richdad cashflow 101

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adrian

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Has any one played the Cashflow 101 game by the Robert Kiyosaki, author of 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' books?

If so what was your experience and would you recommend the game? I'm curious, but it's expensive to buy just to try.
 
cashflow 101

This is an excellent tool for learning the concepts of cashflow, investing etc. Definitely worth the $200, IF you have friends who are interested in this also who will play it with you. Like anything else, its not much good if it does'nt get used.
 
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" book

Can't comment on the game, but recently finished his book.

The advice relating to stocks in Kiyosaki's RDPD book is at variants to the advice in the AAM guide in the sense that he believes in research, tracking and investing in specific stocks over the short term. He shuns the long-term balanced portfolio.

There are several glaring inconsistencies in his book. Having said that it is easy to criticise and anyway the guy is definitely more successful than yours truly.
 
Re: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" book

Having said that it is easy to criticise and anyway the guy is definitely more successful than yours truly.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately It's debatable whether any of that success was achieved in the ways described in his books.

I like the central idea in Rich Dad Poor Dad, i.e. Buy Assets not Liabilities. Buy Things that generate cash not consume it.

But you could get all that in a brochure, or on a piece of card. Somehow he has managed to write a couple of books saying exactly the same thing.

And most of the other advice he gives is very dodgy indeed.

Don't pay €200 for his game. It won't teach you much that you can't get from the Book.

-Rd
 
Cashflow 101

Guys,

Thanks for the replies.

DaltonR, yes I've come across that link that you posted. I've just read one of the richdad books, and while I'm not one to champion RK's ideas and advice, I'm just keeping an open mind and trying to learn. You don't mention that you've actually played the Cashflow 101 game, yet you seem to be quick to give it the thumbs down? I thought that using a game might be an interesting approach to learning.
 
Re: Cashflow 101

Dunno anything about the game, but $200 would buy you a lot of quality educational books on investment.
 
Re: Cashflow 101

$200 looks excessive.

Whether You agree with Kiyosaki or not & maybe You have suspiscions with regard to how he really generated his wealth (which I believe are primarily from his books rather than his investments).....the books are thought provoking & do lead to a new way of thinking about financial matters........

There are hugh similarities between RDPD & The cash flow Quadrant anyway so his secret looks to be getting new income by putting a dif spin on teh same story - fair dues to him!

ninsaga
 
cashflow101

$200 is excessive. By selling a monopoly style board game, a few tapes and a video, RK could probably sell this for $50 and still make a profit. It is definitely excessive if you buy it and end up not making/saving money out of it. However we've learned alot from playing this game. Getting an ordinary person in the habit of recording their income and expenses and assets / liabilities regularly is a priceless lesson I believe. No-one ever showed me how to do that before. Its also very easy!

I also agree that the things he teaches could easily be summed up on 1 page, nevermind a few books. However I believe the main point is a change in context, or a different way of thinking, so you can harness these ideas. This may take years. RK says it took him years. I can see why an MBA would be philisophically opposed to this type of thinking.

BTW RK admits he does have mutual funds and a 401k (retirement) plan as a plan to be safe and secure in retirement, not to be rich. That involves another plan.

What advice specifically give that is dodgy? I'm more interested in the content of his advice rather than researching his own financial records. It would be interesting to debate this.
 
Re: cashflow101

That site link posted by daltonr above is very interesting - just working my way through the critique of "Rich dad - poor dad" now which mentions plenty of flaws and potential dodginess.
 
Re: cashflow101

You don't mention that you've actually played the Cashflow 101 game, yet you seem to be quick to give it the thumbs down?
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Yep. I decided instead of buying the game I'd read as much as I could about it to see what it teaches.

If you want to be rich. Be Frugal. Cut your spending, increase your income. Know your income and expenditure intimately. Eliminate debt BEFORE you even consider investing. Remember that you can't spend the same Euro twice. If you drive that new car for 4 or 5 years after it's paid off, you could probably save enough to buy the next one for cash.

I know people who disagree with this, they reckon they can afford to live with debt. That's fine, each to their own, but the majority of the truly wealthy people hate debt, and a lot of people with middle class debt struggle through never quite getting clear, and are always vunerable. You gotta choose for yourself.

-Rd
 
Re: cashflow101

Hi Daltonr,

Being rich and managing your finances well are two different things although I suppose this is subjective and could be argued.
In terms of being rich...which is what RD advocates, being frugal is not going to get you there. Investment and building successful businesses will.

One interesting point, and I'm not saying either you or he is right, RD says quite the opposite. he seems to believe that rich people do have debt, just different types of debt.

In terms of living with debt, I think the type of debt you have is important. If you owe EUR 18,000 on your new car, that's bad debt. If you owe 95,000 on your new investment property...well, maybe that's good debt.

Piggy.
 
Re: cashflow101

Hi Piggy,

Sorry for the confusion, I thought I covered that on a previous post. Investing in things that generate cash is good so a mortgage on an investment property is ok. RK describes it as having a loan that someone else pays for.

With regard to your point about being rich and managing your finances well, they might be more closely related than you think. One defintition of rich or wealthy (as I've posted before) is:

How long can you survive if you can't work. You lose your job, retire, or are injured or whatever.

