Rich Dad, Poor Dad Abridged

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Summary: Worth Reading
Review: I found this book to be straight forward in it's explainations. The discussion on assest vs liabilities is excellent. I have recommended this book to friends

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Summary: Kiyosaki's way of think get's you out of the rat race!
Review: This is an extremely valuable book. Kiyosaki's ways of thinking will change your outlook on life. He explains why people are poor, and why they stay poor, and what differentiates the rich from the poor and middle class. Using his life experiences of his "rich dad's" thinking, and his "poor dad's" thinking as the basis for his book, he does a great job of leading you on the right path in becoming rich. He explains that the poor/middle class are the employees, and self-employeed in life, while the rich are involved in investing and owning businesses. The whole plan behind this book is to get you out of the "rat race" way of thinking, and by doing this a person will become truly successful. The only thing that Kiyosaki's book leaves me desiring is some examples, of what exactly has to be done, and how to do it vs. his motivational and general knowledge, yet this is understandable because a master can only lead a person so far, then the rest is up to you. This is a great book, and should be a part of everyone's collection.

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Summary: Book Is Short of Concrete Ideas
Review: This book had some interesting perspectives of self discipline and the need to invest in save and invest in assets that will hopefully generate cash for you. However, my complaints with the book are that it takes so long to make its points. Was the book originally 20-30 pages before the publisher asked him to expand it? And if you are looking for concrete ideas on putting this asset buying philosophy into action, you won't find many examples. Most of his examples are real estate or stocks and are generally passive business ventures. I think he overstates the simplicity of the real estate deals (mentions spending only 5 or 10 hours to research, buy, resell, and close a real estate foreclure deal -- 5 hours????). One thing the book did motivate me to do was to learn about buying real estate foreclosures although I think it is much more work than he describes. In the introduction and in the ending of the book, of course they push their other products - like a game that they want to sell you for $195 dollars to learn more of what they weren't able to tell you outright in the book. I'll tell you a good way to get out of the ratrace -- write a book and make a boardgame promising to make people rich, sell the game for $195!

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Summary: The most tedious book every written... Could be 6 pages long
Review: This book is an example of how to say the same thing six hundred different ways. It's the most simplistic, boring writing I've encountered in about 10 years. The first third of the book is the single most tedious reading I've endured (I promised a friend I would read this book - now I get to berate him), period.

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Summary: A Controversial Book But a Good One
Review: First, I've read this book several times and want to correct an untruth. Mr. Kiyosaki never states that the poor deserve to be poor, but that we are all accountable for our own actions and education. This book is not a "how-to" guide on how to become wealthy. It is a great story about this man's two fathers (one father was his friend's father) and how their *WAY OF THINKING* and set of actions made all the difference in the world. His wealth-building tactics do NOT take advantage of the poor, only the close-minded. This book is a great book in creating a paradigm shift, to question our beliefs about money, and why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. I don't subscribe to all of his theories or beliefs, but I do concur with the author that we are all accountable for our own wealty and happiness. I grew up in a very poor neighborhood, had a rough childhood, but once I decided to read, to learn, and to take action, I have created a lifestyle that I never would have imagined. This book really is a gateway to learning more about how money works, to increase "your financial intelligence", and to realize that the road to wealth is a continuous education.

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Summary: Excellent book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It helped me to look at the way I handle money and why. I was already started in the real estate business, but this book helped push me into further action. I have also played the game "Cashflow", which was developed by the author. It is excellent as well.

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Summary: Author, Seizure Free
Review: I loved this book!Everything about Rich Dad, Poor Dad is great. Robert Kiyosaki is very perseptive, and I recommend this book for everyone. It is motivational, inspirational, and gives you a sense of growing up and learning in a world that so often forgets to teach us the lessons in life for survival, financial survival that is.

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Summary: The Benchmark Standard for Financial Literacy...
Review: Within a few hundred pages of easy to read text, your view of money will be change forever. How to make it, how to keep it, the "secrets" that the rich have used to manage wealth now available in such a way that every man, woman, and child can understand and apply, if they choose to do so.

