Lessons I Have Learnt

What I learnt from Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

When I was in high school, I desperately wished that there was an altogether different course in financial management. That never happened. But, hey! hey! Turns out, never too late to learn. A few days back I went through a book which is highly recommended if one wants to have a practical outlook at finances in general – Rich Dad Poor Dad. It was on my TBR list for a couple of years now. And now, here I am, sharing my thoughts on it.

The author Robert Kiyosaki proceeds in a very fluid language. As the book begins, the initial part looks quite an eye opener. As he begins delving deeper into his book, and I begin giving a little thought of my own to what’s written, I quickly realize that most of it is known to every common person out there. Just that we fail to implement the ideas and remain stuck in the rat race until the conventional retirement age.

In the first half of the book, the author describes his journey with money. How his Rich Dad explains him about what financial habits lead to what results in the long run. That everyone has a choice to make their financial decisions. The conventional advise that most parents and teachers give to children is ‘Go to school, get good grades and get a secure job’. However, result of this advise is no longer as it would have been in say, 1950’s. It can just make the person live a life full of worries about job security, financial security.

There is no harm in doing conventional jobs. However, in this age, it is not entirely realistic of a person to depend completely on their employer – be it the government or the private enterprises. Every person needs to build something of their own, something that they can rely on even in the tougher times.

Robert explains how one should maintain their assets column larger than their liabilities column, also what how the same object can be an asset or a liability depending upon how it is used. As much as any person would want to have a bigger apartment, it can be big asset if rented out and an equally big liability if it is kept for personal. The idea is as simple as that. The aversion to taking action is what keeps people in the rat race of earning money by working hard, instead of using their belongings to produce money-babies!

As Robert proceeds to the second part, the book becomes a bit more technical (and it is where I start lousing around a bit 😉 ). Jokes apart, he discusses different ways emphasizing how one can maintain their assets column to be bigger than their liabilities column.

For a layman, the book succeeds in giving a clear perspective as to how should one have realistic financial goals and what are the general steps to go about achieving the same.

Go on to give it a read!