The Rich Dad Poor Dad was written by Robert Kiyosaki. The purpose of this book is to share the life lessons that he learned from his two dads. His biological father and the father of his best friend. Who taught him about money management?
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad for a class and thought it would be useful to summarize the book in this blog post. I will outline the main points of the book as well as offer my opinion on what I learned from reading it.
Rich Dads give you an education about money.
Poor Dads tell you how to earn more money.
The author shares his experience with both types of dads.
Image Credit: AFM media
He explains that having a rich dad is better than having a poor dad.
Because
He teaches you how to think about your finances differently. Which leads to financial freedom later in life.
The key takeaway from this book is that
we should all strive to be like our rich dads. Instead of following our poor dad’s footsteps.
Table of Contents
The key takeaway from Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book that teaches readers about the rich and poor dad’s perspectives on earning money. The author outlined ways that can be used to escape the “rat race of working for unlimited hours yet struggling to make end meets or spend money wisely.”
Below are the keys taken away from Rich dad and Poor dad.
- The two biggest differences between the rich and poor are how they think and what they do. The real “secret” of getting ahead financially is to base your financial decisions on knowledge rather than emotions, speculation, or ideology.
- The best way to become rich is by cultivating a rich mindset. By actively seeking out new opportunities to learn about money and success. We can mould ourselves into rich people. This is not something that happens overnight, but it is possible with the right mindset.
- Pay yourself first. Before you pay your bills each month. Put aside a specific amount of money in income-generating investments. Short of funds, use this pressure to keep yourself on your toes and increase your earnings.
- Taking action when possible and making an effort even if we don’t feel like it
- Inventing money takes a desire to learn new skills and knowledge towards finding opportunities. To maximize profits from sources other than working as a wage slave. This is why employees remain poor because they do not think of changing the way they work.
- We should surround ourselves with the right people and avoid spending time with poor people.
- Avoid borrowing money, especially from banks because they want to keep you in debt for as long as possible (a classic ‘rich vs poor’ example). Rich dad teaches the author how to buy assets like real estate with other people’s money.
- The more you learn about financial literacy, the better. Rich people read books on their subject all of the time. Because this is another way they can continue learning even if they don’t go back to school or get a job.
- Learn how to control inflation by investing in assets (i.e real estate) instead of liabilities (consumer goods). This is because when times get tough, rich people still have assets to sell. While poor people find themselves with a bunch of stuff that’s losing value over time.
- You must buy luxury items last in order to become wealthy. People who buy luxury items are frequently in significant debt. The objective is to create assets that may be used to acquire luxury items.
- To acquire more assets, you should reinvest any excess cash flow generated by your assets.
- Save money on taxes, set up a company. An employee earns money, pays taxes on it, and then spends the balance.
- Learn something about everything. Learn anything you can about accounting, investing, law, sales, marketing, leadership, writing, speaking, and communication. You should know very little about any of these areas.
- Failure is a motivator for winners and a deterrent for losers. Do not be scared of failure and have the confidence to accept and learn from your mistakes.
- Never lose your temper. Never let anyone’s criticism or fear get the best of you.
Rich Dad Poor Dad Lessons Summary
- Lesson 1: The Rich Don’t Work for Money
- Lesson 2: Why Teach Financial Literacy?
- Lesson 3: Mind Your Own Business
- Lesson 4: The History of Taxes and The Power of Corporations
- Lesson 5: The Rich Invent Money
- Lesson 6: Work to Learn—Don’t Work for Money
- Lesson 7: Overcome obstacles
- Lesson 8: Getting started
- Lesson 9: Still want more? Here are some to-do’s
- Final thoughts
Lesson 1: The rich don’t work for money
“The rich don’t work for money.” Robert Kiyosaki said the statement carefully in his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”.
He mentioned it several times. Because he believes the poor and the middle class are often taught to follow someone else’s dream. Which usually has restrictions like a time clock, budget, and social status.
He wants you to learn what the rich teach their kids about money by reading his book. Because
it’s important to be aware of what you’re doing with your money if you want to be rich.
The rich don’t work for money. They make their money work for them. The poor and the middle-class work for money. That’s why they are poor or middle class. If you want to be rich, think of having a business or investment that prints money while you sleep without working hard every day.
On the other hand, poor people often buy liabilities like cars, houses, and wearables. They put themselves into a bad credit history due to these luxury items. So their money is never making any money.
Work on a passive income which makes a little every month or year. Without physical work or breaks in your lifestyle.
