I am from India where formal schooling is as in other parts of the world. However, there are other systems of education. Established business houses train students for skills and business.
I have been trained under Mr. Rajroop Tank, Dean of Jaipur Gem dealers, for four years. During those days, I stayed with him in his house. It was a 24x7 training programme for not only skills and business but also for life. It was absolutely free. besides skills, he taught me business and financial skills that was similar to what you teach in Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cash Flow Qadrant. It is to be noted that Mr. Rajroop Tank was a renowned Jeweler who had not completed his school education but taught arround 1000 people.
I have continued the tradition after his death and trained more than 50 students (free). Most of them are wel-placed.
Thanks,
Jyoti Kothari
Vardhaman Gems
Tell me about the level of financial education including in your
I am from the Eastern Part of Nigeria, in West Africa. I was born in Kano, the Northern part of Nigeria,had my Primary and Secondary Education in Imo and Abia States in the Eastern Part of Nigeria and had my University Education in Port Harcourt, the Southern part of the same country. Currently, I reside in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. I read Education and taught in private schools for sometime and now I work as a library assistant.
I am familiar with the Educational curriculum here except if there is a new one after I had left the educational system.There is no serious curriculum for financial education here.Apart from the mention of money as a medium of exchange in commerce and Economics class,where you are taught the qualities of money and all that,nobody tells you much about money here.In secondary school you choose not to do Economics here, what that means is that you may pass through the educational system without any formal education about money.
I acknowledge the fact that we have an apprentice system here for traders, where your master teach the basics about your trade,but that for people who are trading the traditional way.
Roberts, I have read most of your books From Rich Dad,to Retire Young and Why We want you to be Rich, co authored with Donald Trump.Though You are writing about the American system but I think the basic things apply here.I believe that financial education can solve some of the problems both here and there but it may solve all the poverty problem we have here, there are may sides to it. Nevertheless a good knowledge of Financial education will help a lot of people here. Keep up with your work on the conspiracy of the rich, I can see it on the Bestseller list.
Speaking from my own schools days, which were in the late 70s and early 8s there was no level of financial education. It was a traditional curriculum until I chose to study Economics in the the Sixth Form. This changed everything for me and gave me a great insight into many issues. I went on to study a degree in the subject. However, this subject is quite dry and not always of practical financial benefit.
I went to work in business for 5 years and then became a teacher of Business Education in 1993. I have spent the last 16 years trying to promote the importance of the subject in schools. The problem in the UK has been a very prescriptive curriculum that has not always helped. However, there are many schools in the UK that are now Business and Enterprise specialist schools. These are addressing these issues but there is still a major problem of the relevance of the school system in the UK to the modern world, as highlighted in Robert's first book.
The level of financial education in my own school is poor and the subject a plays a minor role relative to other areas. In some schools this is far better and the government is keen to promote and Enterprise culture.
I went to a private high school in Huntsville, Alabama. The only required financial class I had to take was economics during my senior year. However, it wasn’t even a full year of the class just half a year after a class covering the U.S. government. I found the class to be very easy since I had been studying about finance and economics for six years at home in my spare time. I found the majority of the class to be a waste of time. The book we used was a paperback and thin. So I knew we wouldn’t be learning much. At least it was an easy A for me. We did play a stock investing game around the end of the class. I enjoyed it, but it was basically just seeing who could gamble the best. Most of the kids in my class just bought penny stocks in hopes of them going up. We did not learn anything about how to value companies. The book we used that showed the steps in showing how to buy and sell stock was still showing the person calling his or her broker of the phone to place a trade. I found that to be stupid and costly. It was the year 2001 online discount brokers were what individual investors were using now if they were smart. We should have been required to read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. It would have been much more valuable. The only other class that was required that had some financial value was the Algebra math classes. However, the only thing in the book about finance was simple interest, compound interest, break-even analysis, and some probability. I did take three elective classes during high school that did have value. The first was consumer math it was considered an easy A class so I naturally took it. We learned how to balance a checking account and the proper way to write a check, how to fill out the income tax form 1040EZ, how to compare items at the grocery store by the unit price, how to read water and electricity meters to see how much you were spending, and simple and compound interest. I thought it was the best class I had during high school. The second class was accounting. It was a good class but we were still using paper and pencil to write debit and credit accounts and that was old school. We should have been using Excel for that class. Talk about a pain in the wrist. The third class was advanced computer applications, which were just Microsoft Office applications. At least I learned the basics of Excel and Access.
