David Marchese

From The New York Times, this is The Interview.

I'm David Marchese.

What's the best thing to do with our money?

It's an age-old question, and one often prompted by the feeling, at least for me, that there are experts out there who know the mysterious answers hidden from the rest of us financial rubes.

Ramit Sethi has found success positioning himself as one such expert in the world of personal finance.

His book, the irresistibly titled I Will Teach You to Be Rich, has more than a million copies in print.

In the years since it was published in 2009, Sethi has transitioned into streaming with a Netflix series called How to Get Rich and a popular podcast, Money for Couples, in which he ends up playing both financial advisor and de facto relationship therapist for couples struggling with money problems.

So why are people listening to him?

For one, he comes across as younger, hipper, and more emotionally attuned and liberal than your stereotypical brow-beating financial experts.

For another, he says the key to personal wealth, even in an economic moment that seems particularly tough for his younger audience, can be as much about spending money as it is about scrimping and saving.

I wish I'd known that sooner.

Here's my conversation with Ramit Sethi.

Ramit, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.

We're going to talk about money.

My problem is I have too much of it.

How do I get rid of some money?

That's really my issue.

You do not hear that too often.

So just to start, when you talk about helping people become rich, you don't just mean rich in a dollar figure way.

You mean it in a more holistic way.