Is the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad worth reading?

Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, in it’s lurid attention grabbing purple cover, sits alongside a range of other finance books on the bottom bookshelf in my office.

Firmly below my collection of whiskey (top shelf), whiskey glasses (second shelf down) and miscellaneous but nevertheless very cool items (third shelf down).

I’ve read it twice.

The first time I gave up halfway through because it was becoming repetitive and boring. The second time I forced myself to read to the end because so many people rave about what’s inside I had to know what I was missing.

Is Rich Dad Poor Dad Worth Reading?

Although, as you’ve probably already guessed, I’m not this books biggest fan I do think it’s worth reading because it teaches three important lessons:

1) To Start Thinking About Money

One of the key reasons most people should read Rich Dad Poor Dad is because they likely aren’t thinking about money, or more accurately the accumulation and utility of money, in the correct way.

Money is not just a tool to buy material objects and the book teaches that in abundance.

There’s no denying the world we live in is geared towards the consumer. It’s generally accepted that you make money to buy things and the more money you make the more expensive or bigger things you buy.

The truth of the matter is that money is great for buying things but if you want to be able to do anything other than work your nuts off for 40 years of your life you need to use money as a tool to make more money.

2) Assets vs Liabilities

Robert Kiyosaki is also very adept at defining assets vs liabilities in this book and this is a concept the majority of the population haven’t got to grips with… even though they think they have.

The book puts a strong focus on acquiring assets, not liabilities, which ultimately will lead you to greater wealth long term – something it’s hard to argue with.

3) True Wealth Is Freedom

Wealth is often defined as or considered to be an accumulation of money. Which can be used to buy those shiny bigger and better things.

However.

The driving force behind my desire to acquire wealth has always been and will always be freedom. It just so happens that money, acquired within the bounds of the law, can buy you a whole lot of freedom.

Money buys you the ability to choose to do or not do whatever you want (for the most) and in my mind that’s as close to real freedom as you can get.

The book agrees, and although I was already batting for that team, it’s a lesson I think worth at least considering.

Why Rich Dad Poor Dad Is Wrong… Sometimes

Aside from the click bate esq content and the monotonous repetition of the same ideas page after page after page there are good reasons why Rich Dad Poor Dad is sometimes wrong.

My main criticism of Rich Dad Poor Dad is the book views the world from the firm perspective that wealth creation is king, and whilst I personally put a great deal of effort into that pursuit, I can still recognise the value in not using increasing wealth as the main factor in all decision making.

You can choose the course of action that makes you the most money all the time and end up not feeling free.

Sometimes it’s OK to sacrifice maximising return on investment in exchange for more time to do other things; spending time with family or friends, travelling and helping others being but a few examples.

It’s also OK to exchange some ROI for enjoyment or passion. The bigger property portfolio I build the more I choose my projects based on how much passion I have for the specific property we’re working on vs how much it’ll return.

Passion can prevent burnout which in the long term can make you more money as you’ll continue doing what you love. The book places no emphasis on such concepts and fails to discuss the value of looking beyond pure numbers.

When you make business decisions you should assign at least some value to non financial factors. Shocking I know but money isn’t everything.

The advice in Rich Dad Poor Dad, for me, can be trusted. The concepts are solid, useful and usable.

The book isn’t trying to sell you anything other than a way of thinking.

What can’t necessarily be trusted are the subsequent YouTube videos and podcasts Robert Kiyosaki has become involved with.

The man has seemingly turned into a self promotional juggernaut intent on using outrageous statements and blurred analogies to click bate your attention towards him.

The content he’s putting out is starting to feel scammy and further investigation led me to the below video which is well worth watching before getting sucked into his content beyond the book:

So Is Rich Dad Poor Dad A Good Book?

Rich Dad Poor Dad isn’t a good book, it’s a book with some good concepts in it.

If you’re living pedal to the metal every month and financing all the big purchases in your life then you’ll definitely get some value from reading what the book has to say.

It’s also a book worth reading if you’re interested in money and what you should and shouldn’t do with it.

Be warned though.

Rich Dad Poor Dad isn’t a well written book. In fact it’s very repetitive and most people will have the core concepts down after reading less than half the pages on offer.

Once you feel like you’ve got to grips with the message don’t feel like you have to read on.

I’ve been there, done that and found little value in the process.

(and even less value in Kiyosaki’s content outside the pages of Rich Dad Poor Dad)