5 Things Ramit Sethi Pays Other People To Do for Him and Why

©Ramit Sethi

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Ramit Sethi, bestselling author and host of the Netflix series “How to Get Rich” and the “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” podcast, knows that you won’t get rich by scrimping, saving and doing everything yourself. There are some things it’s worth paying someone else to do for you so you can spend more time doing what you do to make money.

But which things are worth outsourcing, and which should you do yourself? In a recent newsletter, Sethi revealed five things he pays other people to do for him and why.

Also see two reasons saving less is the secret to building wealth, according to Ramit Sethi.

Maximize Credit Card Points

Sethi has an assistant, and he hired someone to train her on the best way to take advantage of credit card points. “She learned how to search flights for deals, which credit card points transfer to which airlines, and how to use airline partnerships to get deals,” he said.

This is a good example of learning from an expert so that you can use that information in your daily life, saving money and time in the long run.

Run Errands Like Returning Packages

Sethi hires a courier to pick up his package, stand in line at the post office and send off his returns. Could he do this himself? Of course. But he explained that he saves himself time and aggravation by hiring someone to do it for him, so he can focus on things that he is better at and would rather do.

Meal Preparation

Sethi hires someone to prepare his meals ahead of time. They make what he likes and what he should be eating according to his preferred diet. And he doesn’t need to plan meals, shop for groceries or cook. When it’s mealtime, he just grabs a prepared meal out of the fridge and digs in.

You don’t have to hire a personal chef, Sethi explained. Instead, you can prep some meals for the week ahead of time or subscribe to a meal delivery service. According to National Debt Relief, meal prepping can save you time and money, as it can significantly reduce your cost per meal and reduce the number of times you eat out.

According to Sethi, “This is what buying back your time actually looks like.”

Working Out

Obviously, you can’t literally pay someone else to do this for you, but you can pay someone to help you with the groundwork. Having a fitness coach or trainer — or even one in each city if you’re bicoastal like Sethi — can help you stay on track.

Sethi has a trainer in New York and one in Los Angeles, and they work together to make sure he stays fit and healthy no matter where he is. You may need only one, but having someone who tells you when and how to work out can help keep you at the top of your game.

Investment Guidance

This may seem surprising for someone who is a well-known expert on personal finance, but Sethi doesn’t assume he knows it all.

He manages his own investments day-to-day but will sometimes hire a fee-only financial planner to give him an objective opinion on his portfolio. He wants to know if his investments are allocated correctly, if he’s being too aggressive or not aggressive enough, and if there are tax strategies he may not be using. According to Charles Schwab, a financial planner can help individuals jumpstart their savings, create an investment plan and instill better money habits.

“A second opinion gives me peace of mind — and potentially saves me a lot of money in the long run,” Sethi said.

Whether you are rich now or hoping to get there someday, paying others to do things for you may help. It’s not simply a financial decision — most things can be done more cheaply if you do them yourself. But consider the opportunity cost. What could you do instead of doing the thing that you’re considering outsourcing?

If you’d make more money, have less stress or be happier, paying someone else do it may be a good idea.

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