With Freelancing, you can build an income stream of passive income. you can learn what is freelancing here.
Lesson 2: Why teach financial literacy
It’s not about how much money you earn. It’s all about how much money you keep.
The most essential financial lesson to grasp is that it’s all about how much money you keep, not how much money you make.
And sooner or later, if you don’t have financial literacy, your money will run out.
According to Robert Kiyosaki, Financial IQ is made up of four key areas:
- Accounting: the capacity to interpret/read numbers
- Investing: the notion of earning money through investments
- Knowing market conditions: understanding supply and demand
- The Law: Knowing what your company’s tax advantages and protections are can help you make better financial decisions.
The most difficult problem for poor people is to discern the difference between a liability and an asset. Knowing the distinction can help you acquire money.
So, what’s the difference? Investment helps you make money. A liability subtracts funds from your account.
Few examples of liabilities that poor people own:
- Credit card debt
- Car loans
- Mortgage
- School loans
On the other side, few examples of assets that rich people own:
- Bonds/Mutual Funds
- Real estate
- Stocks
- Intellectual property
When it comes to personal finance, most people think it is about following a budget and sticking with a financial plan. Accounting helps you keep track of where all the money comes into and goes out of your life.
Financial Intelligence is important. It gives you more options than you can handle. You’ll learn how to manage your money, make smart investments, and build wealth for the future. Based on his personal experiences, Robert Kiyosaki believes that teaching students about financial literacy will help them in becoming more self-sufficient in life.
He explains this view by saying that when people have studied money. They often tend to become rich. While those who avoid anything related to money usually choose hard work. Without understanding what they are doing. Thus remain poor throughout their lives.
According to him, schools are not designed to teach financial literacy to students in an attempt to train them in becoming rich. He says many graduates end up working for money and spend their lives trying to achieve the American dream. which he argues is just a myth. Kiyosaki advises parents and teachers to teach children financial literacy and how to become rich. So, they do not follow in the footstep of their poor and middle-class parents.
Lesson 3: Mind your own business
The wealthy concentrate on their asset columns. While the common man focuses on their income statements.
In the lesson, Mind your own Business from Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad, he explains how it is important to invest money wisely.
It’s important for entrepreneurs to understand these aspects of their business. in order to expand their knowledge and experience in it.
There are many things that people can do to improve their financial situation. But the simplest and most direct technique is to make a change in mindset. Developing this rich mindset cannot be done overnight, however, it must be cultivated over time.
When Robert was in his twenties and working for Xerox, he realized how upsetting it was to see how little money he earned. His employers would discuss prospective promotions and pay increases with him. He could already picture himself following in his Poor dad’s footsteps. He recognized that he needed to pursue his rich dad’s route after this insight. As a result, Robert turned to mind his own business by increasing his asset column so that he might invest in Hawaii’s real estate market.
This renewed energy empowered him to work harder at promoting Xerox machines at work. He sensed he was creating something greater. His real estate business was generating more money than he did at Xerox after three years of effort.
He believes that with this mindset, it is possible for everyone to be rich if they just change their behaviour.
Lesson 4: The History of Taxes and the power of corporations
My rich dad just played the game smart, and he did it through corporations– the biggest secret of the rich.
Poor dad shows more interest in studying history while on the other hand, rich dad studies more about taxes. The rich should pay more in taxes and distribute them to the poor,’” says the poor man. The actual wealthy, on the other hand, never pay taxes.
The rich invest in a corporation. The expenses from their personal income statement can be applied to the corporate’s costs. Despite the fact that the masses strive to find ways to tax the wealthy. They regularly outsmart them.
The wealthy try to find legal ways to avoid paying taxes. As a result, they frequently engage the brightest accountants and lawyers.
Tax advantages: corporations can deduct expenses before taxes, which individuals cannot. A business may only have to pay tax on what is left over after spending everything it can. Car payments, insurance, repair costs, health club memberships, and the majority of restaurant meals may all be written off.
Protection from Lawsuit: The wealthy employ corporations to defend their assets from creditors. Whereas the weak and middle classes try to preserve everything for themselves.
Taxation of Business Owners with Corporations
- Earn
- Spend
- Pay Taxes
Employees Who Work for Corporations
- Earn
- Pay Taxes
- Spend
Lesson 5: Rich invent money
“The players who get out of the Rat Race the quickest are the people who understand numbers and have creative financial minds.”
