Are you a bookworm? Rich Dad Poor Dad got something for you. People are constantly seeking knowledge especially financial knowledge to gain control of their financial future. Well, books are the right source or at least the surest way to gain that knowledge that will stick with you forever.
Out of the many financial books I have read, Rich Dad Poor Dad helped me up my knowledge in the realm of finance. My time as an insurance sale agent with ICEA Lion Group, I was looking for financial knowledge from documentaries, movies and books and somewhere in my looking expedition, I stumbled upon this number one personal financial book of all time.
There are lessons I have learnt from this book—tons of them I have constantly shared with my circle of friends as well as family.
In this blog however, I will put these lessons in writing.
Salary won’t make you rich
If you solely depend on your salary, chances are at least according to Robert Kiyosaki, you will not get rich. In Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert says salary only keeps in a circle which he calls RAT race. You get your salary, pay your bills and wait for the salary again and repeat all over again the paying bills process.
Being rich is relative, what I call rich may not be you rich but to be satisfied with your financial value; strive to have assets and not salary.
Learn the Money Language
School won’t teach you the money language, it will only teach to make money by working. But money by working is not how the money language works. The key to learning the language of money is controlling your emotions. This way, money will work for you and not the other way round. Rather than solely relying on a salary or wage, the rich focus on building assets that generate income passively.
By acquiring income-generating assets such as real estate, stocks, or businesses, individuals can break free from the cycle of working for money and instead create wealth that works for them. As Robert puts it in Rich Dad Poor Dad. The rich do not work for money.
Learn to Unlearn
To fully master the art of personal finance, you need to unlearn the things you were taught in schools. Schools feed us more theoretical financial knowledge which in the real world of finance comes out as vague. Rich Dad Poor Dad gave a candid example of the difference between assets and liabilities—how they are taught in school has a different meaning to what they actually are.
Assets are anything that puts money in your pocket, while liabilities take money out of your pocket. Often, people mistakenly perceive their primary residence or expensive cars as assets, but in reality, they can be liabilities as they require ongoing expenses. By prioritizing the acquisition of income-generating assets, individuals can gradually build their wealth and financial stability.
If you don’t unlearn, you will never quit considering cars as assets once you have gone through the school system.
Manage Risks
Do not avoid risks, manage them. In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki encourages readers to overcome their fear of taking risks and embrace the world of investing and entrepreneurship. While the path to financial independence may involve some degree of risk, it also presents tremendous opportunities. By adopting a growth mindset and learning from failures, individuals can build resilience and make calculated investment decisions that can lead to long-term wealth creation.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is a powerful book that offers valuable lessons in personal finance. It challenges the conventional wisdom taught in schools and provides a fresh perspective on building wealth and achieving financial independence.
Through its pages, readers learn that relying solely on a salary is not the path to riches, and instead, they must focus on acquiring assets that generate passive income. The book emphasizes the importance of learning the language of money and controlling emotions to make money work for you. It also highlights the need to unlearn traditional financial concepts taught in schools and reframe one’s understanding of assets and liabilities.
