Personal-finance writer behind I Will Teach You to Be Rich (the book, 2009 and 2019, and the podcast); host of Netflix’s How to Get Rich
Money8 ideas
His plan, not financial advice
Checked 17 Oct 2026. Each line is in our own words, with where it was said and an independent study or guideline next to it. Ties: Sells paid courses, coaching and a monthly membership through his site.
The blueprint, line by line
Goal
Rich Life written down: what I want money for, with 2 or 3 goals priced and dated
Their own practice · His own exercise, not studied as such. Goal-setting research finds specific, hard goals beat “do your best”, mostly in work and lab tasks Research
Costs: an hour once (he and his wife each wrote a 10-year list in 15 minutes, then priced two items); look again once a year
For your blueprint
Spend big on the few things I love; cut hard on what I don’t care about
Their own practice · His framework. In 76,000 bank transactions, spending that fits one’s personality tracked higher life satisfaction, and a small follow-up showed a causal lift in mood; the cutting half is untested Research
Costs: no time; the money moves from what you don’t care about to what you do
For your blueprint
Take-home pay in four buckets: fixed costs 50–60 %, investing 10 %, saving 5–10 %, guilt-free spending 20–35 %
Their own practice · His rules of thumb, not studied, and other posts on his own site use other splits. For comparison, Nibud advises every Dutch household to save at least 10 % of income Research
Costs: an hour or two once, from two months of bank statements; add 15 % to fixed costs for what you missed
Goal
Invest 10 % of take-home pay every month, for the long term (your pension premium may count)
Their own practice · 10 % is his rule of thumb, not a studied number; he aims for 20–30 % himself. Below 10 % he says add a point a year: Save More Tomorrow, that idea, took savings from 3.5 % to 13.6 % in 40 months at one firm Research
Costs: 10 % of take-home pay; set up once
Goal
Emergency fund of 6 months of spending in cash, filled before investing (he keeps 12)
Mixed evidence · No study sets a month count: the usual advice is 3–6 months, his is 6–12. Nibud’s Dutch guideline buffer (about €10,500 for a single person) covers surprise costs, not job loss Research
Costs: months to build; he suggests about 5 % of income a month until it is full
For your blueprint
Payday on autopilot: standing orders move saving and investing out in the days after pay lands
Guideline · Defaults work: automatic enrolment sharply raised pension saving at a large US employer, and a 58-study meta-analysis finds a large default effect. Tested as defaults set by employers, not as standing orders you set yourself; Nibud also advises saving automatically Research
Costs: about an hour once to set up; no money
For your blueprint
Invest through a few low-cost, broad index funds and leave them: no stock picking, a look once a quarter
Strong evidence · S&P’s SPIVA Europe scorecard, mid-2026: 94 % of Europe-based active equity funds trailed their benchmark over 10 years. His plan, not advice on what to buy Research
Costs: set up once; fees he keeps under 0.2 % a year; a few minutes a quarter
For your blueprint
Once a month, a money date: 30 minutes, 5 on spending, the rest on Rich Life goals
Their own practice · His own practice, never trialled. In 4,574 US couples followed over years, money disagreements predicted divorce more than any other kind of disagreement Research
Costs: 30 to 60 minutes a month; he suggests doing it over dinner out
How to use this
Don't take all of it. Pick one or two lines that fit your week, try them for two weeks, and keep what works for you. That's what Vea is for: a weekly check-in that shows what each habit does for you.
Not an endorsement: these are our short summaries of what each person has published, with a link to the source. They have no connection to Vea. Ideas to try, not medical advice. On this list and want off? [email protected]