Rich Dad, Poor Dad

It's been awhile, but reviews are back!

Rich Dad, Poor Dad, simply put is a book about how to get out of the rat race of working, scrimping, and saving by making money through assets instead of a 9-5 job.

The secret to why the book is so popular is that it is laid out in stories and lessons, not just simply rules or ideas. As the reader walks with Kiyosaki through the experiences and ideas that formed him, he is motivated just as much as he is educated. The title comes from the two dad's he had: one, a friend's dad- a high-school dropout turned millionaire. The other is his own father, well-educated, hard-working teacher. Throughout the book he uses this distinction.

He elaborates on what the rich do with their time and money and what the poor do with the same time and money. In short, the rich invest in assets. These turn into income, which they use to buy more assets, which turns into more income, and, well... the rich get richer.

He outlines the basic overarching plan for wealth and then elaborates in detail on how this is achieved. A large part of this is growing your financial IQ along with your management and specialized skills.

Financial IQ is comprised of four areas of knowledge:

1. Accounting - keeping the books straight becomes extremely valuable as you grow.
   
2. Investing - The strategies and formulas. The "science" of making money.
   
3. Understanding Markets - Both technical (emotional factor) and fundamental (value factor)
   
4. The Law - why corporations are phenomenal, basically there are tons of ways to get around forking half of every dollar you make over to the government

Beyond that the skills that pay off in the long run are:

1. Management
   
   • Cash flow
     
   • Systems
     
   • People
   
   
2. Specialized Skills
   
   • Sales
     
   • Understanding Marketing

Grow yourself in these things says Kiyosaki, and you'll be well on your way. Much of what he says is very counter-intuitive: things like: don't specialize, a house is not an asset, and much more.

As a Christian I read this book carefully. I think it's good knowledge for anyone. I maybe would not have said this a few months ago, but I think you can make money to the glory of God. However, money is one of the most dangerous things I think we can handle. The New Testament is very clear about this. What will you do with that money? Who/what are you trusting in and living for? What are your motives for having money? These are valid questions to ask oneself while embarking down the road of investments. Rich Dad, Poor Dad might be a checkpoint on the road or maybe even a significant starting point.

How dare you?

“How dare you approach the mercy-seat of God on the basis of what kind of day you had, as if that were the basis for our entrance into the presence of the sovereign and holy God? No wonder we cannot beat the Devil. This is works theology. It has nothing to do with grace and the exclusive sufficiency of Christ. Nothing.

Do you not understand that we overcome the accuser on the ground of the blood of Christ? Nothing more, nothing less. That is how we win. It is the only way we win. This is the only ground of our acceptance before God. If you drift far from the cross, you are done. You are defeated.

We overcome the accuser of our brothers and sisters, we overcome our consciences, we overcome our bad tempers, we overcome our defeats, we overcome our lusts, we overcome our fears, we overcome our pettiness on the basis of the blood of the Lamb.”

—D.A. Carson