Ramit SethiRamit Sethi: The No-BS Guide to Living a Rich Life

Save money by driving your cellphone into the ground

13 May 2008 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:01

Ramit Sethi argues for buying quality items and using them until they break. He kept his four-year-old phone working despite degradation, saving money by refusing to upgrade.

Questions this video answers

May 13, 2008.

"Buy the best thing you can if it's expensive, and then drive it into the ground by keeping it for as long as you can."

Four years old.

Hi, Ramit.
Hey.
What is the one thing you tell people when they're buying something?
So I always tell them, buy the best thing you can if it's expensive, and then drive it into the ground by keeping it for as long as you can.
And can you give me an example of that?
Yes. Here's my phone, which doesn't work anymore unless it's flickering right now. You literally cannot use it until you get lucky and wait and one day it decides to work. So this is a four year old phone and I've driven it into the ground.
All right, that's it.