Rich Dad's Who Took My Money

Rating:
Summary: Fair & Balanced but Repetitive
Review: -Well written book
-Author is very seductive to the layman
-Author provides good advice, however...
-Most of his advice is NOT accessible to the typical American Family

RECOMMENDATION:

-The best time these tools can be implemented is BEFORE someone gets into Debt. We are such a debt-ridden society that I don't think most people are anywhere close to being able to put into practice this man's concepts. Moral of the story is, Robert K. can help 1 or 2% of his readers & help them a lot. The other 98% are only living vicariously through someone else's dreams. That means that $.98 of every $1.00 spent on this item is better for the pubisher and auther than for the reader...but hey, the book only costs the same as "3 lattes!"

Rating:
Summary: WOW! I though he was losing his touch, based on....
Review: ...his last three books, BUT this was on the "money". "Who Took My Money" is Kiyosaki's best book by far since "Retire Young, Retire Rich". His last three books were good, but not like the top tier Rich Dad Books in my opinion (Rich Dad, Poor Dad; Cashflow Quadrant; Guide to Investing; Retire Young, Retire Rich and now Who Took My Money).

I was starting to get soooo bored with his material, based on his last few books(Prophecy had a good subject, but I was going to sleep; Success Stories had too many real estate stories, but needed other business stories without real estate, and an options success story would have been nice too. I was happy for the individuals in the book, but wanted more; Guide to Becoming Rich was a great overview of the Rich Dad principles, but let's be honest people, it was a bit redundant), I went to the library first to check this book out, that way if it was disappointing, I would not have to slam it in a review. I like this book so much, that after I returned it to the library I decided to purchase my own copy for reference.

The good thing is I was already moving in the right direction in terms of accelerating my money. This book clarifies that I am doing the right thing. It also reinforces what Kiyosaki has said for a long time: DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU! There are some Rich Dad followers (idiots in my opinion) who think everybody who reads the Rich Dad books, should immediately go into real estate, and that is not right. These individuals do not respect their fellow Rich Dad readers dreams, because they think they know everything. If someone wants to go into real estate good for them, but for me at this time, I am concentrating on creating my own businesses (other than real estate), options trading and intellectual property. I plan on investing in real estate in a few years. This is definitely a book people should check out and read, but read the first three Rich Dad books and "Retire Young, Retire Rich" first, before you read this one, you will be glad you did! For the simple fact it will prepare your mindset to accelerate your money!!!

Rating:
Summary: Who Took My Money -- Book Summary
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!! OR ANY OTHER BOOK WRITTEN BY THIS AUTHOR. HE IS A CHARLATAN, A CHEAT, A CROOK. THE ONLY PERSON THAT MAKES MONEY FROM THIS BOOK IS THE AUTHOR. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PERSONAL FINANCE LOOK UP JOHN BOGLE OR WILLIAM BERNSTEIN. THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU (THE READER) TO GET RICH QUICK BY READING THIS WORTHLESS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Book Ever
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!! OR ANY OTHER BOOK WRITTEN BY THIS AUTHOR. HE IS A CHARLATAN, A CHEAT, A CROOK. THE ONLY PERSON THAT MAKES MONEY FROM THIS BOOK IS THE AUTHOR. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PERSONAL FINANCE LOOK UP JOHN BOGLE OR WILLIAM BERNSTEIN. THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU (THE READER) TO GET RICH QUICK BY READING THIS WORTHLESS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Now, this is more like it.
Review: Finally, Robert Kiyosaki gets around and communicate somewhat clearly and concretely, ways to attain financial success. The writing here is still awkward and repetitive, but at least, there's Sharon Lechter to summarize his points in a clear and straightforward manner. You'll get around understanding what Kiyosaki says by the end of each chapter.

Questions on his credibility aside, this book is much more helpful than most of his previous books, which tend to be redundant and circuitious. It shows how you can accelerate your finances by using good debt, leveraging it to other assets so you can create income pipelines. Although some people say his methods are very risky (which being a sole income provider, I wholeheartedly agree), the book opened my mind on methods possible to attain wealth. I may temper Kiyosaki's approach but his book has truly made me aware of the possibilities of attaining a secure and prosperous tomorrow without waiting too long.

Now, if only he allows the editor to improve his writing...

Rating:
Summary: Kiyosaki Advances More Concepts
Review: I have about 8-books by Kiyosaki, and find they all add to my financial perspective. What I liked the most about this book is his discussion between a capital gains investor and a cashflow investor. Most average investors are capital gains investors, but successful investors are cashflow investors.

Although I like the Kiyosaki books, I give it only 3-stars because when I finished the book, I'm left with "that sounds great, so how do I do it??" Well, I found some great answers in Van Tharp's new book "Safe Strategies for Financial Freedom". Van Tharp was a fan of Kiyosaki, and his influence is obvious. But Van Tharp finally reveals exactly how to get some investment/passive income from some experts.

Rating:
Summary: Far better than financial planner advice
Review: If you have been listening to typical financial planners over the last three years, then you were one of the millions that lost nearly $10 trillion! I don't know about you, but I don't like to lose money.