Kiyosaki's works have become a world-wide movement that may very well spark the next age in our global society: The Financial Age. Old unworkable myths about money are being exposed as companies lay off hundreds and thousands at a time, and stock markets fall. People are seeking answers and "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" not only provides them, it trains the reader to use their mind and knowledge base as a tool to continually learn, apply, and prosper.

There is absolutely no better entry point to the subject of Financial Literacy than reading this particular book. If you really want to do better financially this book will instantly become your first and most important wealth building tool.

Robert Kiyosaki teaches you how to use Financial Literacy right, and without the hype. His methods are very do-able. Share these concepts with anyone you really care about. It will change their lives forever for the better, as it has changed mine using what Kiyosaki has to offer as the fundamental guideline to success. I'm living proof: these methods can and DO work. As a 20 Business Management Consultant, I've never found anything else that even comes close.

After you've read it, do yourself a favor and give it to your kids. It's the only real education on money in our society they will ever receive.

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Summary: Read this book with an open mind...
Review: This is a book designed to provoke you into thought and action. It will almost certainly make you uncomfortable - it's really difficult to read that the home you've been paying on for years isn't really an asset. Those of you that have been working for years at a job, looking forward to that retirement package, thinking that "downsizing" won't happen to you - well, it's time to take a look at your "assets" and "income" in a new light.

This book will NOT give you ideas to get rich quick. Instead, it gives you examples of what the author and his wife did. The book is written in a conversational style, it is not a text book.

The author made much of his wealth in businesses that he did not have to run from day-to-day, and real estate, so most of his examples are drawn from that experience. He tells you that not every investment works all the time, everywhere. The message throughout the book is to "Mind your own business".

The author does not tell you to quit your day job, he doesn't tell you to do what he did, he tells you what worked for him. He constantly compares his two dads because they provided a contrast for him - one highly educated, one not. One building his wealth so that he wouln't have to work so hard, and could spend more time with his family. The other working harder and harder, and spending less time with his family the more sucessful he became. This book does NOT belittle either of his fathers, it just gives a living example of two men working at their futures from different directions, and how it turns out for them, and what the author learned from each. There are life altering lessons there if you are willing to suspend judgement, and really listen to the words.

While some of the author's methods may not work for you personally, there is a critical underlying message here: If you run your financial life as a business, whether you actually own a business or not, you will be further ahead than the majority of your peers. This book is worth the price many times over to anyone looking to better themselves - and their future - I can't recommend it enough !!!!

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Summary: I have a poor dad
Review: I grew up with "money is the root of all evil" mindset drilled into me. Lately (after making some real money, of course), I've had a partial change of heart. Money itself is neither good nor evil. It's a tool. It can be a hammer or a sword.

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is born from a mindset the opposite of mine, which is "money is a good thing". I bought this book-on-tape to try and understancd a point of view that I don't customarily ascribe to, so I could evaluate my own assumptions and predjudices.

Mr. Kiyosaki's take on how the middle class and the poor view money is pretty accurate. Most of their (our?) financial decisions are based upon an emotional response: fear and/or greed. To really succeed financially, one must learn self-discipline. Absolutely, I agree.

However, in lumping emotions into one pile, he fails to credit what most financially successfully people attribute their success to: The Gut. Instinct. Knowing deep down when to move forward and when to retreat.

Mr. Kiyosaki also seems to have glossed over (either intentionally or out of self-delusion) the fact that his wealth building tactics exploit the disadvantaged. Even though he asserts (correctly) that our educational system fails to teach us the fundamentals of finance, in all probability his own fortune was built on the misinformed mistakes of others. He seems to justify it with the tired old excuse that the poor are poor because they deserve to be. From what I've seen, the real reasons are far more complex and insidious.

At the end, to prove that he's really an ok guy, he reminds us that generousity is paramount to being happy and wealthy. Give and ye shall receive. Not that I disagree with this philanthropic philosophy, but I wonder how sincere he really is about this. After all, donations to charity make great tax write-offs.

So overall, I'd say I learned a thing or two here about how the rich think and that may even help me build my own wealth. However, I don't plan on taking advantage of others. Of course, a bargain is a bargain...