My father picked this book up in Bagdogra Airport, telling me that he'd been recommended it, and it was a must read. He gave it to me to read on the flight and I'd finished with it by the time we landed. Rob Kiyosaki's advice got me thinking quite a bit. I am not a very financially savvy person, and given that my career is starting, it made sense to try and understand how to manage money. Having studied for four years in Gujarat, I was exposed to two sides; one, the face of the IIM graduates in the city, who spend two years and lots of money to study and earn an MBA, and go on to earning big bucks, and on the other hand practical,individual and family run businesses, where the average education is high school, and the practicalities of running a business, gaining insight and acumen through experience, and being your own master was important. So this book , I hoped, might give me an insight here.
Most of the self help books I've encountered , while containing important lessons, seemed like rewritten versions of each other, and seemed to focus on building the person and personality, whatever be the topic, with the winning smile characteristic of American salesmanship.
The book , on the other hand, dealt with money. It deals with how both sides of the economic ladder
see money, what they do with it, and the kind of attitude moneymaking needs, tells us about the two father figures he had, a rich one, and a poor one, and the vast difference in the kind of advice he received from them, and his eventual choice of listening to his rich dad.
His book seems to challenge traditional middle class wisdom, of considering money to not be their cup of tea, of accumulating higher education, getting a job that paid you, and so on. The author says that every time we say things like, I can't afford it, we do not exercise our creativity, or the money making muscle. He emphasises , to begin, on the importance of gaining a practical financial education in the school going years itself, to help children and parents understand where their money goes, keep track of them, understand how the law works, and start consciously using the knowledge to make money grow. He states outright that his own interest is in making money, pure and simple.
He urges us to apply the same go-getter achiever attitude towards money matters as we would towards other important goals in life.
On the positive end, his book outlined and emphasised on things that could and should be implemented, such as diligent accounting, knowledge of the law, knowledge of finances, and how they would work, and so on.
On the downside, his book is a little putting off, in that , it is derisive of employees, the middle class, and those who steadily pursue higher education, stating that formal education has been framed to create employees, not employers. He suggests an attitude of doing away with them completely in favour of investing, business and entrepreneurship to say the least. Secondly, the strategies of personal experience in his book are written purely from the perspective of making money,rather than financial strategies implementable in various professional and personal contexts, with money as the aim and the end goal.
To see it practically, most people worldwide focus on doing things, jobs and careers that bring them joy and happiness, and for whom, intelligent money habits are similar to having a more balanced productive lifestyle, or rather, the result of the things they do in life. I doubt people set out "to make money" every morning. There have also been claims of the dubiousness of a lot of his stories. Not being an expert on financial matters in the Americas, I do not know how valid both sides of the claims are. Also, being in India, it becomes difficult to relate to the strategies in the book ,considering we would not have the same trade policies, the same tax laws, or similar financial conditions, It would take a fair amount of personal effort on the reader's end to be able to understand the financial framework India.
Have there been other books like this, maybe more Indian in context? I don't really know, except recalling the odd non fiction book about the Ambanis, or a book about IIM's entrepreneurs, or the secrets of Gujarati trade practices. But it would be nice to have a book that actually takes a good look at India's financial systems, and what financial strategies the average person can adopt to be financially secure and comfortable.
Would I recommend reading it? Yes, it is a decent book that kicks you out of procrastination and gets you to think about what you're doing with your money. But I would advise caution regarding strategies; this is an american book, for american audiences, with american financial conditions in mind. The Indian audience, the market, and even the financial guidelines will be different for us. This remains, to the effect , another motivational book for us. But do get down to doing your accounts! And pay attention to where your money is going!!!
Most of the self help books I've encountered , while containing important lessons, seemed like rewritten versions of each other, and seemed to focus on building the person and personality, whatever be the topic, with the winning smile characteristic of American salesmanship.
The book , on the other hand, dealt with money. It deals with how both sides of the economic ladder
see money, what they do with it, and the kind of attitude moneymaking needs, tells us about the two father figures he had, a rich one, and a poor one, and the vast difference in the kind of advice he received from them, and his eventual choice of listening to his rich dad.His book seems to challenge traditional middle class wisdom, of considering money to not be their cup of tea, of accumulating higher education, getting a job that paid you, and so on. The author says that every time we say things like, I can't afford it, we do not exercise our creativity, or the money making muscle. He emphasises , to begin, on the importance of gaining a practical financial education in the school going years itself, to help children and parents understand where their money goes, keep track of them, understand how the law works, and start consciously using the knowledge to make money grow. He states outright that his own interest is in making money, pure and simple.
He urges us to apply the same go-getter achiever attitude towards money matters as we would towards other important goals in life.
On the positive end, his book outlined and emphasised on things that could and should be implemented, such as diligent accounting, knowledge of the law, knowledge of finances, and how they would work, and so on.
On the downside, his book is a little putting off, in that , it is derisive of employees, the middle class, and those who steadily pursue higher education, stating that formal education has been framed to create employees, not employers. He suggests an attitude of doing away with them completely in favour of investing, business and entrepreneurship to say the least. Secondly, the strategies of personal experience in his book are written purely from the perspective of making money,rather than financial strategies implementable in various professional and personal contexts, with money as the aim and the end goal.
To see it practically, most people worldwide focus on doing things, jobs and careers that bring them joy and happiness, and for whom, intelligent money habits are similar to having a more balanced productive lifestyle, or rather, the result of the things they do in life. I doubt people set out "to make money" every morning. There have also been claims of the dubiousness of a lot of his stories. Not being an expert on financial matters in the Americas, I do not know how valid both sides of the claims are. Also, being in India, it becomes difficult to relate to the strategies in the book ,considering we would not have the same trade policies, the same tax laws, or similar financial conditions, It would take a fair amount of personal effort on the reader's end to be able to understand the financial framework India.
Have there been other books like this, maybe more Indian in context? I don't really know, except recalling the odd non fiction book about the Ambanis, or a book about IIM's entrepreneurs, or the secrets of Gujarati trade practices. But it would be nice to have a book that actually takes a good look at India's financial systems, and what financial strategies the average person can adopt to be financially secure and comfortable.
Would I recommend reading it? Yes, it is a decent book that kicks you out of procrastination and gets you to think about what you're doing with your money. But I would advise caution regarding strategies; this is an american book, for american audiences, with american financial conditions in mind. The Indian audience, the market, and even the financial guidelines will be different for us. This remains, to the effect , another motivational book for us. But do get down to doing your accounts! And pay attention to where your money is going!!!
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