Rich Dad, Poor Dad

It's been a while since I actually finished this book, but I figured I should get my review up before I finish reading my current book. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is not a book I would have chosen on my own, although the premise seems intriguing; do the rich really have some insider knowledge that the rest of the world doesn't, thereby furthering the economic divide between the rich and the poor? Trust me, a book on finances and money would almost never be voluntary reading for me - I only read this at the strong recommendation of a friend, who had it and offered to lend it to me.

If you're looking for a how-to book that will teach you the tricks of the rich, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for a book that will introduce financial literacy through childhood experiences, this is more your speed. Most of the lessons are simple, like don't spend more than you earn. Some of the more thought provoking points, though, involved how one defines concepts like wealth, assets, liabilities and financial independence.

Overall, I was somewhat disappointed in this book, mostly because it wasn't what I expected. What financial advice there is comes in the form of anecdotes, which seem ill-suited for a book on money. I understand the use of anecdotes to make the topic more approachable, but in this case it seems to have been the worst of both worlds; the stories were so dry as to not hold my interest, and most of the advice distilled from the stories was overly simplified. Basically, the book gets you motivated to make money work for you, without really giving you a direction.

The real value of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, however, was not in the financial advice, but in the inspiration and motivation it provided. Before reading this book, I'd never really thought of how to make my money work for me, beyond a simple savings account. I'd never thought about investments, or whether a house was an asset or a liability. What this book did, was make me think about money in a new way, and motivate me to start planning financially for my future.