Book Review – Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Robert Kiyosaki has been a best-selling author for many years. One of his first best-selling books is the book entitled, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. It has been on the New York Times best-selling list for many years. It is his best-selling book of all time.

In order to give a better perspective on this book, I have to give some insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s other books about personal finance. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is the best among his other books on personal finance and business. The other books tend to focus on leveraging more money into business or real estate because you are more financially literate and money-wise. It would seem prudent and wise to continue to practice financial literacy by avoiding debt to get into more business and real estate ventures.

Just like your personal fitness and health, your personal finance has to have principles that are time-proven and works. One of those principles that the book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, covers well is that we need to acquire more knowledge and practice to become more financially literate.

Financially literacy is treated like learning another language. You have to understand principles such as knowing and understanding the financial quadrant of employee, big business, small business, and investor. It requires you to be more financial literate when you get into the quadrant (or realm) of big business or investor. As you practice to become more financially literate, you pay attention to details such as financial statements, debt vs. credit, good debt vs. bad debt (which is a controversial point for many people), assets vs. liabilities, and other components of financial literacy.

The book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, was initially created to be the instruction guide or handbook for Kiyosaki’s board game (Cashflow 101). The board game reinforces many of the principles of financial literacy. The primary drawback of the board game is the cost. The book is suffice as a foundational tool to become financial literacy.

Many people would make analysis about who is really the rich dad or the poor dad that Kiyosaki references to in his books. But, those are not important points. The key point is that you can learn from the Rich Dad and the Poor Dad. Although the book points out the positive lessons from the Rich Dad, Kiyosaki later wrote about lessons from the Poor Dad.

Thus, the book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, is a good primer for people to get on course to become financially literate in their personal finance. The simplicity of the lessons make it enduring and endearing lessons on personal finance.