Book Review: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

November 29, 2021 November 29, 2021

What are the main points of the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”? What exactly does the book teach you? Despite what you may think of the author Robert Kiyosaki, many often cite the book as a must-read personal finance classic.

Money Playschool did a giveaway of the book recently, and one of our winners was Mandino Tan.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUbeSnulv74/

Mandino shared with us his thoughts on the book below:

For years, I have been consuming books, blogs and podcasts about personal finance.

Robert Kiyosaki’s famous book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, kept coming up even though I kept putting off reading it.

I first heard of the book when I was 15, and my sister was sharing some concepts about it with me.

I don’t remember what she shared, but I remember that I was left with a bad taste because I associated it with the MLM companies she was with at that time.

Since then, I never felt compelled to read “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, even more so when his company went into bankruptcy in 2012. Then, it felt like my bias was proven right and that he was just another “guru”.

Years went by, yet I still see Robert Kiyosaki’s book on the shelves of book stores. There were also successful YouTubers claiming that “Rich Dad Poor Dad” was one of the most impactful books they’ve read in their lives.

So it seems like it works for quite a number of people, all over the world. But what in the world was he teaching?

This brings us to September 2021, when I won Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad” book from Money Playschool! I mean, when I participated in the giveaway, I didn’t think of winning it. But if it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be, right? Like how I’m meant to write this post.

I told myself, okay, let’s put all prejudice and bias aside and read this book with an open mind.

So here are some thoughts and opinions about the book.

Review of Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

1. The Rich Don’t Work For Money

“The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money work for them.”
Robert Kiyosaki

This might sound counterintuitive. And in this point, he goes on to tell his story on this lesson. But the point is this: Invest in yourself.

At the start, money shouldn’t be your priority. But what should be the priority is to learn. Because in order to earn more, one has got to learn how to give more.

Yes, give.

That’s how money works, people give your money in exchange for how much value you give to them. That is the essence of how to make money. The more value you give, the more money you make. And how do you increase the value you give? By investing in yourself, through learning and having a lifelong education.

2. Build Assets

“It’s not how much money you make. It’s how much money you keep.”
Robert Kiyosaki

This is especially important for high-income earners. Because when we earn more, we spend more. We are quick to spend on lavish things that we’ve been eyeing on.

Getting a car, upgrading our houses, buying the latest gadgets we want when our bonus comes in, or when we have a pay raise. We instinctively purchase things, or worse, get ourselves in debt (ironically, that was what Robert’s business got itself into).

One of the “assets” Robert touches on is property. Unconventionally, he emphasises that one has to treat the property they are living in as a liability. For a property to be considered an asset, Robert argues that it has to put money in your pocket – be rented out, be receiving cash flow, or that he’s able to flip it almost immediately.

But the broader point is to invest in assets, such as properties, stocks, and businesses.

And not use your newfound cash and spend it on trivial things like cars and Rolex watches. Instead, build your assets first, then use the dividends you’ve earned from it to pay for your luxury items.

3. The Ultimate Meta Skill: Learn How to Learn

“There is gold everywhere, people are not trained to see it.”
Robert Kiyosaki

Before I move on, I just want to share that Robert touched on other points in this book, which I didn’t think were too relevant for us, like taxes.

Points 1 & 2 are more or less essentially what the book is about. So this is what the book is about —the idea of gaining financial knowledge and the attitude towards it. In the book, he goes on to share some “pro-tips”.

But this one impressed me greatly and reminded me of the importance of learning, being an autodidact.

autodidact

/ˈɔːtəʊdɪdakt/

noun

A self-taught person.

You are your own most significant asset. And the best way to increase your value.

I know I’ve said this in point #2, but this skill enables you to grow exponentially.

The great Albert Einstein once said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t… pays it.”

It is not to earn more money, but to learn more skills and in turn, earn more.

Learning how to learn is the ultimate meta-skill that enables you to learn whatever you want—from negotiations to communications, learning an instrument or playing a sport. Knowing the hacks to learn allows you to be ahead of the curve whenever you choose, especially in building your assets.

Like me, in sales, learning a new language opens up a whole new market for me to work with. Or like picking up how to write better, it will allow me to reach more readers on a larger scale. How meta can we get?

Final Thoughts on Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

My past experiences and distaste for him were really just an emotional one, an unfortunate association with MLM, which I didn’t have a good impression of.

I think his company going bankrupt may be a lack of skilling in managing a business, or it could very much have been a strategic business move. It is not unheard of for people to let their company go bankrupt in the US, but the individuals and owners are still incredibly wealthy.

This book tackles the broad concepts of financial literacy, with it being easy to understand. He also shares challenges one will face, the mindset one will need to undertake and go through to control his financial life.

This is a good book for those starting to get into finance and who want to change their lives for the better.