First point: You do not need to be frugal to be rich. In fact it is often quite the opposite. It is the desire for the finer things in life that drive many people to push themselves to the next level. There is nothing wrong with wanting a Porsche or a Ferrari or my personal favorite; a Gumpert Appollo. You simply must figure out how to generate the kind of income it takes to own such a thing. I love Robert’s message that tells you never to say you can’t afford it, but rather ask yourself how you can afford it. The first statement cuts off all possibilities of owning the finer things in life while the second begins the creative process that will open the doors to owning such things. I believe you should never want for anything in this world because you can have it all if you are creative enough and willing to work hard to achieve it. It is not to say you should be a spendthrift, not paying attention to your financial situation and drive yourself into the ground out of careless spending habits. I am saying that anything is possible if you put your mind to it, so why cut yourself off at the knees thinking that “frugality” is some kind of virtue.

The second thing I must strongly disagree with is what you said in bold letters early in your article, “…the book is a waste of time.

It might have been a waste of time for you because you previously understood the basic concepts presented. For those who have never done a cash flow statement in their lives this book is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Whether you agree with RK’s definition of an asset or not, if you follow his advice and work diligently to acquire what he calls assets you will become rich. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understnad this. The information is brilliantly simple but i believe that it has alluded the masses for a very long time. Other people have tried to teach the same message but it never resonated with me the way this book did, and for that I believe the book is priceless. It might not speak to someone else the same way, and for them it is worthless.

When a financial “guru” comes out who is unconventional everybody tries to cut him down. I watched the same thing happen to Wade B. Cook, author of “The Wall Street Money Machine”. They hung that guy out to dry, but his concept of the “meter drop” and explanation of stock options made the book worth every penney and then some, even if everything the critics said about him is true. He, like Robert, has a way of teaching mind-boggling subjects in their most simplest terms. That is the true miracle of their books.

If you already understood the concepts before reading these books I can see how you might feel it to be an oversimplified pile of crap. All you would see is the flaws. If you are new to the information or even if your understanding is vague then these books are brilliant.

I’m a CPA. Land/building are assets in accounting. Your house is not a liability. The mortgage on your house is a liability. Maintenance and taxes are expenses. I understood that Kiyosaki meant buy income-producing assets. He shouldn’t have tried to re-define “asset” and “liability”.

Unstoppable Family
Brian and Rhonda Swan

re-read the book and think why the author particularly mentioned rich people cant be lazy. What that lady means?

Thank you for your review of RDPD. I just finished it, am half way through The Cashflow Quadrant and have his Guide to Investing (I bought all three for US$15.00).

As a “hamster” for many many years, I’ve recently decided to look into starting my own business or investing in rental properties as a way of increasing my wealth. I’ve looked into several MLM businesses and found their sales pitch to be a bit high pressure. As hard as they work to sell me on their system they sure make it sound like I could just sit back and the money will roll in. RK’s books give me the same feeling without the substance of HOW to actually do it.

While I found RDPD inspiring it also set off alarm bells when he talked about writing off his Porsche and vacations as “business trips.” I still have an open mind on how useful the books as a whole are, but I wont be quitting my day job anytime soon to jump head first into the make money fast and easy hype that the books portray.

In practice, the advice to “accumulate assets” should work out somewhat like more traditional advice to “invest in retirement” – the problem is that Kiyosaki offers get-rich-quick thinking (focus on real estate over equities or other investments) – which can work during a real estate bubble, but is hardly prudent.

As for the other lessons – concur: they’re a wash. Either he’s offering trite, well-tread advice better rendered elsewhere, or he’s offering misleading/mistaken advice. Best to pass.

I got the feeling again, but didn’t find very much concrete info in there that I didn’t already know. (I also found the material wealth ‘flaunts,’ like the Porsche, incongruous with the Rich Dad philosophy … if it’s a compelling philosophy, Kiyosaki doesn’t need to sprinkle in mentions of Porsches to sell it!)

All that said, I did take some good things from his book – one, that I have to control how I generate my assets, instead of waiting on an employer to give me wages … and he made me think seriously about starting a business and all that entails.

I also think his discussion of ERISA and pensions vs. 401(k)s is useful … altho he uses it as a bit of a scare tactic (some of my opinion on how he treats that is from watching one of his seminars, as well as from the actual book). What he says about this is just a starting point – a Frontline documentary gave a really good analysis on how ERISA has changed things.

I also agree that “Your Money or Your Life” is an excellent book – IMO if you’re going to get anything at all our of RDPD (besides good feelings), read it with or right after “Your Money or Your Life.”