02 September 2007

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki

The Get Rich Slowly blog recently posted an article about how to read personal finance books. The main piece of advice that stuck in my mind is to read with a filter on your brain and apply the advice that makes sense in your situation. This was still on my mind when I read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".

This book has been criticized for being heavy on theory and light on actual advice, and I can definitely see that. Remember Goofus and Gallant from Highlights magazine? Goofus was always the one who made the wrong choice and Gallant always made the right one. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" strikes me as a grown-up version of that childhood favorite. Kiyosaki tells a tale of learning about money from mistakes his real dad made and the successes that his best friend's dad. That approach gave the book an interesting start, but I kept expecting the author to get down to business with practical advice. Unfortunately there wasn't much. Kiyosaki spends a whole chapter on arming yourself with knowledge about how money works, but he doesn't tell us much about it. I thought that was what I picked up the book for; now you are telling me to go read another book?

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" isn't a book that I would recommend. There are many more books out there that give practical and detailed advice. I would say time is better spent on one of those.

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