Vinod Mony puts together the
Bits and Pieces of his American,
Indian and European experience, bringing
out his opinion and reflections on events,
people and places .
Vinod graduated from College of Engineering,
Thiruvananthapuram in 1995 in Applied
Electronics . He currently works in US
as an ERP systems analyst .He is also
a freelance columnist
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Rich Dad Poor Dad
Many of us - including
myself - went to professional colleges because
that was the best option we could think of at
that time. A professional degree, we thought,
would ensure a stable job, a challenging career,
and a decent pay.
Of course we were not face to face
with the market dynamics, at that time, given
the snail-like growth of the Indian economy in
the pre-liberalization era. Most of us became
aware of economic realities only after we came
face to face with the stock market crash and the
job losses in the Tech sector in the US, and its
repercussions in the rest of the world.
With the pace of economic reforms
in India, and the predicted rapid growth rate
of the economy, it might happen in the Indian
private sector also. With pay scales going up,
job security could slowly become a myth. Unfortunately
it is inevitable - these are phases of every fast
growing economy. Didn't someone say - what goes
up would eventually come down?
I have been thinking about all this
- and doing nothing, of course - for the last
few years, when a friend suggested a book called
"Rich Dad Poor Dad. I got hold of it recently.
And let me tell you - it is a riveting read.
Not that this book would set you
on a path of financial independence once and for
all - (unless you are an Amway freak bend on pestering
fellow Desis in Barnes and Nobles and Indian restaurants).
But for people like us - who are obsessed with
jobs, paychecks, and not used to thinking out
of the box when it comes to matters of wealth
- " Rich Dad Poor Dad", written by Robert
Kiyosaki, a personal finance lecturer, is an interesting
read.
Kiyosaki compares the views and
advice given by his two Dads: one, his own Dad
or " Poor Dad", who in spite of high
education and a high profile job always struggled
to pay his family bills; and two, his friend's
Dad or "Rich Dad" who dropped out of
school to become a multi-million dollar business
owner. Their opposing views on education, job
and money give us two different perspectives about
economy and wealth.
Poor dad used to tell Robert when
he was a kid "Money is the cause of all the
problems in the world. His Rich Dad had this to
say: "Lack of money is the cause of all the
problems in the world". Poor Dad advised:
"Study hard and work for the best company
you can find so that you can rise up in the corporate
ladder". Rich dad's advice was: "Study
to learn the concepts, but never to become what
you studied. Work for a company not to become
an employee for life, but to learn how the business
is being run so that you know how to buy a company
in a similar line of business". Poor Dad
recommended, "Buy a good house to live, as
soon as possible, because it is an asset".
Rich Dad on the other hand suggested, "Avoid
buying a house as far as possible, because it
is a liability."
For Kiyosaki, possessing two Dads
was a unique advantage because he could compare
and see for himself, the merit of the advice given
by these men, instead of blindly following one
of them. And whom did he follow? Of course, his
rich Dad. Taking the advice of his rich Dad and
carefully rejecting his educated Dad's advice
Kiyosaki was able to become a self-made millionaire.
Today, the school curriculum
- the author rightly tells us- revolves around
theories and models, which are out of touch with
the fast-changing world of today. The only way
to fight it out in the real world is to attain
financial literacy, and to understand how money
works. Easier said than done; but certainly the
book makes one wiser for sure, if not wealthier.
Send your comments to vinod@ekaumudi.com
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