Rich dad poor dad

Author
Discussion

okgo

Original Poster:

37,856 posts

197 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
Anyone else read it?

I have and I've found it interesting, and I especially liked the part about buying assets rather than liability. However I did find it a bit odd that he called property a liability in one chapter (which it could be in many cases) and then goes on to say that his empire is built on real estate?

Anyway, I took away a fair but from it and can see the traits he speaks of quite clearly in people around me. What I liked most was that he breaks it down so that actually you think logically there is a path to having your assets produce an income comparable to that of your day jobs. It doesn't have to be in one fell swoop but could be multiple things. I'd never really thought about how aggregating all of your investments which may on their own seem small beer into one pot can be quite powerful...

Any recommendations on other books would be welcome, I've got some time to kill while flying!!

Fittster

20,120 posts

212 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Random_Walk_Down_Wa...

Then you don't have to bother listening to share tip threads.

Office_Monkey

1,967 posts

208 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
His Wiki entry is a little different to his claims in the book too wink Is a decent read, but I wouldn't take it as gospel. Warren Buffet's biography (the snowball??) was a good read if that's your cup of tea.

Fittster

20,120 posts

212 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
Office_Monkey said:
His Wiki entry is a little different to his claims in the book too wink Is a decent read, but I wouldn't take it as gospel. Warren Buffet's biography (the snowball??) was a good read if that's your cup of tea.
Trying to act like Buffett leads you to discussing the joys qpp on the share tip thread. He's such an exceptional case it's not worth trying to replicate his approach. Buffett advice is that the average investor should stick to trackers.

Ossiantoad

263 posts

130 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
I read RDPD about fifteen years ago and it had a profound influence. I made one abortive foray into commercial property which was a costly mistake but also an educational experience. I started a business specifically with the aim of handing it over to someone else to run, and that has been trading for nearly 12 years now. My currently lifestyle is not one of untold wealth but I have left the days of 9-5 and commuting to the City well behind me and I will never need to go back.

The other books by Robert Kyosaki are worth reading, as is Stephen Covey's book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I re-read that several years after I first read it and realised I had 'internalised' much of what he says.

Eleven

26,271 posts

221 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
okgo said:
Anyone else read it?

I have and I've found it interesting, and I especially liked the part about buying assets rather than liability. However I did find it a bit odd that he called property a liability in one chapter (which it could be in many cases) and then goes on to say that his empire is built on real estate?
According to his way of thinking, a property is a liability if you live in it. If you own it and rent it out it's an asset. That is probably where the confusion lies.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a good read, but it's a yarn and not to be taken too literally. Many people scoff at it, as they do about similar personal development books. However, they have their place. It's just important to understand that you're learning the basics in a simplified manner.

Reading books like this can blow a lot of sunshine up one's ass. On the positive side, being encouraged to go out, take some risks and invest is positive. The downside is that some people form the impression that they cannot lose - and then they do.

FreeLitres

6,039 posts

176 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
quotequote all
Yep, RDPD was a good read.

It didn't impact me as much as "The Millionaire Next Door" though. After reading that book, I went on to pay off my mortgage in 2 years in order to improve my financial position.

It makes you think very differently about those "flash" guys you see in new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses. They are probably not very wealthy at all!

Trailhead

2,628 posts

146 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Sounds interesting, might get the audiobook and listen in the car if you all think its a good book...

Eleven

26,271 posts

221 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
FreeLitres said:
It makes you think very differently about those "flash" guys you see in new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses. They are probably not very wealthy at all!
There are just as many with new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses that ARE wealthy.




okgo

Original Poster:

37,856 posts

197 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
But the point being made was that though they may be In a position to buy all that stuff if they lost their income they wouldn't be able to survive all that long as their material liabilities often outstripped their assets. I think that is a very peeve lane issue in the UK. Beyond savings etc I have almost no income beyond my pay each month, so it opened my eyes to that.

Cheib

23,110 posts

174 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Eleven said:
FreeLitres said:
It makes you think very differently about those "flash" guys you see in new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses. They are probably not very wealthy at all!
There are just as many with new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses that ARE wealthy.
Definitely.

But there are also a lot of people that own cars in particular on finance. Now I can understand it with some of the cracking lease deals where you pay £500 a month to have a £70k M5 on your drive etc. But when you hear of people taking out massive finance amounts on a depreciating asset it's just utterly fking mental from a financial perspective. Buy a £70k car with say £50k of finance which over 5 years means the car has actually cost you probably close to £90k and it's worth say £30k in 5 years time.

