Do you want to build wealth and change your money mindset? In this Rich Dad Poor Dad review, we’ll go into the 6 lessons that will help you do just that!
One of the first books related to finance that I read was Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It was recommended to me by a friend, so naturally, I dove in headfirst.
Are you wondering; should I read Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad? YES! This New York Times bestseller has sold over 40 million copies, that says something. Plus, it has completely changed my mindset around money.
I want the same for you! Do you want to have a similar net worth to Robert Kiyosaki, who has a net worth of over $80 billion? Or Warren Buffett, who has a net worth of over $82 billion? Or perhaps Bill Gates, who has a net worth of over $110 billion?
You will learn the best lessons in this rich dad poor dad review to kickstart your way to wealth! With these key points, you will know what to do to attract all the money and abundance into your life!
My Main Take-Aways – Book Review Rich Dad Poor Dad
I recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad to many people who are just starting out learning about personal finance.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is not about the sophisticated investment strategies or the nitty-gritty of how you can invest in real estate.
It will teach you the simple concepts you need to follow to become rich.
It explains to you the steps you can take to create wealth, make money, get out of debt, and become a real estate investor.
It will also change your money mindset, learn you about money management, and give you that rich dad education you need. It’s inspirational and one of my favorite personal finance books.
And much more!
If you want to take the key concepts from the book and implement them in your life today, here is my Rich Dad Poor Dad review – including 6 things that everyone should know!
1. The rich donโt work for money, the rich have money work for them
When you build wealth, there are two things that you need to do:
- Aim to own more and more assets over time
- Stop trading your time for money
To clarify: an asset is something that puts money in your pocket, creating a positive cash flow. A liability is something that takes money out of your pocket.
Assets are things like stocks, bonds, businesses, and rental real estate. Liabilities are things like cars and your primary residence. It’s not an asset because it is taking money out of your pocket every month.
When you start, you are probably trading your time for money. Use that income to buy more and more assets.
The more assets you own producing money for you, the less you have to rely on your day job to get income. That’s what Robert Kiyosaki means with rich people make money work for them.
When the income from your assets is higher than your monthly expenses, you are wealthy. Not only wealthy in terms of money but also wealthy in terms of time. While every one else works, you can do whatever you please.
How to get started with building up assets:
- 15 Passive Income Ideas To Try This Year
- 23 Side Hustles Ideas That Make Me $500+ Monthly
- The Easy Way To Start Investing: Low-Cost Index Funds
2. Itโs not how much money you make, itโs how much money you keep
If you want to be rich in the long term, invest in your financial intelligence.
You see, if you want to build a skyscraper, you need a strong foundation. It would help if you had a bigger foundation for your skyscraper than for your one-floor apartment.
The problem is that many people try to build their skyscraper on a foundation for a one-floor apartment.
What happens if your skyscraper is getting higher and higher? Your beautiful skyscraper collapses. You will build it up multiple times. Every single time it will collapse. You will try again and again and again. However, your skyscraper will keep falling.
Why? Because your foundation is not strong enough!
First, build your financial intelligence, your foundation, then the money will follow.
Don’t try to build your skyscraper on your one-floor apartment foundation. It will not work.
When you’re building your skyscraper on the right foundation, you will build true wealth.
If you want to measure whether you’re keeping enough money, measure your net worth or your liquid net worth.
How to know if your financial foundation is okay:
- 13 Outdated Financial Advice To Avoid
- 5 Behavioral Investment Biases (+ How To Avoid Them)
- 8 Terrible Habits For Your Wallet And Your Health
- Compare Your Net Worth To The Average In The Netherlands
Actually Keep The Money You Earn
Besides that, if you have a solid financial foundation, you should not feel the urge to spend all the money you earn.
When you get a high income from your day job, but you spend it all again, you are not getting ahead with your finances.
With the Rich Dad Poor Dad mindset, you use your money to buy freedom instead of things.
When you are continuously spending your money on things that do not generate income for you, you stay in the rat race.
Here are a few resources that have helped me keep my wealth:
- YNAB: An app where you can track all your expenses
- M1 Finance: This website allows you to build your own stock portfolio, completely for free. No fees involved!
- Empower: A free app that tracks your net worth, investments, and cash in one convenient overview.
3. Mind your own business
A lot of people use their life to grown someone elseโs business.
If you like your job, please keep doing what you are doing!
If somewhere in you is the soft voice that says, โI want to start my own company,โ get over that initial fear and do it!! You donโt have to quit your job immediately. You can, for example, make managing your money your part-time job. I can recommend it, and itโs a lot of fun!
Besides that, creating websites to source different income streams is a great way to get to be your own boss, plus making some money in the process.
Creating a website is easy, and anyone can do it. When you monetize it, you will start building wealth immediately. If you are interested in creating a website yourself, go to this quick guide on starting a blog and get started right now!
[Related Read: Starting Your Own Successful Business Without Quitting Your Job]
4. The history of taxes and the power of corporations
Regular taxes are only there since the beginning of the 20th century to make the rich pay more taxes. However, the rich got smarter, resulting in the middle class working hard, and paying the most taxes. The rich have their investments often in cooperations, so they have to pay fewer taxes.
Financial IQ is important to develop in the following areas:
- Accounting – understanding the story behind the numbers.
- Investing – money that creates more money
- Market forces – understanding supply and demand
- The law – know when something will give you a tax advantage.
5. The rich invented money
The concept of money is created by humanity, and it is an illusion to which we all contribute. This might help you to create a little more distance between you and money. Many people are too attached to money to create maximum wealth.
Your brain is your strongest asset. If your brain is well trained, it can create enormous wealth for you! Never stop learning, always keep growing as a person, and your wealth will grow with it!
[Related Read: The Power Of The Radical 10X Rule]
6. Work to learn, donโt work for money
J.o.b. Is an acronym for โJust Over Broke.โ Why? Employees work hard enough not to get fired, and employers pay employees enough not to quit. If you work to acquire skills that will serve you later, this will have more value than working for the money and not enjoying it.
Want to start with money working for you? Start here:
- Investing guide for beginners: start with stocks.
- Investing for beginners: the how-to of investing in bonds
- Get Over Your Fear Of The Stock Market And Start Investing
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – Summary & Review
Did you also read the rich dad poor dad book? How did you like it? If you didn’t yet, get your copy here now!
Other recommended personal financial books include The Richest Man in Babylon, the Millionaire Next Door, Cashflow Quadrant, Habits of Highly effective people, secrets of the millionaire mind, and how to win friends and influence people.
Founder of Spark Nomad, Radical FIRE, Journalist
Expertise: Personal finance and travel content
Education: Bachelor of Economics at Radboud University, Master in Finance at Radboud University, Minor in Economics at Chapman University.
Over 200 articles, essays, and short stories published across the web.
Experience: Marjolein Dilven is a journalist and founder of Radical FIRE, a personal finance platform, and Spark Nomad, a travel platform. Marjolein has a finance and economics background with a masterโs in Finance. She has quit her job to travel the world, documenting her travels on Spark Nomad to help people plan their travels. Marjolein Dilven has written for publications like MSN, Associated Press, CNBC, Town News syndicate, and more.
Thank you John!
Really amazing and informative content! Thank you for making the effort! Look forward to more.
Thanks Maryetta for stepping by!
I have been checking out many of your posts and itโs pretty clever stuff. I will surely bookmark your blog.