Robert’s rich dad was an inventor of money because he used his knowledge of investing to create real estate projects around the world. The passive income from the rentals is far more than what Robert’s poor dad could demand for a week of labour.
Rich people invest money as much as they can. They invest in businesses other than their primary source. Because it is sometimes difficult to work on two separate jobs simultaneously without sacrificing time, energy, and focus.
The typical average person’s plan is to “work hard, save, and borrow.” However, instead of working hard, they should try to improve their financial intelligence so that they may generate more money.
According to Robert Kiyosaki, most individuals never win because they are more concerned about losing than anything else. That is why I came to dislike school so much. We are instructed in school that mistakes are bad and that we should be punished for making them.
However, if you look at how humans learn, we learn by making mistakes.
Poor people stay poor because they are waiting for the perfect conditions before they act. They do not understand that, in life, you need to take risks and accept failure as part of success.
Middle-class people stay middle-class because they believe it is safer than climbing further. They fail to realize that by staying comfortable, they allow their dreams to remain unfulfilled.
Success comes from working hard and taking intelligent risks. If someone is willing to push through the fear of discomfort or failure, then all opportunities become possible.
“The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind. If it is trained well, it can create enormous wealth.”
To Sum up Robert’s rich dad’s three skills as an investor:
- Find an opportunity that no one else has seen; use your imagination rather than your eyes.
- Know how to raise cash without the use of a bank.
- Organize the brightest minds you can find: employ individuals who are smarter than you.
Lesson 6: Work to learn, don’t work for money
There are numerous successful and outstanding individuals in the world: physicians, lawyers, and dentists. Yet they continue to struggle financially.
However, an intelligent business analyst once said, you can acquire enormous money if you combine your expertise with financial intelligence, investing, sales & marketing, or the law.
Robert Kiyosaki’s lesson “Work to learn, don’t work for money” teaches us that working to earn money is not the best way. People should instead focus on learning valuable skills that will bring them what they need – just like rich people do. We shouldn’t only aim at making more money or even aim at getting paid for our work. We should also strive to make good use of our time and try to improve our knowledge by working every day.
You might be wondering why it’s so important to keep working every day even if the goal isn’t money. The answer is simple: in order to improve ourselves. We need to put our knowledge into practice.
Poor dad: Job security is very important.
Rich dad: Learning is important to him since he values knowledge.
Robert left his job so that he could learn how to lead people, according to his rich father, who advised him, “If you’re not a good leader, you’ll get shot in the back. Just like they do in business.”
Robert Kiyosaki’s top advice to individuals seeking to make more money is to pick up a second job that will help them develop another skill. Management of cash flow, systems management, and people management are all important skills that will aid in the success of your company.
In conclusion, I became both dads. Part of me is a hard-core capitalist who enjoys the game of generating money. The other half is a socially aware educator who is concerned about the ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots. Personally, I hold the outdated education system responsible for this widening gap.
Lesson 7: Overcoming Obstacles
Even the well-informed do not become financially independent for five primary reasons:
- Fear
- Cynicism
- Laziness
- Bad habits
- Arrogance
Fear: It’s not the winning that counts, it’s how you lose. Most people are more concerned with their losses than they ever have been about making money and becoming rich. You’ll need to be focused, rather than balanced, to succeed.
“Rich dad knew that failure would only make him stronger and smarter.”
The wealthy are not afraid to lose money. The rich do not develop their financial success gradually by avoiding losses. They learn how to minimize their losses and make them into opportunities by learning how to limit their losses and turn them into prospects.
Cynicism: Cynicism is the worst form of pessimism. It’s costly, and it stems from unchecked doubt and fear. A cynic will always have an explanation for why something isn’t feasible. Instead of analyzing, they criticize. A common example is, “I don’t want to fix toilets.”
Laziness: Usually, the laziest people are those who are preoccupied. People remain busy to avoid issues they don’t want to face or avoid. Work is necessary to acquire the skills needed to be wealthy.
Bad habits: When we look at our circumstances, it’s the sum of our actions and habits that matters most. do not involve gambling, drugs, etc. As a general rule, the author says you should “pay yourself first.” Instead of paying your boss, tax collector, or landlord first, take care of yourself. physically, mentally, and financially. Before anything else.
Arrogance: Arrogance is defined as ego plus ignorance, according to the author. Financial literacy is the solution.
Lesson 8: Getting Started
Finally, Robert discusses how to begin your trek to financial literacy and prosperity.
