Love your post!

Have you ever heard about something called the “time value of money”? Most people never have. It’s not something covered in most areas of study.

It’s not just 30 times $1825. I once thought that too. $1825 each year (future value of an annuity table using 5%) grows into $121,250 in 30 years. (link below)

The $5 per day can be anything… wasting electricity or whatever. The point these guys are driving at is what little avoidable expenses can add up to over a lifetime.

I saved little amounts over 30 years of work taking lunches etc, retired and bought a sailboat with the money I saved.

Different people have different definitions of living and being happy.

Hope this helps somewhat.

CM

http://learningforlife.fsu.edu/course/fp101/FutureValueAnnuity.htm

The GOOD: his book changed my thinking on “financial freedom”, for sure– I have an extremely well-paid job, but now realize that I’m “free” to go to work every day like most other people… his book certainly got me to begin investing while I’m still young (late 30’s). So I give it an ‘A’ for motivation.

The Not so good– Kyosaki pitches real estate very, very hard, (for tax advantages and other reasons). Yet if you read through enough of his books he eventually admits that being a landlord isn’t exactly a “plum” job, until you can hire a full-time property manager… which requires a LOT of rental income. More generally, he pitches the vague notion that “jobs are for losers” continually, and that “everyone can be a Bill Gates/Michael Dell/etc.”. This seems to fail the most basic logic test (for instance, in Gate’s case, there were 50,000+ people working on Windows Vista alone… how could he be where he is if someone didn’t have a “job”?!)

The UGLY: he outright contradicts himself at times; specifically, in one book he says that his ‘Rich’ Dad was “very religious”, and in another, that the ‘Rich’ Dad was “not religious”… this may be why some think the whole “Rich Dad” thing is fiction.

I think there’s a larger rule with the coffee thing: you should never buy a luxury consumable that you just gulp unconsciously or without enjoyment. It’s a call to become an intelligent connoisseur rather than a hording consumer. (Think about what satisfies your chocolate craving more 2 squares of Chocovic Ocumare or 10 Hershey bars.) In the end you’ll probably save both money and your health–which will save you more money.

It’s also not about becoming rich. It’s about showing people how to float on the money/income that they have.

The problem with people like Kyosaki is they are salespeople first. The first book tries to get you to spend money on the second book, and the investing courses, and the games, and to start visiting the website. Its the ultimate brand building book.

I once attended a free info session for a property investment group out of Toronto, and it was the same crap. They give you some basic information and ideas, but they are just trying to sell you on their $1600, 3-day course. The course just tries to sell you on their mentorship program, etc…

Its a great scheme, and if done well, all the motivational crap really lures people in.

In regards to Trump/Kiyosaki, gah! I don’t have much to say about Trump but I’ve never really liked Kiyosaki. His books can provide some good motivation, but it’s short on actual advice. Starting your own business can be a good idea but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

It’s true that mutual funds won’t likely make you super rich (a billionaire) but you can certainly become rich with wise spending and investing.