Carolina Smith
Professor Dennis Wilson
Finance1050
30 July 2012
I first heard about this book when my husband worked for a company that promoted financial help for those in debt or people wanting to invest. My husband always talked about this book and how they used it to help make their sales. It was a recommended book for potential clients. I can see how they would take ideas from this book to promote investments. One idea was that of real estate. My husband’s company helped investors with real estate sales. In the book he mentions that 300 years ago land was wealth, the person with the most land, carried the most wealth(Kiyosaki, 111). I remember being so interested about Kiyosaki’s story on real estate. In his book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Kiyosaki talked about how he made $40,000 in five hours from real estate. He borrowed $2,000 from a friend for $200 and use it as a down payment for a $20,000 house that he bought from a brokerage attorney. He then put up an add for the house for $60,000, even though it was once in the ad for $75,000. People were calling like crazy to get this house for $15,000 cheaper. In the end he asked for a $2,500 processing fee which was enough to pay back his friend $2,200. So he made $40,000 profit from such a small investment. I had no idea that something like that could be or seem so easy. It makes me wonder. This seemed interesting and I was glad to finally read the book.
Although I did enjoy the reading, I feel my situation was more related to the poor dad. I was always told exactly what he was taught. Do well in school, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, and save, save, save. I always believed that was how it worked for everyone except celebrities. I never actually thought that the Spice Girls went to college, but I knew that I eventually had to. It was never a doubt in my mind that I would. I didn’t want to be a bum and I saw how my parents struggled because of the little education they received. The poor dad was right in my eyes because I believe that hard work will always pay off.
My thoughts on the rich dad were kind of skeptical. It seemed that he based his life on chance and lived a mentality of education not being important. Although he was rich, I feel that his way of getting to where he was was lucky shot. He made the idea of being street-smart the best way to go and you don’t really need school. In his eyes, you gotta know the system and constantly hustle. I remember my Grandpa saying that street-smart is not smart. You need to learn about the world and finance. People who rely on their street-smarts never get too far because they lack certain knowledge. People may say the same about education, but I myself do not agree with that.
I like that the author is Hawaiian. I have family there and I see how all of them struggle financially. They are not part of the rich families that visit every so often and have big mansions. They are actually the ones taking care of their houses for a small paycheck. That is what most Hawaiians do. They work for tourists, hotels, ground maintenance etc. So I see Kiyosaki in the same position. I feel that this book could help some of the locals in Hawaii.They may look at it like, if he can do it, so can I. My cousin has never read the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book, but living in Hawaii she eventually saw the potential of business. She was a dancer at a hotel and did luaus. She married a guy who also danced, but with fire. She also knew how to make head-pieces for dancers and such. She put up ads for her own show and had hits from all over. She became a business woman all on her own. This story does remind me of the rich dad perspective. She was once a hotel maid that graduated high school. She had a child young but knew how to dance and make hawaiian crafts that everyone loves. She sold them for cheaper at marts and online. It can all happen, but not for just everyone.
This book is one of many that talks about the lack of knowledge we all have in finance. We do not learn about finance in school. I absolutely think we should. I have learned so much in the class that I have taken this semester as well as from reading this book. I understand the options and the drive of each dad. If kids were taught about finance in school, they would probably be more aware of the risks of credit card debt.
Professor Dennis Wilson
Finance1050
30 July 2012
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad”
I have chosen to do my book report on “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. This is a finance book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki. He had a great deal of good points and being that I do not know a lot about finance, it was nice to get a different understanding from someone. He was raised in Hawaii which we all know as people living there to either be rich or very poor. Kiyosaki talks about his father who is the poor dad, and his best friend’s dad, who is the rich dad. He compares the two to come up with a better outlook on his future financial plans.I first heard about this book when my husband worked for a company that promoted financial help for those in debt or people wanting to invest. My husband always talked about this book and how they used it to help make their sales. It was a recommended book for potential clients. I can see how they would take ideas from this book to promote investments. One idea was that of real estate. My husband’s company helped investors with real estate sales. In the book he mentions that 300 years ago land was wealth, the person with the most land, carried the most wealth(Kiyosaki, 111). I remember being so interested about Kiyosaki’s story on real estate. In his book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Kiyosaki talked about how he made $40,000 in five hours from real estate. He borrowed $2,000 from a friend for $200 and use it as a down payment for a $20,000 house that he bought from a brokerage attorney. He then put up an add for the house for $60,000, even though it was once in the ad for $75,000. People were calling like crazy to get this house for $15,000 cheaper. In the end he asked for a $2,500 processing fee which was enough to pay back his friend $2,200. So he made $40,000 profit from such a small investment. I had no idea that something like that could be or seem so easy. It makes me wonder. This seemed interesting and I was glad to finally read the book.
Although I did enjoy the reading, I feel my situation was more related to the poor dad. I was always told exactly what he was taught. Do well in school, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, and save, save, save. I always believed that was how it worked for everyone except celebrities. I never actually thought that the Spice Girls went to college, but I knew that I eventually had to. It was never a doubt in my mind that I would. I didn’t want to be a bum and I saw how my parents struggled because of the little education they received. The poor dad was right in my eyes because I believe that hard work will always pay off.
My thoughts on the rich dad were kind of skeptical. It seemed that he based his life on chance and lived a mentality of education not being important. Although he was rich, I feel that his way of getting to where he was was lucky shot. He made the idea of being street-smart the best way to go and you don’t really need school. In his eyes, you gotta know the system and constantly hustle. I remember my Grandpa saying that street-smart is not smart. You need to learn about the world and finance. People who rely on their street-smarts never get too far because they lack certain knowledge. People may say the same about education, but I myself do not agree with that.
I like that the author is Hawaiian. I have family there and I see how all of them struggle financially. They are not part of the rich families that visit every so often and have big mansions. They are actually the ones taking care of their houses for a small paycheck. That is what most Hawaiians do. They work for tourists, hotels, ground maintenance etc. So I see Kiyosaki in the same position. I feel that this book could help some of the locals in Hawaii.They may look at it like, if he can do it, so can I. My cousin has never read the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book, but living in Hawaii she eventually saw the potential of business. She was a dancer at a hotel and did luaus. She married a guy who also danced, but with fire. She also knew how to make head-pieces for dancers and such. She put up ads for her own show and had hits from all over. She became a business woman all on her own. This story does remind me of the rich dad perspective. She was once a hotel maid that graduated high school. She had a child young but knew how to dance and make hawaiian crafts that everyone loves. She sold them for cheaper at marts and online. It can all happen, but not for just everyone.
This book is one of many that talks about the lack of knowledge we all have in finance. We do not learn about finance in school. I absolutely think we should. I have learned so much in the class that I have taken this semester as well as from reading this book. I understand the options and the drive of each dad. If kids were taught about finance in school, they would probably be more aware of the risks of credit card debt.
So as you can see, I did learn from the book and could relate to it. Like I said, I do feel that I was raised similar to the way the Poor Dad taught, but that’s not a bad thing. I think you need both. You need to not depend on school to get you where you want to go just because you have a degree. You need to utilize that degree to its full potential and add in what you have learned outside of the classroom, which would be a “street-smart”. Having the drive and creativeness of someone without education could definitely go a long way, but having both could definitely take you further. Kiyosaki was very lucky to have perspective of both ends.
