Finance Book

This is the third book in the Rich Dad’s series Robert Kiyosaki wrote after the hugely popular Rich Dad Poor Dad. Robert casual style of narration makes it both enjoyable and easy to digest the close to 400 pages book. I took about six weeks to complete the book.

This book focuses a great deal on the B-I side of the quadrant as well as the B-I Triangle. To become rich, we have to be both an investor and a business owner. To be a really great investor is to become an ultimate investor. A person who invests from the inside of the company, who takes the company public and sell the shares to outside investor. Robert also explained all the components of his B-I triangle, which Rich Dad taught him, to build a strong business dedicating one chapter for each component. If any of the component of the business is weak, the business will be in trouble and fail.

Although Robert gives very clear explanation to every concept, you still find his explanation open-ended, requiring you to figure out what is best for your own financial future. I have learnt many lessons from this book and summarized here below:

The various investor controls needed Different level of investor e.g. accredited, sophisticated. Increase finanancial intelligence. The need to have 3 financial plans. One to be secure, one to be comfortable, one to be rich. Understand financial statements. The 90/10 rule of money. The tax benefits enjoyed by a business owner compared to an employee and self-employed. The difference between saving and investing. See the flip side of the coin for any investment. Living in the information age versus industrail age. What it takes and how fast to be a billionaire in the information age. and much more… I like to recommend this book to those of you who wants to be a better business owner and investor. It would be better if you had read the first two books “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “Rich Dad’s cash flow quadrant” as it builds on the fundamentals of the two earlier books.

By: Raymond Heng

Our college-bound son just bought his first home at 21. He was able to buy a home for forty thousand under the appraised price, get a low interest rate, finance the closing costs, and pay no money down. How could he possibly do this? His credit score is over 700.

You can help your teenager prepare for his or her financial future by establishing a high credit rating. Offer your teenager these three crucial credit tips for a great financial future:

1. Start early. Begin by successfully managing a checking account– the first credit requirement. Wells Fargo Bank has a program for children to open joint accounts with a parent as young as 13 years of age. For a free individual checking account, Washington Mutual requires a minimum age of 18 or a manager’s approval for younger account holders.

2. Apply for a major credit card at 18. It’s easier to get a first-class credit card with favorable rates and terms while a student attends college before the age of 22. Why do banks want to open accounts for students who have no credit history or employment? Because lenders know that college graduates in general make more money and also pay their bills on time. Also, most consumers don’t like shopping around for credit and tend to keep their credit accounts. Therefore, lenders desire to establish strong relationships with the preferred market early in their credit experience.

This doesn’t mean that you as the parent need to co-sign; banks expect parents to help out with the payments when necessary. Just be crystal clear with your child what you expect regarding debt management. The purpose is to teach responsibility and to establish credit–not to go into debt.

3. Manage the credit card account with credit scores in mind. Once the account is opened, encourage your child to use the card for necessities that would be purchased with cash–not luxuries–and to pay the debt before finance charges accrue. However, don’t pay the entire balance off each month; let a little roll over at least every two months. Banks don’t appreciate accounts paid in full each month. More important, paid accounts don’t factor into the credit score as much as an account with a low balance.

Explain to you teenager that the purpose of using a credit card is to establish good credit. To do this, a credit card should never have a balance over 50% of the available credit. The best credit scores have accounts with only 10% of the credit line used.

Setting up a checking account and a credit card account helps your teenager learn about responsible money management, with the bonus of building strong credit to finance a home.

(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher All rights reserved.

By: Jeanette Joy Fisher

“The Wealthy Barber: Everyone’s Common-Sense Guide to Becoming Financially Independent” by David Chilton is an enjoyable read that introduces basic personal-finance habits that can lead to wealth if practiced and implemented as taught.

The lessons are taught in story fashion by a “wealthy barber” named Roy to a few disciples over a few weeks of visits. The lessons are basic, but that does not mean they are not important. In fact, for many people, these basics are all they will need to better their finances while preparing for a better financial future. This book will not prepare you to become the next Warren Buffet, nor will you be a market genius. There are many more things you can learn on this subject as well, but this book is a nice little primer. Some of the dialog between the characters is a bit corny, if not irritating, but then you can also look at it and laugh at Chilton’s use of light humor to teach important topics.

As I mentioned, the lessons are basic, but they are sound. The strategy of paying yourself at least ten percent of your pay first is not new, and is taught in many ways by many people. That does not make it less important, and most people would be better off if they implemented it. I also liked that there was discussion on wills, life insurance, and responsibility. Pointing out that some people do not need certain types of insurance is as important as pointing out that some people do.

We have all heard that social security may not be around in the future. And those receiving only social security now are barely making due. It is in all of our best interests to plan for retirement. The lessons taught in this book serve as a good reminder of things we should be doing and looking at, and hopefully will encourage many people to start planning and seek out more information on this important topic.

While “The Wealthy Barber” won’t teach you the path toward the Forbes 400 list, it does provide some excellent basic advice on personal finance. Considering the debt that many have, combined with the lack of savings, compounded by the dim outlook for social security, following the advice of this simple little book could make a huge difference in many people’s financial futures. I recommend it highly for anyone that needs a head start on planning for their future. I also recommend it for those that want a quick enjoyable read on some basic financial strategies to motivate you to learn more.

By: Alain Burrese