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Book Review: “Unfair Advantage” by Robert Kiyosaki

April 18, 2012 by MMD 30 Comments
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Not too long ago, I wrote a post called “Are We Fools For Saving Our Money?” The inspiration for it came from several themes I read in the book “Unfair Advantage: The Power of Financial Education” by Robert Kiyosaki. Although we explored both sides of Kiyosaki’s opinions, I felt as though there was still quite a bit of the book to review and I wanted to do it justice.  So here is my book review.

In case you’ve never read anything by Robert Kiyosaki, here’s a brief overview: Take on massive amounts of debt, don’t save your money, and the future of our economy is in deep trouble! Now why in the world would I recommend reading a book like that?

Because it reminds me that there is more than one way to become independently wealthy! Robert Kiyosaki, best known for writing “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, proves that you can obtain great wealth by using unconventional strategies. Although I may not necessarily agree with all of his advice, it still intrigues my curiosity. Plus – he makes A LOT more money than you and I, so we should probably listen!

Love him or hate him, Robert Kiyosaki’s books are very popular because they are easy to follow and very “in your face”. They do a great job of convincing you that anyone can do what he does and that you’re a fool for not following his principles. And who wants to be a fool?

Don’t Be a Monkey – The Intro:

The Introduction starts out in exactly this “you’re a fool” fashion. Entitled “How to Catch a Monkey”, it describes how hunters catch monkeys by filling the holes with fruits and nuts. When the monkey sticks his hand in the hole to get the fruit and nuts, he gets his hand stuck and is thus caught by the hunters.

Guess what? That’s a metaphor for you and me – we’re all the monkeys!  We’ve been taught by society that wealth can only be generated one way (through hard work), and then we get stuck in the process and can’t escape.

Kiyosaki then goes on to make the following other criticisms:

• In 1971, President Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard. Ever since then, the U.S. has lost 95% of its purchasing power. In essence, everyone all the savers became losers (p. 3).

• The gap between the rich and the poor will continue to rise between 2010-2020 (p. 5).

• U.S. inflation and debt will continue to rise as long as our government continues to remedy the problem by printing more money (or counterfeit money as Kiyosaki calls it) (p. 7).

It is because of this pessimism about the U.S. future that Kiyosaki makes the statement that “A retirement plan, such as a 401k, is the worst way to invest” (p. 18). He believes that any earnings you make will be eroded by the turbulence of the global economy, taxes, and inflation.

Knowledge – Chapter 1:

If there is one thing that I agree with Kiyosaki about, it’s that people need to be more active in initiating their own financial education. Specifically, he divides up financial education into the subcategories of history, definitions, taxes, debt, and that there are two sides to every coin.

Another point Kiyosaki makes in this chapter has do with one of my favorite board games: Monopoly. He says that in Monopoly, the greatest lesson is not that you get $200 every time you go past go, it’s that:

• Four green houses equals one red hotel (p. 32)

Why is that important? Because this action teaches you to maximize your cash flow potential. You could wait to “collect $200” which he equates to waiting for payday or for capital gains to increase. But when you build hotels on the Monopoly properties, that’s when you make your real money. Suddenly, all the other players start giving you their money, and often! Kiyosaki equates this lesson to how real estate works in real life (p 44).

Taxes – Chapter 2:

The lesson of this chapter is that you need to learn about how taxes will affect your cash flow. More importantly, you need to learn how to avoid them. Using his “Cash Flow Quadrants”, he again makes you feel like a fool for being a regular employee or small business owner. He then shows the legal methods that corporations and investors use to avoid paying taxes.

The most notable highlight of this chapter pertaining to traditional investing is the statement that “a 401k if for people who plan on being poor when they retire” (p. 78). This is because, by design, taxes are paid on a 401k when the money is withdrawn during your elder, retired state. Therefore, for this to be a benefit, you’d have to make LESS income during retirement than you do right now. Kiyosaki does not understand why anyone would want to make LESS money the older they get. He certainly doesn’t!

Debt – Chapter 3:

Kiyosaki resumes his rant about the U.S. printing counterfeit dollars since 1971 to pay its expenses and debt (p. 91).

He then launches into his personal success with real estate and learning how to become comfortable with massive amounts of debt (p. 100). He terms this type of debt “good debt” because it is used to generate monthly income. This is different from “bad debt” where you take out a loan for something that will not bring you monthly income – like a car or house (yes, he does not consider your house to be asset).

The story is then complimented by an example of how he purchased a 144 unit apartment complex for $1 million dollars while paying zero taxes (p. 105). Would you roll the dice on a debt this large?!

Risk – Chapter 4:

Once more, pessimism about the future of the U.S.: “If the world does not want our debt, the Fed will simply print more money (p. 125).” Unfortunately, if this continues to happen, it will raise inflation, de-value the dollar, and that will be bad news for anyone who invests in a 401k.