I went to a public college in Auburn, Alabama where I majored in Finance. The only problem I had with college was that two Calculus classes were required. They were said to be Calculus courses with Business Applications. The first class had very little business applications to me. I only remember there being compound interest and break-even analysis. I had a hard time the professor was foreign and I could barely understand him. The second class was hard at first but I got the hang of it and the professor was not foreign. It had some good probability problems but that was all I saw of value for business applications. In all I think we were required to take these classes to keep the college of science and mathematics in business. They simply needed students to take the class so they could pay the professor to teach it to keep him at the college. I never have thought calculus should be required in finance. I like to remember what Warren Buffet said “If Calculus or Algebra were required to be a great investor, I’d have to go back to delivering newspapers.” I think Calculus is what got us in the current mess that the world is in with the financial derivatives of mass destruction. Almost nobody knows how to do the complicated math these things are based on. Out of all the classes I took in college the most important to me were Personal Finance, Investments, and Financial Statement Analysis. However, I do not find much value in my degree. I sometimes feel it is worthless and I should have just went to work at McDonalds after high school. I could have invested in their stock and had a decent sum in my 401k by now. The cost of college compared to the value of the degree is not worth it in my opinion anymore. I was thinking about going back to school to get an MBA, but I feel I would just get deeper into debt. At least I learned how to do loan amortizations in Excel and financial calculators in college. I know how much interest the bank is making off me. Sadly, most graduates do not even know this until they are out of college and it is too late. I did learn how to use Excel decently to figure out financial ratios for different companies. I learned how to use options and the time value of money. But I could of learned that by just going to the local library and reading books for free. College just teaches you how to be a good employee in my opinion. Just hope you can find a job after you graduate now that gives you enough cash flow to pay your student loans and rent.
I went to a goverment school in a little city in South Africa called George. I only have a standered 7 it took the school system 8 years to realize that I had sever dislecsia. If a system can't see there a baysick short fall. Then educating my kids to day about money will defently be the last thing on there minds that is why I am educating my kids and my self with rich dad products.
I’m from Baja, Mexico, I studied in one of the best universities in Latin America, got my masters in finance in 03 at the biggest private school in Mexico City because I wanted to learn how to manage money and be rich... and I did learn something, they taught me how to manage money for a Rich mans Business. No, they don't teach you about your money even if you go in to studying money in a great post-graduate school.
Financial education is virtualy non-existant in schools today. Financial education for many begins too late (if at all) when they are already using it, with belief systems for people in the E and S quandrants of the cashflow quadrant. It takes study, patience and pratice to learn the skills needed to be successful in the B and I quadrants if there has never been any real financial education in their lives. It is really simple too because the financial statement and balance sheet is all you really need to see. Most people do not apply the principle of the financial statement and balance sheet to themselves in their own personal lives. I live in London and have only recently started playing the games Cashflow 101 & 202. The leasons those games teach are priceless. 202 teaches how to make money in any market, even the market of 2008. These leason should be taught in schools, and the school system has failed people. This week I saw a report how a couple had lost everything in this economic downturn, they were in their late 50's and if they did not make changes they would be poor forever. The same report also followed a young man who has taken advantage of the economic downturn to buy assets at depressed prices. He is buying more and more, while most people are trying to save as much as they can. The contrast in the two reports was stark and alarming because the link between the two were so clear and direct. The difference was financial education, or lack thereof. Many more people and communities will be wiped out during this time and financial education is the key.
I am a medical doctor trained in Nigeria. I never had any training in financial literacy in any of the schools I attended. In my side of the world, even our rich people & leaders are so myopic in their views of the financial world. They generally think the good & prosperity of one is enough to protect & project their future, but I think time is proving them wrong. Most have never sincerely worked for money. The plan is to acquire as much as you can through any means mostly illegally to prepare for any financial melt down later in future. This is not sustainable for a society because eventually there will be an implosion. 70% of Nigerians do not have a bank account and those with can not even read their financial statement. Policies are effected in our banking institutions without proper supervisions from necessary government agencies. Sometimes people are mislead to invest in the capital markets without proper advice. It is only in Nigeria you can buy shares on IPO without getting your share certificate within a year or more of buying. Even to change your certificate to an instrument of trading (cscs) could sometimes take 6 months. Sometimes the federal govt lies to the general population in order to protect a priviledge few. I have read about 90% of the rich dad series & I have now decided to personally train my children not to become enslaved in their lives. I believe there is a need for people to have financial training in order to move ahead even for most of us that are educated but financially we are illiterates.
America vs. Europe... neither one has an upper hand here.
I've gone to school in California, as well as in Germany now. While in America, I attended a high school that focused upon "Academies" within the school itself - I had decided immediately to join the Academy of Business and Finance. Within this academy, we had courses on Economics (in place of the more traditional Social Studies), Statistics (in place of Calculus), Marketing, a hands-on virtual business class, among others. Of course, I had been under the impression that we would be studying all aspects of owning and running your own business, and I was truly excited to learn from the basics so early in school. However, when it comes to the amount of FINANCIAL education we received, the courses were a dismal failure. We focused on statistics, not on financial statements, in our mathematics course. We did an extensive in-depth semester on the stock market, including trading with a virtual account over a 3 month period, and analyzing the market, but we never did the same for business finances. While we did read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in my class, we didn't learn how to create and use the financial statements we read about. We had a great time playing Cash Flow as well, which I really appreciate my teacher for introducing us to. However, after graduating, I was still not any wiser in how to apply what I'd learned in the book and the game to a business which I wanted to run later.
