Poor Dad Poor Dad

I'm guessing most of this site's readers would have probably know by now who Robert Kiyosaki is. He is known for his popular (in both the good and the bad sense) Rich Dad Poor Dad bestseller. Written in the form of a story, he argues that the middle class stays in the middle class, and the upper class gets richer because of the differences in the way they think.

The Poor Dad is his true father, who is a lecturer in a university and earns a reasonable living. But he walks on the safe path of life, goes through motion of basic education, university education and then finding a respectable, secure job. He is one who, like many of us, takes little risks. He encourages his son to study hard, and find a safe job. He works for money.

On the contrary, Rich Dad, who is his friend's father, had earlier dropped out of school grade and made himself a millionaire. Rich Dad teaches him (and his friend) invaluable lessons in managing wealth and finance, and to learn how to take managed, or calculated risks. He encourages his son to work for himself, and not for others. He makes money work for him.

Easy-Forex? The best trading platform available today.
Forex trading involves substantial risk of loss, and may not be suitable for everyone.

There are many lessons that the author teaches, most of which financial advisors will be able to guide you on, if you ask.

In order to achieve financial independence, we must first be able to account for our own finances. We need to know what is our income, what are our expenses, etc. It is not at all difficult to learn, and is really just basic math. Once you grasp that, you then start to ascertain which of those you own are assets which of those are liabilities. An asset is item that produces income for you. Obviously, you are your own asset, because you can produce income for yourself. But other things that you own can also produce income for you, and most of which are produced passively. Stocks, bonds, property, intellectual property, for instance. Liabilities are items that cannot be sold for more than what you bought it for, for as long as you own them, and are probably items that does not generate any income. Cars, computers, LCD TVs, etc.

Once you have classified them, it is then your job to increase your income, reduce your expenses, increase your assets, reduce your liabilities. That's what I have been trying to do: take on additional jobs, take no cabs to work, increase my mutual fund investments, and sell my car.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is an inspiration for those who yearn to climb out from the middle class to reach upper class, or at least attain financial independence. I won't kid you: there have been criticisms about his book. But personally, I think there are some lessons to be learned from the book, but do not expect a detailed guide on how to be a millionaire. You'll have to come up with that guide yourself. :)

Amazon is selling Rich Dad Poor Dad at a discounted price from the original. So it's a great time to pick up the book if you haven't already done so. Good luck!