The following other criticisms are made of 401k’s:

• “True” diversification is too low, returns are inconsistent, fees are too high, and there is little hope to beat the average market return (p. 133).

• You wouldn’t drive a car without insurance? So why do we buy stocks without buying options as an insurance policy (p. 138)? This point is then complimented by an intriguing example of how hedge funds use this technique (p. 159).

• Stocks (or paper assets) are just one asset class and are by far the riskiest. True diversification comes from owning all four asset classes: Paper assets, businesses, real estate, and commodities (p. 150).

Compensation – Chapter 5:

The lesson of this chapter is to remember that “more money” doesn’t make you rich (p. 171). Think of your finances like a company balance sheet:

• The rich are rich because they focus on their assets (properties that will make them money)

• The poor and middle class focus on their expenses and liabilities (things that do not make them any money and simply takes money out of their pockets).

This has always been one of the greatest lessons I’ve taken from Robert Kiyosaki books. Having a bigger house, cooler car, designer clothes, or whatever will not make you rich. Owning properties, a business, or equities that send you money every month will make you rich, and this is the secret that rich people have been using for a very long time! Do you see the difference?

He concludes that we must abide by three laws:

1. You must give to receive

2. You must learn to give more

3. Leverage the power of compounding financial education

Summary / Final Thoughts:

If you liked “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, you will find this book to be very similar but with more updated content. Some new features include commentary by Kiyosaki’s wife Kim (also a real estate mogul) as well as lots of other guest authors and experts. Unlike “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, he also includes several mathematical examples to help illustrate his arguments.

Although I may not believe I would be as successful in real estate investing as Kiyosaki, I do recognize the principles behind his lessons. When reading anyone’s financial advice, it’s not so much important that you follow exactly what they do, but that you apply the fundamentals of the techniques to investment methods at your level of skill.

Obviously I like this book and would recommend reading it. It’s a quick read and not overly complex or technical. Plus it’s a great break from the traditional advice that you’re probably use to hearing. For that reason, I’d give it a shot!

 

Related Posts:

1) Book Review: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter

2) Book Review: “The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated” by Timothy Ferriss

3) Book Review: “Get Rich Click!” by Marc Ostrofsky

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Filed Under: Passive Income Tagged With: Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, Unfair Advantage

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Savvy Scot says

    April 18, 2012 at 9:23 am

    You have sold it to me – nice review! I love reading unconventional views on the world! 🙂

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:20 pm

      Same here! I like getting a break every now and then for the usual finance advice.

      Reply
  2. WorkSaveLive says

    April 18, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I really enjoyed Rich Dad, Poor Dad! I’m with you: I don’t necessarily agree with all of his principles but if you’re going to be a wise investor then you must weigh the pros and cons to each experts advice and decipher what will work the best for you.

    Thanks for the review, MMD! I will definitely put this on “my list.”

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:21 pm

      If you liked Rich Dad Poor Dad, then you’ll enjoy this one. There’s definitely a lot of good points to take away from his lessons.

      Reply
  3. MultiMillionaireRoad says

    April 18, 2012 at 10:01 am

    I like Kiyosaki but am a little bothered by his excessive appetite for debt, however good it is. Any enlightenment?

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:23 pm

      I know I couldn’t do it! But Kiyosaki makes a lot more money than me, so maybe he’s on to something!

      Reply
    • Taline says

      April 18, 2012 at 11:06 pm

      That’s my very problem with him. There is one thing to say leverage is good. I agree. But too much is never a good thing.

      Reply
  4. Katie says

    April 18, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    I have never read anything by him but you have definitely sparked my curiosity. I love reading finance books from different view points. There is no one right way to do things so it’s good to see ALL point of views.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:29 pm

      Thanks! If I were you, I’d start with “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. It’s an easy read and you’ll definitely enjoy the different style of advice. But don’t go rushing into buying $1M apartment complexes! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Bichon Frise says

    April 18, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    His best skill in life seems to be selling books. I am skeptical about that 144 unit apartment building for $1 mil. a) even if you could lease each unit for $300/month, and you have 50% occupancy, that’s what? $21-22k/month income. Carrying a $1 mil note, your payment is is $4-$5k/month? Plus maintenance, property taxes etc…there seems to be more to this story. b) what does he mean by zero taxes? Property taxes? Income tax? It’s hard to skate on taxes without ending up wondering if the stripes make you look fat. But, typical Kiyosaki or whatever his name is. There are so many good books out there, why waste your time with this clown?

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:44 pm

      Ha! He even admits in his books that he’s not a great author, just really good at “selling” in general. But whether its books or real estate, the man is remarkably successful. As long as his income remains more than mine, I’ll give him a listen (with a grain of salt of course). Plus there is merit in some of his more “core” advice (don’t the rich focus more on assets and passive income generation?). His claims about the sky is falling with the U.S. economy are merely entertaining.

