A Matter of Perspective

Last week I wrote about money being just an idea. After reading more of the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki, I am more convinced than ever that money is just an idea.

Unfortunately, you can’t pay your bills with an idea.

So why am I writing about this in the first place? Because how to make our money work for us is one of the most important lessons we can learn and very few of us ever learn it. It isn’t taught much at schools (although I seem to recall some class or club that does practice investments and if they invest in the “right” companies, they win).

That’s the idea in real life, too. If you invest in the right companies, you win. You find your money working for you instead of you being a slave to it.

This is more important today than ever before. We are a world in crisis. (A perfect time for the appearance of the Antichrist, but that is another story.)

We are in financial distress. Companies are closing worldwide. Local businesses just can’t make it. People are facing evictions and bankruptcy and all sorts of financial ruin.

Is it because they are bad companies or bad people? No. Certainly not.

But some of it can be attributed to not knowing how to make their money work for them instead of them for it.

In school, we are taught how to become employees, how to work for money so we can buy the things in life we need and want.

But by and large, we are not always taught the difference between assets and liabilities.

According to Kiyosaki, an asset is something that puts money in your pocket, while a liability is something that takes money out.

Many of us, he says, mistakenly purchase liabilities that we think are assets, but they end up costing us.

He also says that while most people consider their house an asset, his rich dad considered it a liability because it costs us. It creates a mortgage, upkeep and maintenance, and more debt.

Of course, we need a place to live and I am not sure that an apartment dwelling is an answer because that costs money, too.

I imagine that Kiyosaki lives in a nice house, but I get the idea. A home—a place to live—is one of those necessary things in life. But it is also a liability because it doesn’t put more money in your pocket.

Some of my friends laugh at me because I am always looking for a way to make a little money. I use several shopping apps that allow me to get money for scanning my receipts. I do surveys. I write e-books. I have created several websites that generate a modest income.

When I purchased a new computer a couple of years ago, I considered it an asset because it has put money into my pocket. Of course, it also took money out, but at this point, it has put more into my pocket than it has taken out, so in my mind, that is an asset!

I haven’t heard from anyone about doing a class on this book with me yet, but I am hopeful that someone will want to learn more about this and make the “investment” of time to learn with me.

You can contact me at: karin@inhnews.com.