Obviously the review written just ahead of mine was by a financial planner. Financial planners are just like brokers, that is, they cause you to become broker with their advice. The best financial planner you will ever have is the one who looks back at you in the mirror. If you give up your investments to financial planners, advisors, brokers etc. you will end up a financial loser.

Robert Kiyosaki has once again written an excellent book with advice that really works. What these "investment people" always neglect to mention is that Kiyosaki's advice has been right on all along. He predicted the crash of 2000 in his earlier book Rich Dad's Guide To Investing. What were investment advisors, financial planners and brokers telling everybody to do? That's right "buy and hold", (more like buy and pray that your investments will someday get back to where they were 3-4 years ago) "diversify" (put your eggs in many baskets and have many baskets of crushed eggs), "dollar cost average" (more like average down) and so on.

If you had listened to Kiyosaki as I did and many others, you would have been out of risky stocks and had your money in other equities that provided huge returns.

Ifyou are a serious investor, then I highly recommend this book along with Rich Dad's Guide To Investing and Rich Dad's Prophecy. Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad have been right so far and I would bet on him continuing to be right again.

Of course you could listen to a financial planner, advisor or broker and end up broker and perhaps join others and lose another $10 trillion.... again with their "professional" advice.

Good book RTK. Keep em coming.

Rating:
Summary: Who Took My Money -- Book Summary
Review: If you're sick and tired of working harder and harder and not getting anywhere, begin to educate yourself on how you can improve your financial position. If you don't think that things have become that bad, then just consider the fact that the average annual salary of an American worker increased only 10%, from $32,522 to $35,864, during the nearly 30 years between 1970 and 1999, while that of the "Fortune 100" top American CEOs has increased 2800%, from $1.3 million to $37.5 million, during the same time period.

In this ninth installment of the Rich Dad Series, Kiyosaki addresses the issue of which specific investment vehicles people should invest their money in. The need for such information remains greater than ever. Millions of investors lost nearly 9 trillion dollars during the stock market crash that lasted from 2000 to 2003. This marked one of the greatest wealth transfers ever. Remarking on this cataclysmic event, Kiyosaki writes, "The question is, How can so many millions of people be deluded into the idea that losing money every month, for years on end, without a money-back guarantee or insurance against catastrophic loss can be considered smart investing? It has to be one of the biggest mass sales jobs in the history of the world...a sales job that could only occur with a financially naïve population (203)." The answer of course is greater financial literacy. For example, many of those stock investors who lost money in the market may have avoided the misfortune if they had seen the graph illustrated below.

The primary reason why real estate values have appreciated more than the S&P during the ten years between 1992 and 2002 is largely attributable to the power of leverage and the fact that real estate is indexed for inflation while the S&P is not. While Kiyosaki favors real estate he acknowledges that to be truly rich one must invest in at least two asset classes. He specifically recommends building business and reinvesting its profits for growth. Excess profits should be held temporarily in paper until a suitable piece of real estate can be found. Real estate provides some additional benefits over the other asset classes including financial leverage and the right to take full depreciation and appreciation of the asset. But perhaps most importantly, Kiyosaki writes, "Success in real estate depends upon you as the investor. Success in the S&P depends upon the S&P 500 companies" (xiv). Seeking to retain maximum control over your asset remains one of the cardinal rules of investing.

The secret to Rich Dad's formula for ultra-high returns lies in your ability to achieve financial synergy by integrating the three asset classes (i.e. business, real estate, and paper) with financial accelerators such as OPM, OPT, tax laws, and corporate laws. The mind of a rich person operates, as opposed to that of the poor and middle class. According to Kiyosaki, "...successful investors integrate two or three of the asset classes, and then accelerate, leverage, and protect the cash flowing through the assets...The point is, an investor could own a small business and also invest in real estate" (xv).

Perhaps most importantly Kiyosaki tries to convince us that the pursuit of cashflow, as opposed to capital gains, should be the primary goal of any investor. In regards to cash flow, Kiyosaki believes that your most powerful tool is your imagination, "see if you can see potential value they cannot see. In my opinion, this is the best way to get rich" (225). In fact, most investors, such as with the stock market, fail because they do not use their imagination and are focused exclusively on elusive capital gains.

Rating:
Summary: 20% is useful
Review: Like most financial books I expected some motivational aspects, and some informational aspects. This book is overloaded on motivational fluff and too little information.

I gave it one star because I felt you only got 20% of what you paid for. 70% motivational, 10% promotional (buy my other books), and 20% informational.

Save your money. You can get all you need by reading "Part 2" of the book (no where near half the book--90 pages maybe) at the bookstore. Even that does not provide specifics. He does bring up some interesting points, but he brings them up over and over and over. If you read all positive reviews here you've read 20% of the book--lots of repetitive stats.

Rating:
Summary: Blah Blah Blah...
Review: The title of my review is Blah Blah Blah because that is all that is in the book. Nothing of substance, Nothing material. Just some inane chattering and truisms, what a waste...

However I am going to keep the book in the latrine just in case. The just in case part being just in case I run out of paper on the roll...