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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) - As the 1.3 million college graduates in the Class of 2005 exit academia for the work force -- armed with a sheepskin and laden with debt -- The Rich Dad Company, an educational products organization best known for its international best-selling book “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” offers this message: “Congratulations, grads -- and welcome to the rat race!”
That debt -- $22,221 on average, as reported by Student Monitor LLC, a leading market research firm -- represents both credit card debt and student loans. Debt that, according to that company’s survey stats, will take eight years to pay off. And, in most cases, there’s more where that came from. It’ll take the shape of car loans, revolving credit and even mortgages.
Welcome to the Rat Race
In Rich Dad’s world, the Rat Race is that vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck . . . and the conventional wisdom that getting a good education, good grades and a safe, secure job (“with good benefits”) will lead to “the good life.” Or, at least, a steady paycheck so that there’s money to make monthly payments on expenses and debt.
These new grads are in good company: millions of Americans contribute their fair share to the $100+ billions in credit card debt ($46.6 billion with Capital One Financial alone) in the United States. Debt that, in many cases, will take decades to pay off.
Nearly 90 percent of college grads surveyed in 2004 reported that they were “prepared” for the responsibility of a credit card, but more than half (56 percent) didn’t know the APR (annual percentage rate of interest) on those cards. In this case, ignorance may not be bliss.
“Rich Dad Poor Dad,” USA Today’s Number 1 Money Book for 2004 -- written by Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter, CPA -- offers principles and philosophies that fly in the face of conventional wisdom about money, investing and finance.
So what is Rich Dad’s answer to the Rat Race dilemma so prevalent in our society? That’s easy: Financial education. And they’re not alone in that mission.
In mid-April of 2005 the Federal Reserve unveiled a new Web site that Fed chairman Alan Greenspan calls “an online tool that offers students easier access to a wealth of information in the areas of economics, banking and financial services.”
In 2002, Greenspan was quoted as saying that a good foundation in math would improve financial literacy and “help prevent younger people from making poor financial decisions that can take years to overcome.” He added, “People need to be able to read, write and speak basic financial concepts in order to make informed investment decisions.”
“The challenges Americans face -- with social security, consumer debt, bankruptcy law changes and retirement planning -- don’t begin at age 65,” says Kiyosaki. “They begin at age five, when kids enter school.” According to Kiyosaki, improved “Financial IQ” can equip Americans, of any age, with the knowledge and resources to take a proactive role in their financial future.
In his no-nonsense style, Kiyosaki hammers home the message: “My banker has never asked to see my report card.” What bankers want, instead, is your financial statement. “Your financial statement is your real-world report card,” says Kiyosaki, “It reflects your Financial IQ.”
Kiyosaki’s “poor dad” (his biological father who was Superintendent of Schools for the State of Hawaii) “expected the government to take care of him in retirement.” His “rich dad” (the father of his best friend and a self-made millionaire who never finished the eighth grade) said, “Become financially educated -- and take care of yourself.”
Tips from Rich Dad . . . Lessons for the Graduates:
1. Work to learn . . . not to earn. Work to get the skills you need to be successful in business, investing and life versus just taking a job with a high salary.
2. Most people struggle financially because they take advice from the wrong people . . . like sales people or poor people. Who’s giving YOU advice?
3. Today you need two professions: one for you and one for your money. In school we learn to prepare for our profession. Who’s preparing your money to work hard for you?
4. Challenge yourself to overcome your fears. Most people don’t get ahead because they do what’s easy. If you fear rejection, take a sales position; if you fear public speaking, take a position that pushes you out of your comfort zone.
5. Know the difference between assets and liabilities -- and good debt and bad debt. Knowing the rules of the game is important . . . Can you tell the difference between an asset and a liability?
6. Understand the power of words. What words did you learn in school? Words about engineering and math and chemistry? What about the words, the vocabulary, of investing?
7. Rich is a state of mind . . . Challenge yourself to CHOOSE to be rich. Do you think like a rich person…. or a poor person?
For more information, visit The Rich Dad Company at www.richdad.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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