      Reply
      • Taline says

        April 18, 2012 at 11:05 pm

        I definitely agree with the fact that the rich focus more on assets and passive income generation. I know plenty of “rich” people that made their wealth in real estate. No, not necessarily flipping, but purchasing rental properties for the very purpose of generating passive income. Many are now retired due to it.

        Reply
  6. Shilpan says

    April 18, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    I’ve invested in hotels for last 12 years, and I completely agree with Robert that commercial real estate is probably one of the best investments you can make. I agree with his philosophy that rich buy assets; middle class and poor buy liabilities.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 18, 2012 at 10:50 pm

      Amen Shlipan! I was fortunate enough to take that lesson away from “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” a long time ago. That way of thinking has helped me to seek out investments that will bring me money rather than just owning “stuff” that won’t.

      Reply
  7. Taline says

    April 18, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    Thanks for stopping by and checking out my article on how to purchase commercial real estate 🙂

    I may not agree with everything that Robert preaches, however, obviously commercial real estate is my niche and what I invest in heavily and I agree with him on several points about real estate.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 19, 2012 at 12:44 pm

      No problem Taline! I can see how a lot of people who purchase real estate would agree with some of the basic things that he preaches. I also have a theory that you and the people who embrace this form of investing will far out-do the rest of us 🙂

      Reply
      • Taline says

        April 20, 2012 at 1:04 am

        Interesting theory…I’m 30 now and will be financially independent in about 5 years 🙂 Real estate rentals are really awesome!

        Reply
  8. AverageJoe says

    April 19, 2012 at 11:35 am

    He is quite the salesman. Rich Dad Poor Dad was such a fast, fun read that I’m going to now pick this one up. Thanks for the review!

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 19, 2012 at 12:46 pm

      Love him or hate him, his books do really well. Even if you ignore 100% of his financial advice, there is still something to be learned from his ability to sell.

      Reply
  9. Anthony Thompson says

    April 19, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    I read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” when it was first released years ago, and found it to be an interesting read. Back then, he was unknown to a lot of people, but had by then already amassed a fortune with his seven successful businesses.

    “Unfair Advantage: The Power of Financial Education” looks like another good one, and I’m grateful to you for reviewing. Chapter One is the first basic step, but is also the most important. This is the chapter that will ultimately determine where we will end up in years to come. Everybody has to get a financial education. It’s a must, and I wish that it was part of the government school curriculum.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 19, 2012 at 10:17 pm

      Rich Dad Poor Dad was the book that launched him to ultra fame. You can tell by this book that his ego has picked up steam. Regardless though, I think you will still like this book. Kiyosaki’s principles of breaking the rules, building wealth through cash flow, and taking control of your own destiny still reign with conviction.

      Reply
  10. BusyExecutiveMoneyBlog says

    April 19, 2012 at 10:24 pm

    I tend to agree with some of the comments above. He seems to be great at selling books.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 20, 2012 at 8:21 am

      Definitely. Out of all his books, I tend to lean on “Rich Dad Poor Dad” the most because it seems to be his most “humble” and honest work.

      Reply
  11. Brent Pittman says

    April 19, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    He is great at telling stories and that sells books. He could easily have went BK with all that leverage, but like the Donald would have come back again. He knows how to make money.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 20, 2012 at 8:24 am

      Ha! I forgot about the silly books with Donald Trump. That was a bit like seeing a rock star you really liked do one of the most sell-out moves you can think of. He was probably offered so much $$ to do it that he couldn’t resist. Regardless though, he again found a way to make more money than me! So who’s really the one laughing?

      Reply
  12. [email protected] Investing in Silver says

    April 20, 2012 at 9:36 am

    Rich Dad, Poor Dad, was the first book I ever read on investing. I may need to look into this one. I don’t necessarily agree with all that he has to say, I honestly believe that much of his success was based on being at the right place at the right time. Thanks for the review.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 20, 2012 at 10:56 pm

      Rich Dad, Poor Dad was one of my first “investing” books also, and what a great book to start out with. “Buy assets that make you money, not liabilities that take money away”. Great advice! You never have to agree with everything anyone says, but it’s still not a bad idea to hear them out.

      Reply
  13. GoodTrader says

    April 28, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    I agree with much of what Kiyosaki says in his books, but we must be very careful with debt.

    I think he should give more emphasis on risk management and less in leverage.

    Reply
    • MMD says

      April 28, 2012 at 11:12 pm

      I agree. He does kind of trivialize taking out +$1M loans. I know I wouldn’t be very comfortable with that much debt. But all the same, I do appreciate his emphasis on building income streams. I just think there are other ways of accomplishing this.

      Reply

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