What the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ book taught me

Today, I go to the local bookstore to look for useful books which will help me to get ahead out of life and think wisely in my early 20s in all aspects of my life. And there I saw the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ package which is consist of 3 books and bought it:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• Cashflow Quadrant
• Guide to Investing

I actually wanted to buy the book right from the start. But for the most bookstores I visited across different cities, they have no copy of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ book. I was very frustrated as I’ve been looking for the copy of the book for ages!

Until the time that I go back to my hometown, they actually have the copy of it. And, lucky me that it is bundled into three different books that I mentioned earlier!

So I started in reading the first edition of the book first, the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. I was surprised when I read the book. In fact, I didn’t expected that in just a few pages of reading the book I’ve learned a lot of things already specifically in having an education when it comes to handling our finances wisely. To my amazement, I wanted to finish the book in just a day!

In the introductory part of the book, we have two perspectives in how we view money. Those are the perspectives you can learn from Rich Dad, and from the perspective of Poor Dad. Obviously.

Rich Dad’s perspective is that, money should work for us. Not the other way around. In that way, we could truly enjoy life to the fullest and not by becoming a slave of the money.

Poor Dad’s perspective on the other hand is that, we should work for money. His approach is very linear that most people do. You go to school for education and get a degree. And apply to big companies / government body that ensures higher pay and financial security. End of the story.

For the most part, the book centers around Rich Dad’s perspective and why we should properly control our emotions and finances in order to become rich and stop being a slave to money.

In just a few reads just now, I was able to learn simple but applicable lessons in life to gain control over money:

• Learn to do some proper thinking first before following your emotions. This is a common mistake for people who just seeks higher paying jobs and not paying attention to think out of the box in how they can be able to get rid of the daily routine of working for money. Having a higher salary or paychecks in the company won’t save you in your financial problems.
• Money is just an illusion. Do not work for it. Use your imagination to create money. It involves creativity. By creating business, you let the money work for you.
• Learn to differentiate assets from liabilities. Lots of people don’t have the idea of differentiating the two. Accountants may be able to differentiate them very well. But the average people don’t.
• Thinking about financial security by working in a higher-paying company is a myth. There is no such thing. You are just merely solving a smaller problem in a much bigger financial problem.
• Redefine what you’ve learned about money so far.

These practical advices and lessons I’ve learned in the book in just a few reads made me realized a lot of things: I was chasing money. And I am becoming a slave to it.

As I am excited to read the whole thing, I highly recommend this book for those people who wanted to manage their finances properly. Or starting their own business. It is indeed a must read!