Читать книгу Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards - Robert T. Kiyosaki - Страница 8

Chapter One

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF BEING CHEAP?

“Most people want to get rich. They just don’t want to pay the price.”

– Rich dad

There are many books that popularize the idea of frugality and living below your means. Many so-called money experts write and speak about the virtues of cutting up your credit cards, saving money, putting the maximum amount into your retirement plan, driving a used car, living in a smaller house, clipping coupons, shopping at sales, eating at home, passing used clothes from older kids down to the younger kids, taking cheaper vacations, and other strategies.

While these are excellent ideas for many people, and while there is a time and place for frugality, most people do not like these ideas. They would love to enjoy the finer things of life. A big home, a new car, fun toys, and expensive vacations are much more fun and desirable than putting money away in a bank. Most of us tend to agree with the wise sages professing frugality and economic abstinence. Yet deep down, many of us would rather have a platinum credit card without a spending limit—one that is paid for by a rich uncle who has more money than all the Arab oil sheiks, private Swiss banks, and Bill Gates combined.

We realize that it is the unbridled desire for the fun, fine, and fancy things of life that gets many people in financial trouble. And it is the financial trouble that these desires spawn that causes the money gurus to say, “Cut up your credit cards. Live below your means. Buy a used car.”

On the other hand, my rich dad never said to me, “Cut up your credit cards.” He never said, “Live below your means.” Why would he advise me to do things he personally did not believe in? When it came to the idea of frugality, he did say, “You can become rich by being cheap. But the problem is that, even though you’re rich, you’re still cheap. You’re skimping and saving and cutting corners… always choosing the least costly options on everything from bottled water to hotel rooms.” He would further say, “It makes no sense to me to live cheap and die rich. Why would anyone want to live cheap, die rich, and then have the kids spend your life’s savings after the funeral?” Rich dad noticed that people who scrimped and saved all their lives often had children who acted like starving hyenas once the parents were gone. Instead of enjoying their parents’ inheritance, they often fought over the money and spent it all soon after they got their hands on what they called their “fair share.”

Instead of telling me to pinch pennies, rich dad often said, “If you want something, find out the price. Then pay the price.” He also went on to say, “But always remember, everything has a price. And the price for becoming rich by being cheap is that you’re still cheap.”

The Different Ways You Can Become Rich

You can become rich by marrying someone for his or her money. I had a classmate in New York who often said, “It is just as easy to marry a rich girl as a poor girl.” When he graduated, he married into a very rich family just as he said he would. I personally think he was a slimeball for doing that, but that was his way of becoming rich.

You can become rich by becoming a crook, and we all know the price of that choice. When I was a kid, I thought a crook wore a mask and robbed banks. Today, I realize that there are many crooks that wear blue suits, white shirts, red ties, and who are often respected members of their community.

There are others who become rich by betting at the casino or racetrack, by playing the lottery, or by blindly throwing their money into the stock market. During the dot-com mania, I knew many people who were ready to write a check if all you said was, “I’m starting an Internet company.”

You can become rich by being a bully, and we all know what happens to a bully. Eventually, an even bigger bully comes along. Or the bully discovers that the only people willing to do business with him or her are people who enjoy being pushed around.

As described earlier, you can become rich by being cheap. The world tends to despise rich people who are cheap—people like Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Most of us have met people who always want a larger discount, complain about the bill, or even worse, refuse to pay the bill for one frivolous reason or another. A friend who owns a dress shop often complains about the type of customer who buys a dress, wears it to a party, and then returns it a few days later, asking for her money back. And of course, there are those who drive old cars, wear clothes too long, buy cheap shoes, and look poor, but have millions of dollars in the bank.

While these individuals can become rich by being cheap, there is a price far beyond money for such behavior. I personally struggle with being too cheap at times, and yet I notice that people tend to smile more or like me more when I am generous. For example, when I tip a little extra for good service, it comes back to me in other ways. In other words, people tend to like generous people more than cheap people.

Can Everyone Be Rich?

Rich dad and I talked further about the price of being rich. He told me, “The price is different for different people.”

“What do you mean by ‘the price is different for different people’?” I asked.

His reply was, “I like to think that we all come into this world with unique gifts and talents such as singing, painting, athletics, writing, parenting, preaching, teaching, and so on. Although God gives us these talents, it is up to each of us to develop those talents—and developing those talents is often the price we pay to be rich.”

Rich dad continued, “The world is filled with smart, talented, and gifted people who are not what we would call successful financially, professionally, or in their personal relationships. While each of us has gifts and strengths, each of us also has personal challenges and weaknesses to overcome. No one is perfect. That is why I say that the price is different for different people—because each of us has different challenges. The only people who think life should be easy are lazy people.”

