10 Memorable Personal Finance and Investing Quotes From "Rich Dad Poor Dad"

“Rich Dad Poor Dad” was the first book I read back in October 2007 that got me started on my personal finance journey.

I clearly remember that I was in National Service then and wanted to learn how to budget the little allowance I had.

Thus, I made a trip to the nearest Popular bookstore to look at books on budgeting.

As I strolled into the bookstore, to my left stood the “Popular Bestsellers” shelf, and perched on it was a book that caught my eyes instantly.

The book was none other than Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

I picked the book up to read the blurb on the back page and it seemed interesting.

Even though it didn’t talk much about budgeting, I bought the book anyway. In fact, what I read on the back page sounded very alien to me.

But once I started reading the book some days later, I was sucked into it as the theories presented were just mind-blowing. I would highly recommend everyone to read this wonderful book if you haven’t.

With that, here are 10 noteworthy quotes from Rich Dad Poor Dad about personal finance and investing.

This article is also a tribute to all fathers out there who inspire and impart financial knowledge to their sons and daughters.

1. One dad had a habit of saying, “I can’t afford it.” The other dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I say, “How can I afford it?” One is a statement, and the other is a question. One lets you off the hook, and the other forces you to think.

2. Most people fail to realize that in life, it’s not how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep.

3. As your cash flow grows, you can buy some luxuries. An important distinction is that rich people buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle class tend to buy luxuries first.

4. Rule One. 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 No. 1. It is the only rule. Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities, but they think they are assets.

5. What is more powerful is financial education. Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth.

6. Wealth is a person’s ability to survive so many number of days forward… or if I stopped working today, how long could I survive?

7. Don’t get into large debt positions that you have to pay for. Keep your expenses low. Build up assets first. Then, buy the big house or nice car. Being stuck in the rat race is not intelligent.

8. Many great financial problems are caused by going along with the crowd and trying to keep up with the Joneses. Occasionally, we all need to look in the mirror and be true to our inner wisdom rather than our fears.

9. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.

10. In today’s fast-changing world, it’s not so much what you know anymore that counts, because often what you know is old. It is how fast you learn. That skill is priceless.

Here’s wishing all superhero dads a Happy Fathers’ Day!