Mukund Seshadri, a CFP and the founder of M.S.Ventures reviews ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robert T. Kiyosaki. He finds that the book is a must read for anyone interested in wealth creation
“If you are born poor it is not your mistake but if you die poor it certainly is.”
Very few books challenge the old school of thought and make a profound impression on the way you think; “Rich Dad Poor Dad” is one such masterpiece.
Book background
The book revolves around the author who terms his father as poor and his friend’s father as rich. He terms each of them as such, not because of the money they have but because of the way they think about money. “Rich Dad” was rich and taught Robert how to get rich and stay that way. On the other hand, “Poor Dad” had typical middle-class notions about money and made just enough to pay his taxes and own a house, in spite of being highly educated and working for the government. He sees the rich father leave behind a huge estate while the other leaves a few unpaid bills.
Key Learnings
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Robert does a great job of explaining the difference between an asset and a liability. He says, “An asset is something which puts money in my pocket and a liability is one which takes money out of my pocket.” He says, in order to get rich, you have to accumulate assets and not liabilities.
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Poor people are poor because they accumulate liabilities and expenses. In order to become wealthy, you must spend money accumulating income producing assets such as real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds.
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The middle and low income families invest in real estate which according to them is their biggest asset. But, in reality it is high maintenance expenditure because of the repayments on the loan as also the costs of maintaining it. However, the rich invest in assets which not only generate income but take care of expenses as well.
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Getting rich is not a matter of ‘luck’ but a matter of ‘attitude’.
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Wealth is not about ‘your level of income’ but ‘your pattern of spending’.
Tips for Advisors
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The advisor should have an attitude for wealth generation. The
book talks at lengths about wealth creation which in many ways is integral to an advisor’s job.
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The book discusses various obstacles one faces during start-ups. The main obstacle is ‘fear’ which has to be overcome to create success stories.
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The biggest risk is to take no risk. This is true for both the advisors and clients.
Recommendation
By the time you finish reading the book, you would be able to determine what needs to be done differently to accumulate wealth. The book reshapes the way you think about money and what needs to be done with it.
