'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' By Robert Kiyosaki Should Be Required Reading For High School Students
It's no secret, especially on a site like Steemit that opens the door to financial independence, that the school systems have failed SO SO SO many of us when it comes to teaching financial literacy. We get a well-rounded background in knowledge of various things, the most important of which are reading/writing skills and mathematics/analytical thinking, but the least important are those in various biology classes and other classes, where only specialist will need to know that knowledge. Before you jump down my throat, check out the meme, which sums up the fact that students are not taught the fundamentals of the way taxes work and the way that we can achieve financial freedom. Imho, the way that the cells of the body work are just fun facts, unless you're one of the .000001% of people who are going to apply those concepts to breakthrough science. That said, taxes will affect all of us and the fact of the matter is that people who can achieve financial independence will be able to devote themselves fully to their passions, be it science or otherwise. Sure, to a degree we want to expose kids to certain concepts to see if it ignites a spark that will lead them to academic greatness, but beyond the exposure that can foster that growth, it isn't necessary to inundate us with facts like that.
'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki is as relevant as it was in the late 90s when it came out as it is today. The opportunities available in the Dot Com Boom are re-emerging during the Blockchain Movement, which makes Robert's teachings more relevant than they've been for the last 10-15 years. The best part about that book is it teaches financial literacy and the simplistic, practical approach for building wealth and gaining financial freedom and it does it in a non-threatening, easy-to-understand way. I'm serious; some of the most in-depth pictures include:
and I think this is a pretty straightforward picture. It points out that the rich buy and earn from assets and that the poor and middle class often purchase liabilities and rely solely on income from their job as their main/only source of income to pay for the expenses that are a result of the liabilities. The entire book gets you thinking in a new way about how to make money, how to see/make opportunities, and it teaches you to not be afraid of money and to make it work for you. If everyone read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', I think the economy would be growing faster, I think people would be happier, and every student leaving high school would be better off. We'd have less people in crippling debt, the student loan and banking systems that prey on the poor and the weak through interest/fees would have less of an advantage. The book gives you your power back; if you feel like you're stuck in a bad financial system, that is the book for you. It will really open your eyes if you haven't read it before. I think all high school kids should read it; it's more important than biology (except for the basics of first aid), more important than social studies, and more important even than Civics, which is important to a degree, but needs to touch upon taxes and the way to handle them in modern day.
The two key takeaways that I got from Rich Dad Poor Dad were these:
"Wealth is the number of days you can live off of your assets" -- which is to say that if you have $1,000,000 and can live off of 40k per year at 4% interest, you can live indefinitely off of your assets. The same amount of money is less than 15 years worth of wealth if you spend 100k+ per year.
"Assets cash flow, liabilities remove cash flow" -- although not a strict accounting definition this is useful when considering vacation properties (remove cash flow) and buying a larger principle residence (remove cash flow) -- he calls these things "doodads". Instead we should accumulate cash generating assets.
To become wealthy, we should accumulate assets that generate cash, until our asset base is so large that it covers our spend rate in perpetuity.
Perfect summary of two of the best points in the book! :)
Rich Dad Poor Dad my first business book. I do not regret that I spent time for reading it
You nailed it boss, i totally understand the angle you coming from but i hate to say this "the school isn't a place for financial freedom, i would rather homeschool my kid nurture and groom him or her on the dynamics of wealth and how to make it. The onus is on wards they fail to realise that education necessarily doesn't facilitate the birth of money but rather the acquisition of knowledge, experience, exposure, taking calculated risk and your ability to articulate value on any level determines how much you can make. I Do not think Kiyosaki kid might need a teacher to inject in him the impact of wealth creation . The school would always be the school, the home has to be the genesis of understanding wealth creation. I am just saying boss! Good DAY
Yeah, that's a great approach! The best learning starts at home!
Yeah @biddle
Students will learn alot from this book
My dad and a student of mine have recommended this book to me. It is in my pending "to-read"s... Thanks for this post and the reminder! :)
haha You're very welcome! It's so eye opening and the way it's told flows really well. I was hooked after the first chapter and I've read it a bunch of times since! :)
Awesome. Definitely need to start soon! :)
You are right sir, @biddle the economy would have been a better place and people will be happier, every student leaving secondary school will actually be better off, reading such Book. Nice one sir
I am almost 40 and barely scratching the surface on this subject. I am in hopes steemit (and boolean ;) ) can show me a way to financial independence!
Never too late! and Amen to that, my friend! :)
@biddle, totally agreed with that. It would have help if I have that knowledge during high school. Alot of the young kids that I have seen does not have the knowledge at all and all they know is to enjoy life or what have this got to do with me.
They obviously don't want us to think. They just want us to obey and be their slaves.
Best school is the school of life. It teaches you everything you need to know in a matter of days instead of years...
Seriously, and instead of for tens of thousands in student loans.
yes! One of my favourite book. i learned alot of thinks