You don't have to have a Ferrari in the driveway and a big house to be Rich by this standard. A person who has saved consistently, kept debt low or non-existant, and has perhaps invested in some income generating assets, could be very rich, being able to last for months, years, or indefinitely.
While a person with a flash car a boat and a big house might not last a month.

being frugal is not going to get you there. Investment and building successful businesses will.
Click to expand...

When I say frugal I'm not talking about making the kids eat cornflakes without milk. I'm talk about about minimising unnecessary spending. E.g. A new car before the old one is fully paid off, or immediately after it's paid off.

You can only invest money you have, and you only have the money you don't spend. That's what I meant by that.
You can only get rich by reducing spending, and/or increasing income. Preferably both.

I do like RK's idea of maximising passive income, income you don't work for. It's a good idea each year to figure out how your passive income compares with your active income, from work.

One criticism I have of him is that he focuses too much on income earning investments. For a young person a focus on growth might be more appropriate, e.g. Microsoft doesn't pay a dividend, but it's been a good share to hold up until the past few years. Investing for income is often associated with older people who can't afford the risks of growth investing.

-Rd
 
Re: cashflow101

Well I'll be damned.
I must look at their price again, it's been a while. They must have put in some seriously bad numbers if a dividend was needed.

I suppose you can only get so big and still claim to be a growing firm.

-Rd
 
Re: cashflow101

Quote:
"When I say frugal I'm not talking about making the kids eat cornflakes without milk"

:lol Must try that one when I have kids all the same. The price of milk these days!!!

I totally agree with you about unnecessary spending by the way, and couldn't disagree with anything you said. All good sound advice, but I still draw the distinction between rich and managing finances well, although they are tightly connected. Anyone who owns a Ferrari and has a big fancy house and couldn't survive a month after being laid off isn't really rich in the first place...just stupid.
He defines rich as being anyone who is worth over a million (I think). Not saying he's right, but it's a fair assumption I think.

Piggy.
 
Re: cashflow101

Anyone who owns a Ferrari and has a big fancy house and couldn't survive a month after being laid off isn't really rich in the first place...just stupid.
Click to expand...

That's the point I'm making. Rich or Wealthy is a measure of how long you can last which is determined by how you manage your money.

I think this is RKs definition too. I've seen it in a number of places. As far as I know average "Wealth" in the US is 2.5 weeks.

Putting a definite figure like 1,000,000 doesn't make sense to me. You could say that with that kind of money you should be able to get a passive income of 30,000 to 60,000. Which comes back to the original point, of measuring how long you could last.

But there are some people who could live forever on a net worth of 500,000 while others have such high expenses that even 5,000,000 wouldn't be enough.

I guess the answer is you are as rich as you feel not as rich as you appear. People seem to have a habit of getting this the wrong way around.

-Rd
 
Re: cashflow101

They must have put in some seriously bad numbers if a dividend was needed.

A little more information about this on Google news.
 
Re: cashflow101

I have played the game myself and found it interesting if expensive for what you get. However, if it helps to develop a new way of thinking then it is worth the money.
RK has actually come out with a new "electronic" version which is cheaper. But I find that the discussions AFTER the game are better than what you learn during the game.

With regards to the link from Daltonr, I found this most interesting. Mr Reed seems to have done a lot of background checking on RK. The RK phenomenon in Ireland is growing daily - has anyone been to Hodges Figges recently - there is a whole table devoted to his (and his advisors) writings. While I did purchase several books I will not be doing so in future - all he does is rehash the original with a little bit of new spin.
 
Cashflow101 Games Organised

Hi Folks,
Just to let you know that myself and 2 others arrange game sessions on a frequent basis. Mainly in Dublin due to the demand but we have also done them around the country. We usually hire a hotel meeting room and split the cost of the room between the participants.

We also have Cashflow 202 which we are now introducing to people who have played 101 a few times.

More details in the "Upcomming Events" of the "DONT ASKABOUTMONEY SECTION" of this board.

Slán,
Ian
 
Re: cashflow101

"all he does is rehash the original with a little bit of new spin"

Agree with you there, LiamG - I think reading one of his books is probably enough.

"if it helps to develop a new way of thinking then it is worth the money"

Interesting that most people who've played the game (and who've read his books) seem to say the same thing, i.e. helps you develop a new way of thinking... I suppose without playing the game myself it's hard to see exactly what you mean, but can you give any examples? Because I thought the game was supposed to teach you accounting, finance and investing.

This is how the game is promoted on richdad.com

"CASHFLOW® 101 is an educational program that teaches accounting, finance, and investing at the same time and makes learning fun. Learn how to get out of the rat race and onto the fast track where your money works for you instead of you working hard for your money. The educational program, CASHFLOW® 101, includes three audiocassettes which reveal distinctions on CASHFLOW® 101 as well as valuable investment information and a video titled "The Secrets of the Rich". CASHFLOW® 101 is recommended for adults and children age 10 and older."

So does it actually teach accounting, financing and investing, or just get you to think in a different way about those three things?
 
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