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Finding a reason greater than reality:
Achieving wealth is not the only thing on your mind when it comes to being rich. You need a reason for wanting this kind of life. If you don’t have one then all those material things are nothing but dust in an empty warehouse. With no value because there’s no deeper meaning or significance behind them beyond their sheer existence as possessions. The only way to protect yourself from the harsh realities of life is by identifying your true desires. You need something that will make you happy and content, not just rich for its own sake.
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The Power of Choice:
It’s important to know how and when you should invest your money for future generations as well as yourself. There will be enough resources available in case of an emergency or disaster situation. Where help isn’t coming anytime soon and we need every penny saved up for survival’s sake! Before putting anything into stocks (or other assets), do some research about their risks before investing.
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The Power of Association
You don’t have to choose pals based on their financial records. Choose buddies who are interested in the subject and discuss money often. People with money frequently claim that their richer friends never ask them how they achieved it.
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The power of learning quickly:
The best way to learn anything is by doing it. When you are ready, take action and make mistakes in your pursuit of success! Understanding this mantra will help you to get ahead in your career and be successful at it!
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The Power of self-disciplined:
Achieving success in life doesn’t happen overnight, don’t get into a situation where you have to pay off a large debt. Maintain a low budget- use this as an opportunity to find new ways of making more money!
Make sure we can handle anything with self-discipline on our end first.
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The Power of good advice
The world of business is an ever-changing, fast-moving one. It’s important for any company that desires success in this competitive environment to stay ahead of the times and not fall behind. Paying experts well and employing costly attorneys, accountants, real estate agents or stockbrokers is the first step toward success. Their services should be making you money so it’s essential to have people working for your company be smarter than yourself.
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The Power of getting something for nothing:
The first thing a classy investor asks is: How quickly will I get my funds back? They also want to know what they’ll gain for free, often known as a piece of the action. That is why the return on investment (ROI), which measures how much money you invest today versus how much money you can expect to make based on your strategy over time, is so important.’
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The Power of Focus:
People have different spending habits in terms of how they handle their money. Some are more likely to blow through what’s given to them. While others will save up and use it for something special later on down the road. But one thing that doesn’t change is this idea that you should never borrow from your asset column if at all possible! Why buy luxuries with liabilities like a credit card when you can get them from your asset column?
According to the author, If 100 people got $20,000 at the beginning of their year only four doubled or grew to millions! The rest either went into debt again or increase only 5-10%.
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The Power of myth:
Robert Kiyosaki’s heroes are people who have mastered the art and science of successful investing. One such hero was Peter Lynch. Mr Lynch’s strategies were focused on more than just making money quickly. He had long-term goals while still going through aftermarket fluctuations. Which would create short-term opportunities.
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The Power of giving:
Robert’s rich dad instilled in him a sense of charity. His poor father drilled into him the value of giving his time and knowledge, but not money. According to Rich Dad, if you want anything, you must first give. Give money if you need money.
Lesson 9: Still Want More? Here Are Some to do’s
- If you’re not getting the results that you’re looking for, stop doing what has been working and try something new.
- You should not only trust your own expertise but also reach out and learn from other experts in order to grow.
- A skilled salesperson knows that one offer is better than none. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth by making lots of offers.
- If you’re looking for a bargain, then the right place will be where there are plenty of opportunities. It’s not about being in one spot or another – it’s all about finding what works best for your business and capitalizing on that!
- Learn from history as all the big businesses on the stock market began as tiny enterprises.
- The best way to get the most for your money is through negotiating. Negotiation might seem like a daunting task. it’s the art of asking questions and listening carefully before speaking yourself.
- Let’s not wait for things like a perfect moment’ before doing anything! To make a difference, you must act now.
Final Thoughts
It was very interesting to read the Rich Dad Poor Dad.
Because
you can tell that the author is passionate about what he’s teaching. He wants people to learn how they can be financially successful despite their circumstances.
There are three kinds of income: ordinary, portfolio, and passive.
Poor dad: he goes to work every day, gets paid well, and has a safe and secure job.
Rich dad: Make money work for you by generating a passive income with your portfolio and active projects.
A person’s ability to turn earned money into passive, or portfolio income is the key to financial independence and great wealth.
Your financial will and time management skill influence your destiny. Your family’s future will be determined by your decisions today.
I would recommend you must read this book once in your career life. It helped many and will impact many like myself.
You may get Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad full book on Amazon.