I do not know if rich dad’s statement about lazy people is true or not. I do know that his statement has been useful for me whenever I find myself complaining about things not being easy or things not going my way. When I find myself saying, “I wish things were easier,” I know I am getting lazy. So I take a break, check my attitude, and ask myself about the long-term price of having that attitude. It’s not that I don’t look for an easier way to do things. I am simply aware that when I tend to be lazy, cheap, or act like a spoiled brat, I need to ask myself what the price might be for that behavior.

Money Is the Reward for Paying the Price

Rich dad would also say, “Ask anyone who is rich, famous, or successful, and I am sure they will tell you that they had and have personal challenges and demons to face every day along the way. There is no free lunch. My challenge was that I had no education and no money when I started out. I also had a family to feed when my father died. I was thirteen years old when I was given that challenge—and there were even greater challenges to come. Yet I managed to pay the price and, in the end, I achieved great wealth. In hindsight, money was my reward for paying the price.”

The Price of Security

Over the years, rich dad made sure that his son Mike and I were always aware of the price of something. When my real dad, the man I call my poor dad, advised me to find “a safe secure job,” rich dad’s reply was, “Remember, there is a price for security.”

When I asked him what the price was, he answered, “For most people, the price of security is personal freedom. And without freedom, many people spend their lives working for money, rather than living out their dreams. For me, to live life without achieving my dreams is much too high a price to pay for security.”

He also commented on taxes, saying, “People who seek security over freedom pay more in taxes. That is why people who have safe, secure jobs pay more in taxes than people who own the businesses that provide the jobs.”

I spent a few days thinking about that comment, letting the magnitude of the idea sink in. The next time I saw rich dad, I asked him, “Do I have to choose between security or freedom? In other words, does that mean I can have one, but not the other?”

Rich dad laughed after he realized how much thought I had given to his remark. “No,” he replied, still chuckling. “You don’t have to have one or the other. You can have both.”

“You mean I can have both security and freedom?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. “I have both.”

“So why did you say that, for most people, the price of security is personal freedom?” I asked. “How can you have both when you say most people can have only one? What’s the difference?”

“The price,” said rich dad. “I’ve always said to you that everything has a price. Most people are willing to pay the price for security, but they are not willing to pay the price for freedom. That is why most people have only one of the two. They only have one or the other.”

“And why do you have both security and freedom?” Mike asked. He had just entered the room and had heard only part of the conversation.

“Because I paid twice the price,” said rich dad. “I was willing to pay the price for both security and freedom. It’s no different than having two cars. Let’s say I need a truck, but I also want a sports car. If I want both, I pay twice the price. Most people go through life paying for one or the other, but not both.”

“So there is a price for security, and there is a price for freedom,” I said. “And you paid the price for both.” I repeated what rich dad had just said so that I could let the idea sink into my head.

Rich dad nodded. “Yes, but let me add one more point to clarify what it means to be willing to pay the price to have both. You see, we all pay a price anyway. We pay a price even if we don’t pay the price.”

“What?” I replied, frowning and shaking my head. Rich dad now seemed to be speaking in circles.

“Let me explain,” said rich dad, gesturing with his hands that we should calm down. “Do you remember when I helped the two of you with your science homework a few weeks ago when you were studying Newton’s laws?”

Mike and I nodded.

“Do you remember the third law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction?”

Again we nodded.

“That is kind of how a jet flies through the air,” said Mike. “The engine propels hot air backward, and the jet moves forward.”

“That’s right,” said rich dad. “Since Newton’s laws are universal laws, they apply to everything, not only jet engines.” Rich dad looked at the two of us to see if we were following what he had just said. “Everything,” he repeated, just to make sure we understood.

“Okay, everything,” said Mike, a little frustrated at the repetition.

Suspecting that we were not really getting his point about everything, rich dad continued, “When I say ‘everything,’ I mean it quite literally.” He went on, “Do you recall my lessons about financial statements? Do you remember my explanation that, if there is an expense, then there must be income somewhere else?”

Now I was beginning to understand what he meant by “everything.” Newton’s universal laws also applied to financial statements.

“So for every asset, there has to be a liability,” I said. Just to let him know that I was beginning to follow his thinking, I added, “A universal law applies to everything.”

“And for something to be up, something else must be down. And for something to be old, something else has to be new,” added Mike.

“Correct,” rich dad said with a smile.

“So how does this apply to security and freedom and your willingness to pay twice the price?” asked Mike.

“Good question,” said rich dad. “It’s important because, if you don’t pay twice the price, you’ll never get what you want anyway. In other words, if you don’t pay twice the price, you do not get what you paid for in the first place.”

