I mentioned in my post before that Rich Dad Poor Dad was one of the first 3 books that I read when I started learning about personal finance. It was the book that had really made me strive to be financially literate.
You may ask why this is one of the first books I read. It was simply because of raving testimonials I’ve read and heard about this one. And that it is a best-seller so I guess, this must be really good. Yeah, I don’t know what I’m doing but hey, at least I made some action. Enough said.
So, what is this book really about?
This basically is about Robert Kiyosaki’s two dads: his real biological father who he called his Poor Dad and his other father figure, his best friend’s father who he called his Rich Dad and the financial lessons he learned through their life and teachings. He set about on comparing the opposite teachings he received from them.
There are six lessons outlined in this book which are:
- The rich don’t work for money.
- Why teach financial literacy.
- Mind your own business.
- The history of taxes and the power of corporations.
- The rich invent money.
- Work to learn-don’t work for money.
This book really made wonders in making me really think about improving my finances. I really like the point he made in working to learn and not just earn. And the idea of making money work for you introduced me to passive income, which I really don’t have any idea of before.
But I was having second thoughts about this book.
Re-reading it, I was then aware of some vagueness of how to really set about doing the things he suggests. I was also at a loss when he then came to focus on real estate investing which for a beginner like me, seems far too complicated.
What really bothers me a lot though was how he discusses corporations and tax. I’m not really knowledgeable in that area but the way he said it makes corporation sound like a magic blanket that can cover the expenses of luxury items you want without spending your own personal money. I was like, what? IS THIS REALLY TRUE? OR am I NOT just getting this right? If this is true then isn’t this cheating? Okay, I’m naive but hey, I’m new to this.
So having been bothered by this and not really sure I’m comprehending the book well, I read other books and searched for some enlightenment about my confusion in this. What I really didn’t expect though was getting into an analysis of Rich Dad Poor Dad by John T. Reed, which was a shocker. I was left wondering what just happened.
My Verdict
But whether the book is great or not is not really for me to say. As I’ve said it covers topics I’m not really knowledgeable about and therefore makes me in no position to judge its value. However, what I can say is this book in all its glory and flaws have been one of the first nudges that get me going on to this journey for financial freedom.
Have you read this book already? What are your thoughts? Please share in the comments below.