Alex

9,975 posts

283 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Cheib said:
Buy a £70k car with say £50k of finance which over 5 years means the car has actually cost you probably close to £90k and it's worth say £30k in 5 years time.
Sell the car and you saved £10k on the purchase price.

Eleven

26,271 posts

221 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Cheib said:
Eleven said:
FreeLitres said:
It makes you think very differently about those "flash" guys you see in new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses. They are probably not very wealthy at all!
There are just as many with new BMWs, Rolex watches and big houses that ARE wealthy.
Definitely.

But there are also a lot of people that own cars in particular on finance. Now I can understand it with some of the cracking lease deals where you pay £500 a month to have a £70k M5 on your drive etc. But when you hear of people taking out massive finance amounts on a depreciating asset it's just utterly fking mental from a financial perspective. Buy a £70k car with say £50k of finance which over 5 years means the car has actually cost you probably close to £90k and it's worth say £30k in 5 years time.
We finance all our cars now. Used to buy them outright. It changed when it stopped being so easy to borrow for business. Lately we've been more able to raise finance for business, but the cost is higher than the deals we get on cars. So they'll continue to be financed or leased for now.

I do have a loose rule, though, that we won't finance anything we couldn't afford to buy outright.







sideways sid

1,371 posts

214 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Alex said:
Cheib said:
Buy a £70k car with say £50k of finance which over 5 years means the car has actually cost you probably close to £90k and it's worth say £30k in 5 years time.
Sell the car and you saved £10k on the purchase price.
either that's stretching man maths quite a bit, or my calculator is broken!

Alex

9,975 posts

283 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
sideways sid said:
Alex said:
Cheib said:
Buy a £70k car with say £50k of finance which over 5 years means the car has actually cost you probably close to £90k and it's worth say £30k in 5 years time.
Sell the car and you saved £10k on the purchase price.
either that's stretching man maths quite a bit, or my calculator is broken!
As I read it: Spent £90k, car worth £30k, net cost £60k. Initial purchase price of car was £70k - He's saved £10k!

smile

Alex

9,975 posts

283 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Oh, but he doesn't own the car anymore...

So real cost is £60k to "rent" the car over 5 years.

Trailhead

2,628 posts

146 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
Alex said:
Oh, but he doesn't own the car anymore...

So real cost is £60k to "rent" the car over 5 years.
It's not really any different to buying it outright and then selling it 5 years later. It's just you'd call it depreciation instead. No difference though.

FreeLitres

6,039 posts

176 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
To clarify my comments:- I wasn't picking on things like car finance as being a foolish agreement to enter. The issue is when people grow their outgoings to match their income. Most people are 3 pay cheques away from losing their house. I know I was.

To give an example, a high flying Lawyer will be on what many would consider to be an excellent wage, but there is a good chance that he could have a big mortgage on a very nice house, a top end car, bespoke suit, hand made shoes, eats fine restaurants etc. After all, in some roles you are EXPECTED to have all that good stuff. (Would you trust a Lawyer in an ASDA suit?) However, it's very easy to spend what you earn meaning you don't accumulate wealth.

In the book they analysed what most millionaires are like. The majority of them;

Lived in a very modest house in an average estate
Wore a £100 Seiko watch (not Rolex/JLC/etc.)
Drove an old car bought with cash, etc.

It'a obvious, but spend less than you earn and you start accumulating wealth.

Cheib

23,110 posts

174 months

Friday 10th October 2014
quotequote all
Eleven said:
We finance all our cars now. Used to buy them outright. It changed when it stopped being so easy to borrow for business. Lately we've been more able to raise finance for business, but the cost is higher than the deals we get on cars. So they'll continue to be financed or leased for now.

I do have a loose rule, though, that we won't finance anything we couldn't afford to buy outright.
That's fair enough and presumably the finance is just on the cars rather than against the business assets. Makes total sense.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Friday 10th October 2014
quotequote all
FreeLitres said:
In the book they analysed what most millionaires are like. The majority of them;

Lived in a very modest house in an average estate
Wore a £100 Seiko watch (not Rolex/JLC/etc.)
Drove an old car bought with cash, etc.

It'a obvious, but spend less than you earn and you start accumulating wealth.
But to what end?