“What?” I replied. “If you don’t pay twice, you don’t get what you paid for?”

Rich dad nodded his head and began to explain. “People who pay the price only for security may never really feel secure—like in job security,” he stated boldly. “A person may have a false sense of security, but they never really feel secure.”

“So even though my dad has what he thinks is a safe, secure job, deep down he never really feels secure?” I asked.

“That’s correct,” said rich dad. “Because he is paying only for the action, but not for his internal reaction. The harder he works for security or pays the price for security, the more his insecurity grows inside him.”

“Does insecurity have to be the reaction?” Mike asked.

“Good question,” rich dad said. “No, there can be other kinds of reactions. A person could have so much security that the reaction is boredom and then restlessness. They want to move on, but they don’t because then they would give up their security. So that is why I say that each of us has different challenges, and each of us is unique. We’re unique because we don’t react to things in the same ways that others do.”

“Like some people see a snake and panic, and others see a snake and get happy,” I added.

“That’s correct. We are all different because we are all wired differently,” rich dad said.

“So what is the point of all these mental gymnastics?” I asked.

“The gymnastics are to make you think,” said rich dad. “I always want you to remember that everything has a price—and that the price is often twice as much as it seems. If you pay for only one side of Newton’s law, you may think you have paid the price, but you may not get what you want.”

“Can you give us some examples?” I asked.

“I can give you general ones because, as I said, each of us is unique,” said rich dad. “But, as a general rule, always remember that there are two sides to each situation.

“For instance, the best employer has usually started his or her career as an employee. He or she uses that prior experience as an employee to develop a management style that empowers the employees he or she manages.”

“So good employers will be honest and treat their employees like they would like to be treated?” I asked.

“Exactly,” rich dad replied. “Now let’s look at an extreme example. What do you think it takes to be a good detective?”

“To be a good detective?” Mike and I repeated in tandem, thinking that rich dad was now driving down the wrong side of the road.

“Yes, a good detective,” rich dad continued. “To be a good detective, a detective must first be honest, moral, and of the highest integrity. Is that correct?”

“I would hope so,” said Mike.

“But to be good, a detective must also think exactly like a crook or someone who is immoral, unlawful, and unethical,” said rich dad. “Always remember Newton’s law. You cannot be a good detective without also being able to think like a good crook.”

Mike and I were now nodding. We were finally beginning to understand where rich dad was going with this whole lesson.

“So that is why a person who tries to become rich by being cheap still winds up, in many ways, as poor as someone who has no money?” I asked.

Rich dad continued, “And why someone who seeks only security never really feels secure. Or why someone who seeks low-risk investments never feels investing is safe, and why someone who is always right eventually winds up wrong. They pay the price for one side of the equation, but fail to pay the full price. They violate a universal law.”

Mike chimed in, “That is why it takes two people to have a fight. And to be a good detective, you have to also be a good crook. To lower risk, you have to take risks. To be rich, you have to know what it is like to be poor. To know what a good investment is, you have to also know what a bad one is.”

“And that is why most people say investing is risky,” I added. “Most people think that, to invest in a safe investment, you must also lower your return on the investment. That is why so many people put money in a savings account. They put it in for security and are willing to take less interest for that safety. But their money is being eaten away by inflation. And the interest on their money is taxed at a high rate. So their safe-as-money-in-the-bank idea is not such a safe idea.”

Rich dad concurred. “Having money in the bank is better than not having money in the bank. But you are correct by saying that it’s not as safe as they may like to think. There is a price for that illusion of safety.”

Mike then turned to his dad and said, “You’ve always said that it’s possible to have low-risk investments with very high returns.”

“Yes,” replied rich dad. “It is relatively easy to have security and still get a 20 to 50 percent return without paying a lot in taxes or using much of your own money—if you know what you are doing.”

“So what you’re telling us now,” Mike said, “is that the price you paid was higher than what the average investor is willing to pay.”

Rich dad nodded. “Always remember that everything has a price, and that price is not always measured in money.”

The Price of Being Cheap

When I hear money gurus say, “Cut up your credit cards, buy a used car, and live below your means,” I know they mean well. But as my rich dad said, “Everything has a price.” And the price for becoming rich by being cheap is that you still wind up being cheap. And living life as a rich but cheap person is, in my opinion, a very high price to pay.

Rich dad also said, “The problem is not the credit cards. It is the financial illiteracy of the person holding the credit cards that is the problem. Getting financially literate is part of the price you need to pay to become rich.”

And that is why so many people do not like the idea of cutting up their credit cards and living below their means. Given the choice, I think most people would rather enjoy this life as rich people who enjoy rich lives. And they can, if they are willing to pay the price.