Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire
liabilities that they think are assets.
Rule #1: You must know the difference between an asset and a
liability, and buy assets.
If you want to be rich, this is all you need to know. It is rule number
one. It is the only rule. This may sound absurdly simple, but most people
have no idea how profound this rule is. Most people struggle financially
because they do not know the difference between an asset and a liability.
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“Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire
liabilities that they think are assets,” said rich dad.
When rich dad explained this to Mike and me, we thought he was
kidding. Here we were, nearly teenagers and waiting for the secret to
getting rich, and this was his answer. It was so simple that we stopped for a
long time to think about it.
“What is an asset?” asked Mike.
“Don’t worry right now,” said rich dad. “Just let the idea sink in. If you
can comprehend the simplicity, your life will have a plan and be financially
easy. It is simple. That is why the idea is missed.”
“You mean all we need to know is what an asset is, acquire them, and
we’ll be rich?” I asked.
Rich dad nodded his head. “It’s that simple.”
“If it’s that simple, how come everyone is not rich?” I asked. Rich dad
smiled. “Because people do not know the difference between an asset and a
liability.”
I remember asking, “How could adults be so misguided? If it is that
simple, if it is that important, why would everyone not want to find out?”
It took rich dad only a few minutes to explain what assets and liabilities
were.
As an adult, I have difficulty explaining it to other adults. The simplicity
of the idea escapes them because they have been educated differently. They
were taught by other educated professionals, such as bankers, accountants,
real estate agents, financial planners, and so forth. The difficulty comes in
asking adults to unlearn, or become children again. An intelligent adult
often feels it is demeaning to pay attention to simplistic definitions.
Rich dad believed in the KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid (or
Keep It Super Simple)—so he kept it simple for us, and that made our
financial foundation strong.
So what causes the confusion? How could something so simple be so
screwed up? Why would someone buy an asset that was really a liability?
The answer is found in basic education.
We focus on the word “literacy” and not “financial literacy.” What
defines something to be an asset or a liability are not words. In fact, if you
really want to be confused, look up the words “asset” and “liability” in the
dictionary. I know the definition may sound good to a trained accountant,
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but for the average person, it makes no sense. But we adults are often too
proud to admit that something does not make sense.
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