Rating:  Summary: Good book, not great, but worth a read. Review: I thought this was a pretty good book. Not much on How-to, more of a Why-to. The author spends most of the book recollecting how he became wealthy, and gives some good advice on why you should press on when things look bleak. I liked it, and I came away with an understanding that in order to be where you want to go, you have to focus on your business and goals with a singlemindedness that most people aren't willing to reach. Anybody can do it. I haven't yet, but I will. It's worth reading if you apply what you learn.
Rating:  Summary: Not very helpful Review: This book repeats itself so many times it becomes an annoyance. The book could have been written in about 50 pages. Really the mantra is: Own a business or real estate or stocks. Being employed is bad. Yep, got all that. It does manage to make you think about how truly aweful it is to be an employed toady, but like most books of this ilk there is very little there to help you get started. It read like a multi-level marketing meeting.
Rating:  Summary: The best... And the worst Review: I've read almost all of the Rich Dad series, and I continue to give each one of them mixed reviews. On the one hand, these books stress that people are NOT going to become 'rich' by saving and investing for retirement. The truly rich DO think different and have different options, primarily because they own their own business. The information provided is, on the one hand, so obvious you wonder "why bother". Then, you realize that Mr. Kiyosaki is the only person out there putting together books like this, and then you have to wonder "why isn't anyone else saying this!?!"The RD,PD books form a cornerstone of my personal finance library, NOT because of the depth of information provided (as one other reviewer mentioned, specifics are THIN), but because these books are designed to make you THINK, to make you expand your potential, and to find out the rich person in you. That sounds esoteric, but the reason each book repeats earlier books is because the messages need to be repeated, repeated, repeated until you finally _realize_ what he's trying to say! Yes, this book is a rehash of the previous books. Yes, it does provide a few new insites that make it worthwile. BUT, the fact that Mr. Kiyosaki finally goes into a little bit of detail of HOW he raised himself up, how he APPLIED the lessons he's been teaching, and a bit about some deals he worked. The series isn't about specifics; remember that. It's about changing your CONTEXT. Read the book and you'll understand.
Rating:  Summary: A Book of Words...Just WORDS! Review: If "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is a brilliant success, this one is a brilliant FAILURE. The theme is very loose, and it seems the author has nothing to say anymore, especially after all these rich dad, poor dad series. I cannot find the theme coherence of the whole book, and the author is just selling / marketing (again) all his previous titles. You can get any more practical financial advices from other Do-it-yourself personal finance book. I just want to say: if you want to be the rich dad, don't buy the book and save the money in money market fund, at least you earn a penny a month.
Rating:  Summary: Same as the other books. Review: Robert Kiyosaki, Talks about the different quadrant's. There is the self employed, the employee, the investor, and the business owner. I have read his books in the past getting to the investment and business owner Quadrant is next to impossible. I have read several books on real estate and theory is not always practical. Looking for distressed properties is just a feeding frenzy. There is so much competition For distressed properties the only way you can get them is to pay cash. I have been to the foreclosure auctions in Houston Texas and it is required that you bring at least (amount) in cash just to pickup 2 properties! Once you make it to the investment and business owner quadrant you Are set for life. The hard part is getting there. I have tried for the last six months, moved from a 3,000 square foot house to a small condo to have more money available to me for investments. Even working for investors and finding them houses hasn't worked out either. Unless you are looking for a long term investment and pay full retail for the house's I can't seem to get it to work. The theory behind it is great. Getting the theory to work is a whole different story. I have also noticed that when you tell people you are a Real-Estate investor they demand to know your secrets (they don't ask) you would not believe how many people in Church have approached me wanting to know my secrets. The people that are in Real-Estate will do everything they can to sabotage your success, even people in my Church this seems to be true. If you are successful keep it a secret!
Rating:  Summary: Don't buy this book. Review: This book should be free since it offers little more than Robert Kiyosaki selling his other books and games. If you want to retire young and retire rich, own a little real estate and write a lot of lousy books. That is the message I received.
Rating:  Summary: Where is the beef? Review: Although this book covered some very interesting and some what complicated concepts (such as Context vs. Content; different types of leverage), I find this book contains way too many fillers and self promotions. Not only did the fillers wasted a lot of the readers' time, it also hurt Mr. Kiyosaki credibility as an financial educator. We all know that Mr. Kiyosaki is getting rich by selling books like this one. I feel he is milking his ideas too much. I know one thing, he just lost me as a returning customer.
Rating:  Summary: People should work harder Review: I haven't yet read the other books in the "series"; but I can say that reading anything for the supposition that it may someday have relevance is not a bad thing. For all those crying poor-mouth about not finding work, get over yourselves and work at all the malls or fast-food joints that I see signs on. Better yet, work 2 jobs like I do and keep in mind that it's not forever. It's possible to retire young, you just have to WORK first.
Rating:  Summary: Change your mindset, change your reality. Review: Clearly most contemporary Americans are spoiled rotten with the notion, and illusion of "security"- the whole get a good education, get a 'good job' (that one just makes me laugh), and save up in your 401K so that when you are 65 you won't have to work anymore. Financial Planners who used to refer to the 'three legs of the retirement stool as Pension, Savings, and Social Security are increasingly talking about a fourth leg- A second career. That's right 40-50 years and more WORK! That's a fine plan for some, but if you're a bit more sensible, if you realize that you wake up every day in a free country, if you want to retire with enough money to do what you want, while you are still young enough to do it- then this book is a good read. Just keep in mind that Robert sets out to impart principles, not "how to". I suspect there are many who will read this book who will at some point wish they'd applied the principles earlier in life. There are a lot of retired folks who, if they are honest with you, will tell you that they wish they'd taken some more "risks" in life while they were young enough. I suspect there are many who have found out too late that the biggest risk they ever took was depending only on their own labor, and some savings for their every need without ever using constructive leverage to achieve more.
Rating:  Summary: Retire Young Retire Rich Review: I browsed the book in the bookstore and thought it would be a great one. However, I was pretty disappointed after buying it and ploughing through 335 pages. As many of the other reviews have stated, There are both good (not great) points and bad points. The good: Discussion of "Context" - How you perceive money, risk, etc can limit or enhance your ability to make money. Discussion of Leverage - relying on growing your personal equity (ie savings or salary) is not nearly as powerful as responsibly wielding debt in your favor. Particularly in the area of real estate investments. The bad: As other reviewers have already noted, the book is very repetitious, particularly when it comes to the author's anecdotal stories and philosophy. The book also lacks anything resembling a "game plan" since it provides VERY superficial coverage of real estate investing, stock market investing, and starting a business (and I mean THIN). He makes frequent references to other books, authors for details. I also agree with the reviewer who said the content could be reduced to a pamphlet. And the "money is everything" attitude that seems to infect the author is somewhat annoying...even if most of us fall prey to the temptation to think that way (which is probably why it's a best seller). If you are looking for a book to give you some "idea-seeds" on where you can make money (ie real estate, stock market, starting a business), then this isn't a bad book to skim through. I would have given it 4 stars if it had been 50 pages rather than 335. If you are looking for a book to really give you practical advice on HOW to get there you'd be better off looking for a book that is more focused on the particular area of interest.
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