Rich Dad, Poor Dad thread

[STR8UP]

The guy's a scam artist and talks out of both sides of his mouth. This website covers him in depth: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

And for ONLY $49.95 Reed will sell you HIS materials, which OBVIOUSLY work!

It's like K-mart giving Target a bad review. Or Pepsi slamming Coke. If you can't spot THAT conflict of interest you'll NEVER understand money.

 

[STR8UP]

You will probably read it and then think, I already knew that.

Doubt it.

The stuff he talks about flies in the face of convention, and most people have a hard time assimilating it.

What we want to know is how to apply that knowledge, which is where the book is lacking.

If you are looking for a magical handbook to become wealthy....guess what? It doesn't exist.

Despite the generalized nature of the information he presents, this book is at the top of my list of recommended reading anyone aspiring to wealth. (see my wealth books thread) Why? Because 90% of building wealth is having the right mindset. Once you have that, WHAT you do isn't nearly as important.

 

[STR8UP]

This book is a whole lot of motivational thinking but absolutely no practical application, which makes it useless.

It is less "motivational" thinking than "mindset" thinking, although both of these do have value.

Anyone interested in wealth building should visit the message boards at richdad.com. Some very intelligent people posting over there.

 

[STR8UP]

Check out eMyth, Sun Tzu, The Prince and the The Millionaire Next Door series.

eMyth is good stuff. The Millionaire Next Door is good for the average investor, but who wants to be average?

A chimpanzee can become a millionare if he gets started when he's 25 years old and doesn't mind busting his ass until he's 65.

Nothing wrong with taking the long road, but everyone should understand that it isn't the ONLY way, nor is it the BEST or the FASTEST way.

 

[legolas]

I read RDPD when I was in a very hard situation and it helped me in giving me direction and motivation. The basic principles are what everybody here has already talked about. Build wealth through building a business and buy real estate. That's pretty much all you'll learn.

Looking at it now, 5 years later, I think the books were primarily good motivators and that's it. Other than that, you should really be careful about taking his advice at heart. I almost agree with the WikiPedia page in that his wealth didn't really begin to get built until he started writing books and selling board games, videos etc. I mean, if this guy were really financially free, as he claims, why would he bother with videos, books, CDs, and other informational programs?

Real rich people, keep their mouth shut and keep to themselves, unless they have a huge ego (think Donald Trump) If you wanted coaching from them, you'd have to work really hard to do it, whereas this guys is giving it to you essentially for free? I don't buy it.

If you wanted to read one of his books, I really recommend "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing" It's the most structured book of the series. But for something radically different check out "The 4 hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss and screw Kiyosaki.

 

[spesmilitis]

If you'd like to see multi-level marketing that works study any corporation whose sales directors who are paid bonuses based on the commission of their sales managers.

Is there where the 'pyramid' stops? If so, that's completely different from the regular pyramid scams such as Network 21, prepaid legal, ect.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

... Because 90% of building wealth is having the right mindset. Once you have that, WHAT you do isn't nearly as important.

This is why we don't have more wealthy people in this country.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Is there where the 'pyramid' stops? If so, that's completely different from the regular pyramid scams such as Network 21, prepaid legal, ect.

Do you understand how performance driven teams work?

 

[speakeasy]

Kiyosaki's entire premise on wealth is based on creating passive income. Multi-level marketing is just one way to create passive income (if done correctly). How much do you know about his ideas about creating wealth?

Multi-level marketing is just a ponzi scheme.

 

[speakeasy]

eMyth is good stuff. The Millionaire Next Door is good for the average investor, but who wants to be average?

Millionaire Next Door doesn't teach how to become a Millionaire, it just tells you a lot of things you didn't know about them that go against conventional beliefs.

A chimpanzee can become a millionare if he gets started when he's 25 years old and doesn't mind busting his ass until he's 65.

Problem is, after 65 years of inflation, a million dollars will be worth about as much as a million pesos.

It's already at the point where 10 million is the new million.

 

[WORKEROUTER]

Another great book is the "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind."

The simple fact is that people are being limited by their mental constraints in tersm of how money can be made.

Since reading this book, I've started getting into real estate, and I'm only 20. I plan to do my first whole sale deal in the next month.

 

[speakeasy]

Another great book is the "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind."

The simple fact is that people are being limited by their mental constraints in tersm of how money can be made.

Since reading this book, I've started getting into real estate, and I'm only 20. I plan to do my first whole sale deal in the next month.

Real Estate??? You missed the real estate boat by about 6 years. The real estate market is now sinking. Smart money sold at the top and pulled out of real estate last summer.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Real Estate??? You missed the real estate boat by about 6 years. The real estate market is now sinking. Smart money sold at the top and pulled out of real estate last summer.

So are you saying that people should buy real estate when it costs more?

 

[speakeasy]

So are you saying that people should buy real estate when it costs more?

Huh? No I'm saying just the opposite. We're at the peak of the market right now. The secret to getting rich is buying low and selling high. Anyone buying real estate now is not only buying high, but buying VERY high. Prices are just now starting to fall and will continue falling for likely several years as it now looks like we're entering the start of a recession.

 

[GQ_Confidence_1]

Rich Dad is good for motivation, but it's way too generalized to be practical. There's no underlying model or framework to support you. "Buy real estate", "invest in stocks" doesn't mean anything.

It'd be like a pick up guru writing a book about girls, and he says..."men and women are meant to be together" or "go talk to her, if at first you don't succeed, try again."

