With all of the hype surrounding Robert T. Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, I fully expected a life changing read that would open new horizons and unlock the mysteries of the wealthy. What I got was a nice little parable with very little actual advice and a whole lot of pep talk. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting people fired up about making money, it won't do them much good if they can't put the advice into action right away.
My main complaint with this book is that the techniques mentioned in it are really only useful for those who are in their early 20's and willing to go the long haul when it comes to making money. I think the majority of readers are those who are already established and need to find a way to get more money for retirement or as a way to break free from their dreary jobs. Most of the focus appears to be on ways to make money that are already well known.
We all know that taking money and putting it into high interest bearing accounts will pay off eventually. We all know that the wealthy usually have many assets. What we don't know is how they get them, how they keep them and how they keep their money rolling in. You don't play high stakes poker with interest. You have got to be willing to get out there and put your money on the table and take that chance at winning the pot.
While this book is a great resource for teenagers and those just starting out in life, I really can't recommend it to those who are looking for a path on the way to becoming wealthy. It's already pretty much an accepted fact that watching your money and living frugally is a good way to save and amass wealth. But how you do get that wealth in the first place?
In order to get money, you've got to have money. For most of us, who don't have a rich dad, that either means waiting for 20 years to have a savings account that we can actually work with, or it means taking that chance and leveraging debt in a smart way. This book was very anti-debt, which is a good thing for some people, especially if they are caught up in bad debt. However, it did not address good debt appropriately enough and the benefits that it can bring if managed correctly.
Most of the rich got that way by leveraging their debt when they first started out. It's one thing to be born wealthy, but somewhere along the line in that family, somebody had to take that risk that would eventually pay off to secure the futures of their descendants. Leveraging debt to make money is the oldest method of finding financial freedom. I wish the book had gone into more detail on this premise instead of focusing on what most people already know.
Originally posted 2008-11-13 16:14:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Travesty of the Debt Snowball aka Hello World I have a passion for personal finance... I can't get enough... I read about it, I think about it, and now I write about it. Why does the Internet need another personal finance blog? All personal finance blogs that I have read vilify debt, demonize it even... While such a stance is...... -
Paying off Debt in 9 Steps pt 2 Part two in the series on paying off debt: Throwing away your bills and shredding your credit card payment reminders simply is not going to make the problem go away. Debt is going to hover over you until you find a way to deal with it. Interest will continue to...... -
How to Create Wealth With Debt On the surface, this seems like an oxymoron. How could you possibly use debt to create more money? It actually isn’t an oxymoron, but you’re going to need to change your perception of debt and classify into two different categories for this to make sense. There are many ways that...... -
Investing Safely You want for your money to work for you and to grow, right? But taking risks makes you feel uneasy? So is there a way for you to invest more safely? Of course there is! There is a rule that is associated with investing that is ancient, and yet remains...... -
Supplementary Solutions for Debt Repayment There are a number of other things that you can do in order to improve your current money situation at the same time as you are working on the debt repayment solutions that we touched on in the previous three articles of this series. While you will be seeing results......
Related Websites -
REVIEW - The Automatic Millionaire REVIEW: The Automatic Millionaire, By David Bach "A Powerful One-Step Plan To Live and Finish Rich" FROM THE BACK: "Do you want to live rich and retire richer? Rich enough to do what you want to do when you want to do it? Rich enough to stop worrying about...... -
Interview with Allan (From Rich Money Habits) What encouraged you to start Rich Money habits? It has been said that we are creatures of habit. Some money habits make us poor, while others make us rich. The key to being rich is knowing which is which. My money habits growing up can be described as “working...... -
Book Review: Automatic Wealth by Michael Masterson This isn't a typical wealth-building book. Most (good) books on wealth-building (like The Automatic Millionaire or The Millionaire Next Door) will advocate spending less than you earn and investing the difference from a young age. This is tried-and-true advice, and many of the people who follow this advice are comfortably...... -
38 random thoughts on building prosperity If you were going to sit down and write a list about building prosperity, what would be on your list? Here are 38 random lessons Iâve learned about building prosperity. Not one is set in stone, and some of them are my own goals. Almost all of them, though,...... -
One Year Of Frugal Dad, A Look Back Hard to believe I have been writing here at Frugal Dad for an entire year! In some ways it is hard to remember a time when I wasn't writing, but in other ways I can easily remember being a fan of so many other blogs, but hesitating to start one......
- Richie Rich Cartoon Character Bronze Age 1970-79 Comics Collectibles
- People Postcards Collectibles
- Life Savers Candy Nuts Advertising Collectibles
Categories:
Book Review, Money, Personal Finance, Wealth
Tags:


1 comment so far ↓
[...] Andrew’s book reads like a rejected first draft of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and right off the bat, it’s kitschy premise (ripped right from the above book) falls more than a [...]
Leave a Comment