book review

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money -That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!  by Robert Kiyosaki

Want to read the Rich Dad series?  I would recommend you start with Rich Dad Poor Dad.  It is the true story of Robert Kiyosaki’s experiences with his 2 “fathers”.  One is his real father who earned a high salary but didn’t know how to manage his money, and the other is his best friend’s father who didn’t have a “secure job” with a high salary, but had the financial know-how to use OPM (Other People’s Money) to make wise investments that made him into a millionaire.  This book will certainly get your attention because it will make you question what you likely had drilled into your head as a child.  Most parents encourage their children to find secure jobs and to buy a house and a car, but don’t tell them how to properly manage their money.  Robert suggests that there really is no “secure job” and that a house and a car are not really assets.  Rather than working for someone else and helping them realize their dreams, he recommends working for yourself and buying assets that produce positive cash flow.  This is a great book to read if you want to learn more about making your money work for you

My husband and I began  reading the Rich Dad Books by Robert Kiyosaki back in February of last year. After we started reading them we began to get excited and motivated. We realized that our lives don’t have to always be the way they are now – working full time for someone else, retirement at age 65, and a maximum of 2 to 3 weeks vacation every year. We realized that there really is a way to get out of the rat race and that we don’t have to be rich to begin the journey. So often we have heard the aggravating saying, “It takes money to make money”. Well, according to the Rich Dad books, that is not necessarily true. Instead of using our own money, we can learn how to use other people’s money (OPM) to make wise investments and to start viable businesses. I really like Robert Kiyosaki’s style of writing – he is easy to understand and he provides practical advice on how to manage money and to think like the rich. He is very encouraging and I admire his desire to help others achieve the kind of success that he has achieved.

Ever since we read those books our lifestyle has changed. We started to keep our eyes open for business opportunities – looking in newspapers, hearing about opportunities on the radio, etc. We attended a trade show where we were exposed to all kinds of investment/business opportunities and we went to an information session about investing in vending machines and another one on buying raw land. We continue to read books about investing and business to educate ourselves and keep us motivated. Through these experiences we are developing a new way of thinking – not limiting ourselves to remaining in the rat race for our entire lives. It is exciting to be able to look forward to the future and to believe that there are infinite opportunities out there.

If you are tired of being stuck in the rat race, I highly recommend that you read the Rich Dad books, starting with Rich Dad Poor Dad. I will write more on the individual Rich Dad books later, but thought I would start by sharing how this series has impacted us. We had always been fairly good with money – we knew how to save and we didn’t rack up consumer debt, however, we needed the encouragement and motivation to get started on our journey to get out of the rat race. I hope you enjoy the series as much as we did!