The book written by Robert Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” introduces a narrative involving two of his fathers. The first one was his biological father, who was a poor dad, and the second one was the author’s friend’s father, who had the role of the rich dad. The main idea of the book evolved around two fathers and the lessons that they gave to the boys. The poor and the rich dads had different perspective on the financial issue and had contrasting views on managing money. Throughout the narrative, Robert Kiyosaki shares his experience and the lessons that he gained from his rich dad.
The book provides readers with many interesting insights regarding financial literacy. It could fundamentally change one’s mindset about personal finance and approach to saving money. The message of the book is rooted in the idea that the way a person views and treats their financial resources determines their wealth and financial success in life. Many people today are concerned about their budget and do not have enough knowledge on how to spend or save money in a proper manner. The book by Kiyosaki is a good tool for them to gain more information about the topic and to review their attitudes to work and finance.
Several important learning points could be highlighted in the book. The first and essential lesson for me personally is that rich people make their money work for them. That means that they do not earn money and simply save them or buy a house or a car on all the earned money. Such an approach, according to the book, will lead to the so-called rat race. That means that most people earn money but spend them improperly. They do not take enough risk to multiply their savings, and that is the main reason why they stay poor and barely make ends meet. Rich people, on the contrary, are risky enough to invest their money in assets in order to increase the resources they already have. The lesson is that the money should work and generate new income.
The next crucial learning point from the book is that the most valuable asset in education is primarily financial education. The book emphasizes the importance of life-long learning and educating oneself. A person should be creative, open-minded, and flexible in order to find better solutions for the rapidly changing world. The one that is too conservative and mistrusting could face difficulties with finding new opportunities. The poor dad was quite skeptical about risk-taking, and he generally had a negative view of the idea of generating more money. The rich dad, however, was always learning from his mistakes, implemented the method of trial and error, and was very flexible. Consequently, he became rich because he was constantly educating himself on how to make more money and how to manage his finances in an efficient way.
Another learning point is connected to the distinguishment between liabilities and assets. Many people might not know the difference between these two terms. According to the book, many people do not know the importance of putting money on assets first and not liabilities. Liabilities are associated with obligations and commitments, while assets are referred to as investments and securities. When a person does not know the meaning of the assets and does not invest money in the right way, they might put all the money into liabilities. In that way, they will be stuck up in a rat race for the rest of their life.
The next lessons highlight the essence of the way a person spends financial resources. Some people start to spend too much once they start to earn a certain amount of money. However, that is not the right way to treat one’s resources. The rich dad says that it is crucial to spend less, especially in the starting stages. The book emphasizes the idea that liabilities should be decreased as much as possible.
I think that the lessons provided in the book are highly useful and relevant to the current realities. I personally would like to apply many of them to my life so I could be a more financially literate person. Firstly, I would like to implement the rule saying to decrease the expenses. Sometimes I tend to make impulsive purchases and forget to control how much I spend. That is a toxic habit for my finances because, as the book tells with such a behavior, it will be difficult to save and multiply the financial resources.
Next, I would like to apply the rule of investing in assets. I have noticed that I think more about how to put the money into liabilities but not assets. That could be dangerous, according to the book, and I agree with that. If I spend all the money on liabilities, it could end up with a rat race for me, which I would not like. That is why I would prefer to think about investing my money and, moreover, as the book recommends, reinvesting them into new assets. In that way, my money will work for me, and I will be able to increase my resources. I agree with most of the ideas that were raised in the book and hope to integrate them into my personal experience effectively.