There are many working adults or retirees out there who are not financially literate and end up having to work all their life trying to pay their bills and loans. Are you going to live your life this way? Probably not, so you should get this knowledge down as young as possible so that you can put your money into full use.
For people who are feeling bored in face of the pandemic, I would encourage you to pick up a book to read as it would allow you to learn valuable things that school doesn’t teach you and maybe even your parents as well. Reading gives you a lot of benefits such as reducing stress, build your vocabulary and many more!
If you are looking to start somewhere on learning about finance, this book would be useful for you. People who are interested in learning about finance and do not know where to start, this book can be the starting point for you. Especially young adults, who are entering the working force and starting to wonder how they should make full use of their money.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T.Kiyosaki
This is a book that teaches readers about the things that were taught by the writer’s two fathers. The two fathers had different opinions about how to make money, one being a university graduate which ended up being a teacher, and earned decent while the other dad quit schooling at age 13. The book will be sharing with you about how the writer was able to learn from the two dads and how it helped him to understand money better.
This book was first published in 1997 and since then it has been a popular book for people to learn about finance. It currently has an updated version which marked its 20th anniversary. This shows how successful and helpful the book has been throughout the years.
The book was written by Robert T.Kiyosaki, an investor, entrepreneur, and educator who has a different perspective on how money works. He disagrees with the old thinking of people having to work for money, save money, pay debts, and invest for the long term.
Key Learning Points
- Assets VS liabilities
- Most people work for money, the rich make money work for them
- It’s not about how much money you make, its how much you keep
- Mind Your Own Business
The first learning taught us to understand the difference between assets and liabilities as the rich would focus more on acquiring assets while the poorly acquired liabilities that they deem as assets.
Next, the book also talked about how the poor and middle class work for money as they work so that they are able to pay their debts and bills. The rich make money work for them instead of adding more assets to generate income for them.
The third point basically tells us about spending money, it is not about how much you make as you would not make good use of the money and just spend it away. A lot of times even if there is a pay raise or promotion, people spend more instead of keeping the money.
Lastly, the author believes that we should all mind our own business. Getting a job means we are working for other people’s business, we are not getting paid for doing more as the boss would still pay you the same. He believes that we should do something ourselves to generate more income.
Pros of reading the book
- Real-life experiences about making money
- Learning concepts that weren’t taught in school or at home
- Understanding the difference between assets and liabilities
- Helps you to understand mentally how to get rich
- Easy to understand
- Learn about the tax system
Cons of reading the book
- Real Estate investment may be too complex for beginners
- Bad advice such as getting out of a stable job
- Misconceptions of exploiting the poor
- No concrete advice
I have personally enjoyed reading the book and I feel that I have learned a lot of useful knowledge about finance. To make sure that I am recommending the right book, I have searched about the ratings by other readers and most of them are actually very happy with the book!
Some other books to consider
With all these being said, it is just my personal preference. If you are interested in similar books, you can also consider these books.
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
This book focuses on the plan for retirement and how you can gain financial independence. Other than that, it provides money-saving tips and how your mindset should be to make money. This book has step by step procedures to guide you through your learning and this allows beginners to pick things up easily.
Pros of reading the book
- Contents from real-life experiences who retired early
- Updated version from 1992 version which now includes more information
- It is a book with a lot of examples to help you understand better
Cons of reading the book
- It may be time-consuming to do some of the exercises
- Bad advice about handling inflation
Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier
This book gives you a guide on making money in the least amount of time. Other than that, they also included some contents about creating side hustles, getting higher pay, and also how to make your travel more affordable.
Pros of reading the book
- The author is retiring by the age of 30 years old which is a really great example and inspiration
- Useful information about making money
Cons of reading the book
- Some grammatical errors
- Some trading advice may be quite questionable
- Contains similar contents as Your Money or Your Life
Beating the Street by Peter Lynch
This book talks about how the writer makes decisions on stocks trading. The writer believes that an individual investor could exploit market opportunities well as long as you are investing in something that you know about and understands.
Pros of reading the book
- Teaching you how to invest in a company
- Easy to read
- Learning from an expert in stocks
Cons of reading the book
- Contents may be outdated
- Not important information about specific companies, sectors, funds, and investment strategies
Final Thoughts
All in all, I feel that it is still up to you to decide if you want to invest some money into learning financial literacy. For me, I was a beginner who knew nothing about managing my money. The book was really informative and helpful, I learned a lot about acquiring assets.
If you are a young adult that wants to learn more about finance then this book may help you like how it helped me. I hope that this article helped you to gain some ideas about the book that is suitable for you.
Click here if you want to get yourself a copy!
