5 WAYS 'RICH DAD, POOR DAD' CHANGED MY MONEY MINDSET

23-year-old Cheryl didn't even know what she had coming when she picked up this book.

// THE BACKSTORY //

Rewind to February 2015, I was perusing Chapters, when I walked by the book 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'. The title stopped me... sounded intriguing, so I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I was so broke at the time I literally didn't even buy the book I used Chapters as a library to read it and put it back. #dontjudgeme. Without being too dramatic, I left Chapters that day with a completely different outlook on money, where I was going very wrong and whether things were income, expenses, assets or liabilities. THUPER EXTHITING STHTUFF!!

On Facetime that night, I was so excited to tell Dale about this book I'd read. 🤓 As I was spewing him the Coles notes version of my very small and newly found knowledge of assets and liabilities, he goes, 'Oh yea, that's Rich Dad, Poor Dad.' And we mega geeked out. To my unawares, he'd been given this book by an older brother, he was doing what the book said and wait for it... IT WORKED! This was turning my nerd eyes into heart eyes faster than you can say wowowowow. Anyways, this isn't a romance novel so we'll leave that there.

// DISCLAIMERS //

First of all, the title. It's a marketing ploy, and if it gets you fired up or offended, it worked. I'm very grateful for my mom and my dad and how I was raised. I feel like everyone needs to read this book no matter who your dad is!

Second of all, the goal here isn't to 'get rich'. The goal is to become financially literate, so we can become financially free.

Lastly, this book really bashes the education system. Which in some ways I have to agree with. Education teaches us how to count and "make money", but it doesn't teach us financial literacy or aptitude... aka, what is an asset, what to do with money once you make it, how to keep it longer, and how to make that money work for you.

Okay now, onto the good stuff.

// 5 THINGS THAT BECAME VERY CLEAR AFTER READING //

1. ASSETS VS LIABILITIES

Pre-'Rich Dad Poor Dad' Cheryl definitely did not actually know the difference between an asset and a liability. Is your car an asset? No. Is your primary residence an asset? Technically, no. Your boat? No. Your snowmobile? No. As he simply puts it, "an asset puts money in my pocket. A liability takes money out of my pocket. What defines an asset are not words, but numbers. And if you can’t read the numbers, you can’t tell an asset from a hole in the ground." Well shoot, 🤔 I was in trouble. (aka the importance of being financially literate *we’ll discuss this later).

2. THE RAT RACE

Hello rat race, I was definitely on the fast track towards working for money, instead of learning how to make money work for me.

3. CALCULATE WEALTH

I had no clue how to calculate my wealth. Again, the goal here isn't to 'get rich', it's having financial freedom....and if you have no idea how to calculate your wealth, how are you going to know how many assets you need for financial freedom?

4. LACKING FINANCIAL LITERACY

Assets, liabilities, income, expenses, cash flow, taxes, equity, mortgages... 🙋‍♀️ quick question, are we still speaking English? Is this a foreign language to you, because it certainly was for me!

5. BUYING LUXURIES FIRST

In case you missed it, I was a debt-ridden recent-graduate. Yet I was still wearing nice clothes, saving to buy a car LOL and certainly not living a "poor" lifestyle. You may not think these things are luxuries, because society and *cough* social media *cough* has laid it out to make it seem like these are necessities, let me assure you, they are not! This was when I had my 'enough is enough moment'. I stopped buying "luxuries", started saving money, and used my car savings to clear out the bulk of my school debt. WHICH FELT SO GOOD I MAY ADD. As he says, rich people buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle class tend to buy luxuries first.

// BIGGEST TAKEAWAY //

This quote below literally jumped off the page and slapped me in the face. I didn't even understand what this truly meant at the time, but I made it a mission to figure it out.

“The rich buy assets. The poor only have expenses. The middle class buy liabilities they think are assets. The rich focus on their asset columns while everyone else focuses on their income statements.” - Robert Kiyosaki

What books have really impacted you? Have you had an 'enough is enough' financial moment?

Money is often so taboo or not talked about. I'm not saying you need to share your financial statements with the world, but I promise being honest with yourself about the condition of your finances and your financial literacy will be the best thing you can do for yourself! There is no shame in not knowing what an asset or liability is, hey, I didn't! So, go, run, read this book. And if you can't afford it, NO EXCUSE, go to Chapters and read it for free like a savage.

That's all for today's #rantswithCheryl. 👋🏻