You need to base it on something (feminine vs masculine interaction, polarity, kino..when you touch her, it sends these signals in her body). Something that is real, that works.

I'd recommend studying guys like Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Jim Rogers...investors that have made real money, they didn't just make money from selling books or boardgames. These guys have a model in their head about how the world works.

Jim Rogers for example was a partner of George Soros in the 70's. He's made alot of big calls since then...made a fortune in commodities in 98/99, he's been bullish on china, oil, etc.

Buffett borrowed alot from Ben Graham.

I would only study people that have actually done it.

 

[azanon]

And for ONLY $49.95 Reed will sell you HIS materials, which OBVIOUSLY work!

It's like K-mart giving Target a bad review. Or Pepsi slamming Coke. If you can't spot THAT conflict of interest you'll NEVER understand money.

I'm either really lucky, or I understand money. Trust me on this.

 

[speakeasy]

I really don't trust investment advice from anyone. At least not the stuff that's made for mainstream consumption. First off, if I had some true secret to getting wealthy, why would I be telling everyone about it? I'd be buying/investing in it myself. The fewer I have to compete with, the more profit for me. Nobody is going to "shot you the ropes" on how to get rich. If getting rich was easy as following some simple steps then we'd all be rich. Any time I see somebody hawking some bullsh*t about "anybody can do it", "risk free wealth!" I just tune out. Unless you hit the lottery, or were fortunate enough to be born into it a la Paris Hilton, getting rich is going to be a hell of a lot of work, risk and sacrifice. Even drug dealers don't get rich without a lot or risk.

In the case of Kiyosaki and other get rich quick hustlers that you see on TV late at night, their fortunes came from writing books to sell to people hoping to become rich.

 

[Mr. Highroller]

Rich Dad is good for motivation, but it's way too generalized to be practical. There's no underlying model or framework to support you. "Buy real estate", "invest in stocks" doesn't mean anything.

It'd be like a pick up guru writing a book about girls, and he says..."men and women are meant to be together" or "go talk to her, if at first you don't succeed, try again."

You need to base it on something (feminine vs masculine interaction, polarity, kino..when you touch her, it sends these signals in her body). Something that is real, that works.

I agree I read RDPD and i thought it was pretty motivated. After i read it i wanted to start right away but the book didnt leave me any foundation to start. It just made me not wanna work a 9 to 5 job. its a good motivational tool but not worth the money.

 

[STR8UP]

I'm either really lucky, or I understand money. Trust me on this.

Explain to me how you did it (what you started with, which vehicles you used to create wealth, how long it took, etc.) and I will tell you if it's skill or luck.

Chances are it was skill. It isn't often that people are in just the right place at the right time, and even if they are it is usually the fact that they have prepared themselves to take advantage of an opportunity that allows them to even BE lucky.

I'm not slamming you and I'm not doubting you. But I have read Kiyosaki's materials and participated on his message boards and usually someone who calls him a scam artist thinks like the other 98% of the population and just doesn't get it. I am fully aware that there are many paths to wealth, but smart wealth doesn't discount any of them, even if another method was used to achieve the same result.

And if you can't smell that Reed guys agenda a mile away....uh.....I dunno.

I for one can't comprehend how someone who claims to have a better answer could have discovered it while at the same time compiling enough research to fill a small library to try to discredit his competition. If you have to slam your competitors to build yourself up it's sad at best and shady as hell at worst. But believe whatever you want, just don't make innacurate claims that might prevent someone else from learning something.

 

[azanon]

Explain to me how you did it (what you started with, which vehicles you used to create wealth, how long it took, etc.) and I will tell you if it's skill or luck.

..................
But believe whatever you want, just don't make innacurate claims that might prevent someone else from learning something.

> First, Kiyosaki. I haven't read the book, I admit. I only know of him mainly through many trusted people I know to be very financially adept. However I have seen him on PBS and I listened to the entire segment.

In short, the guy pushes Real Estate investing as the holy grail. For someone who knows what they're doing, a lot of money can be made in real estate. However, his methods generally include using lots of leverage which can burn you really fast. Ever hear of Dave Ramsey? Dave is one of millions of examples of people who got burned trying to get rich in Real Estate. So, in short, I try to dissuade beginning investors from reading books like Kiyosaki's. I'd much rather then read a general financial management book and learn some basic techniques, such as debt management, budgeting strategies, safer passive investment strategies, etc.

>But a great many things at that website have been repeated/confirmed at many other places. That site and info on him is so exhausive, I wont try to repeat it here.

...................

>I cannot/should not list my net worth, so you are just going to have to imagine "better than most" (at my age). In Kiyosaki's opinion, I would be a "middle class" guy (because I use stocks, bonds, and mutual funds). Of course, my net worth for my age would prove him miserably wrong. I invest strictly with low-expense mutual funds spread across an assortment of domestic and international stocks (large+small cap) and bonds (corporate and high-yield), and even have a sprinkle of US treasuries. My main silver bullet is that I find ways to do everything very cheaply and I manage to save over 30% of my income, but I live a rich life anyway. I also use all kinds of tax management strategies (401(k)s, Roths, creative deductions, others).

Real Estate (investing) is not an investment, it is a job (with the exception of something like an REIT mutual fund). Anyone that cause that (just) "investing" is being misleading. My kind of investing is "set it and forget about it". No tenants, no work involved, no leveraged monies to worry about.