I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

Optimizing your plan might involve doing some serious bargaining when you make major purchases like a car or house (see Chapter 9). Or you might need to cut your expenses as ruthlessly as possible, which I cover on my website (search for “ramit savings”). You may even think about negotiating a higher salary or getting a higher-paying job.

You’ll need to have at least enough cash in it to cover the minimum investment of the fund, which is usually between $1,000 and $3,000.

Don’t make the first offer. That’s their job. If they ask you to suggest a number, smile and say, “Now come on, that’s your job. What’s a fair number that we can both work from?”

Invest as much as possible into tax-deferred accounts like your 401(k) and IRA. Because retirement accounts are tax advantaged, you’ll enjoy significant rewards.

I broke down their job posting line by line and wrote down my skills and projects I’d worked on that directly related to their description. 2. I researched their website extensively, read articles about the company, and looked up the management teams’ backgrounds so that I could speak knowledgeably about the company and why I was a good fit. 3. I p

Spend some time talking about your attitudes toward money. How do you treat money? Do you spend more than you make? Why? How did your parents talk about money? How did they manage it?

If you feel this way, sure, use a small part of your portfolio for “high risk”

Your key phrase here is “Let’s find a way to arrive at a fair number that works for both of us.”

Negotiating tactic: Always frame your negotiation requests in a way that shows how the company will benefit. Don’t focus on the amount you’ll cost the company. Instead, illustrate how much value you can provide the company. If your work will help them drive an initiative that will make $1 million for the company, point that out.