2009 05:05 am
Ramit Sethi’s “Scrooge Strategy”: Is spending money to save money a good idea?
Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich is one of the top personal finance blogs on the internet. He is notorious for telling people to forget about the little frugality tips and focus on the big things that save money. For example, instead of worrying about the cost of your coffee addiction, which could save you ten or so dollars a week, focus on how to get the best interest rates on a mortgage, which could save you tens of thousands of dollars (these aren’t Ramit’s words, just an example of his style).
Ramit is a very polarizing guy. You either love him or hate him. While few doubt his financial acunem, many seem to be put off by his confident–borderline cocky–attitude. He knows his advice is legit, and he is not afraid to speak his mind. Make a less than intelligent comment on one of his articles and he will let you have it. Personally, I like Sethi very much. His blog has been a big part of my financial turn around and an inspiration for starting this site. But I do see how his style would turn some people off.
Recently, Ramit caused an even bigger stir than normal by introducing “Scrooge Strategy: Premium Savings Tips“. Scrooge Strategy is a subscription program that, upon signing up, will send you weekly in-depth tips on ways to save money and/or earn more money. These aren’t just small tips like “pack your lunch for work”. Sethi promises super-tactical, highly in-depth tips that will help you save hundreds, in not thousands, of dollars per year. And on top of his own tips, he also promises to include tips from other top personal finance bloggers, millionaires and Ivy League educated financial minds.
So what’s the catch? This is a paid subscription. Eight dollars a month to be exact. And this has a lot of people up in arms over the whole thing.
On top of Ramit catching heat for daring to charge money for his services, another top personal finance blogger is being scolded for even mentioning the subscription. Get Rich Slowly’s normally laid back commentors were quite vocal about their displeasure for not only the idea of charging money for personal finance tips, but the simple fact that JD mentioned it.
A lot of people seem to be under the impression that both Ramit Sethi and JD Roth are being hypocritical in charging a fee (or mentioning the program) while at the same time telling people to be frugal. Here are my thoughts on the situation.
- The idea that charging for financial tips is wrong is laughable at best. If that is the case personal finance books, magazines and newspapers would be out of business. There are many times in life where it makes sense to spend some money in order to make (or save) money.
- Ramit is not being “hypocritical”. He preaches the idea of making money off your hobbies. Coming up with ways to save money is a hobby of Ramits. He’s found a way to make money off it. That sounds to me like he is practicing what he preaches, the opposite of being a hypocrite.
- JD is doing what a personal finance blog should do, which is bring all major personal finance news to his readers attention. The Scrooge Strategy is major personal finance news.
As for the subscription service itself, I’m leaning towards signing up. Here’s why:
- It offers a 60 day money back guarantee if you do not save more than it costs to join. There is virtually no risk.
- It had a six week trial period and offers testimonials from several of the original users. They seem to be quite satisfied.
- It gives me something to write about here. I can let you guys know if it is working.
Do I recommend you sign up for “The Scrooge Strategy”? No. But I do recommned you check out www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com, see how you like Ramit’s style and decide for yourself whether or not you want to sign up.
I do not think the subscription is right for everyone, or even most people. I do think it has an audience that it can be very useful to. It is up to you to decide whether or not it is worth (or you can afford) the eight dollar a month charge.
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One Response to “Ramit Sethi’s “Scrooge Strategy”: Is spending money to save money a good idea?”
on 30 Apr 2009 at 11:54 am 1.Hakabuasfei said …
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