Book Review: Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki

“The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money. The result is that people learn to work for money…but never learn to have money work for them.” Robert Kiyosaki

So, if you’re like me, you look at your meager savings account, and think about your monthly bills and wonder how you are ever going to get ahead. Maybe you are worried about retirement and wonder if you are going to have to work for the rest of your life. Perhaps you wonder if you should be investing the little money that you do have, or if you should buy investment property…maybe you just dream of these things. Maybe you are dissatisfied with your job, and you don’t know what you should do next.Might I recommend Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kyosaki? This book was recommended to me by my friend, Monty, about a decade ago, and I finally read it in 2008. It’s a book I should have read 10 years ago, but better late than never, right?

You might be thinking, “I don’t have any money to invest”. That may be true, but this book does a good job of providing a base level of financial education to help you think differently about your savings account, the rat race, and paying your bills. I do believe that at least SOME of the principles in this book apply to ALL of us. I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends, thirtysomethings with a few kids, a mortgage and possible student loan debt, if I didn’t think there was SOMETHING in there that might ring true. (Also great for you single folk, or you older friends who haven't figured out what you are going to do for retirement!) I guarantee at least one take-away, one a-ha moment that will mean something to you.Some of you might be thinking, “I won’t understand a book like this. It intimidates me”. That’s what has kept me from reading the book for a decade. This book is a VERY easy read. It’s not a lot of numbers, it’s a lot of facts about how the rich keep their money and everyone else gives their money to everyone else (Government, bill collectors, credit companies, etc.), except themselves. He talks about his life and how he went down the path from career hopping (with a purpose) to retirement at age 47. Wouldn’t that be nice?Again, it may not all apply to you, but something might make you think a little differently about money and making it work for you, instead of YOU working for it.It’s a $16.95 investment. I thought about just passing my book around to friends, but I think that it’s worth the $16.95 ($11.53 on Amazon.com) for you to have a copy of your own. Something you can read, highlight and perhaps reference in the future. You can find the book on Amazon and have it shipped straight to your door (you can also have it shipped for free with supersaver shipping if you add something else to your order to make it $25.00), or you can find this at any bookstore. If you can’t afford it, try checking it out from the library, but I think this is a book that you want to have in your personal library. If that doesn’t sell you on it, leave a comment and I’ll make sure to give this to you for your next birthday or as a Christmas present ;).Have any of you read this book already? How did it help you? Have you read any other financial books I should get my hands on?

As Robert would say, let's meet in Hawaii to talk about it (and write it off as a business expense)!