In a way, it is hard for me to compare my experience in the American high school with the German school, since one was so specialized on business. The financial education we received in Germany was zilch, nada, nul. Even in economics I had to wonder what they were teaching us, because it was so backwards! Unfortunately, to disagree with the teacher in your essays in Germany typically meant that you would receive a failing grade, since you "obviously" didn't understand what it is that you were supposed to learn that semester. I consider it more of a "memorize and regurgitate in your own words" rather than constructive learning. I felt, in the 2 years that I spent in the German school, that I'd somehow gone a step backwards on my learning or intelligence level. It's as if they I'd forgotten quite a bit, since they focused on the most random and utterly uselessly outdated information.
In a nutshell, I haven't been too enthusiastic about the financial education found in today's public schools. When the teachers don't know, or don't care, to teach the subject, how should the students learn it? It's apparently much more important to learn who won the American Revolution... for 6 years in a row.
I'm 31, from San Diego, my schools from middle to high school taught nothing about finance, saving, spending... at most it was hearing from other students that their parents didn't have enough money, and that they were always trying to save... suddenly then the next day I'd see the kids with shiny expensive brand new bikes ...all that saved money... anyways some of the teachers (of their own free will) did hold some light investment exercises in class (which i was not a part of); competition for buying shares and watching the numbers grow; wasn't much but was something. For the most part, I had to get my education from my Dad about stocks, finances, etc... he wasn't the greatest, nor the most encouraging, but it was enough to make me realize this pride of who has the highest degree really meant nothing if you have empty wallets. Today I'm still in the rat race, trying to cut corners to save costs, and performing my part to keep the company a float... the biggest fallacy education has taught me is to keep studying, that knowledge is job security... I'm still having a hard time breaking free of that... even though I know I'm really out here on my own... my own success is entirely my burden... and relying on corporations to cover me on a 8-day work schedule with excessive labor laws and constant worries of employee complaints is the very basis to the downfall of America, and the reason it will no longer sustain itself... come in China, come in India... those who work with their own blood and lack the fear to success will dominate.
I went to a very conservative school in England in the '70s - it was proud of it's academic and sporting achievements and I learned NOTHING about how to manage money much less invest it or how the financial system worked. Unfortunately, many of the adults in my life at that time felt that the mere discussion of money was rather gauche - I'm not sure how we were supposed to learn about it, probably the same way we learnt about sex!
It's been an interesting journey over the last few decades, moving to Australia has proved fantastic for me and my wife's insistence that we attend a financial seminar was a turning point. I've been to a few since then including one of Roberts and the one constant point that all presenters make is the importance of gaining a financial education. At times I have seen this as being rather self serving as invariably they will make a pitch to offer you (at great expense) a financial education next weekend! I've been selective in taking up those invitations but I've also read many books by various authors and although I'm not out of the "Rat Race" yet, we are making some strides towards that goal.
I'm sure this book and the innovative manner in which it is being presented will prove to be another stepping stone along the way to our goal.
Iam 31 yrs old and I grew up in Zimbabwe in Africa. i have been in New Zealand for the past 4years.Were i went to school in Zimbabwe and university there was no financial education at all, none whatsoever. As we were growing up our parents taught us that to do well we needed to be very educated , get university degrees and find a good well paying job. I wish i had read Rich Dad,Poor Dad when i was younger i think i would be out of the rat race by now. The only way i have known of getting money was working hard for other people. Personally i think the only school were you can be taught about financial education is at home by your parents on condition that your parents are aware of it. My daughter and son will definately be well financially educated by me at home
I'm from Romania and I have 24 years old, my financial education has started almost 2 years ago when I start to read your book "Rich dad's Prophecy". In school I did not receive any Financial advise so I had to read all your books about financial education and few books of Donald Trump.
My mother is reading your books and she is math teacher, and in a day she decide to teach her pupils some of the basic of financial education: about assets and liabilities. And the second day her manager of that school had reproof her that in school a teacher do not have to teach about money and to don't do it again.
THIS IS THE REALITY of OUR SCHOOL !
I was educated for primary and secondary level in SA with no financial education to think of at primary or secondary level. I did do history at school, which has allowed me to have the thinking pattern and knowledge that humans are creatures of habit and that history has a habit of repeating itself. This is what I see economists discuss with all their theories of why things happen in an economy and use examples from the past. So history was my only financial education subject I guess. Tertiary schooling was in a university in the UK in the healthcare field and we did have lessons on how to run a private practice profitably, but very little.
So I would say true financial education didn't come from a government school system, but from real life. Watching adults as a child the rich ones and poor moaning ones. Seeing that the very rich happy ones tended to own a business. For me a solid financial education is being taught everyday and only those who are receptive to change in their thinking patterns, understanding the past and not fearing the future can grow their financial education via reading, listening and watching.
I went to school in La Verne and San Dimas, CA and although I don't think my education was terrible, I don't believe it really prepared for "real" life either. I do remember simulating some business ideals and I also remember coming out on top of the class. I don't think I won because of my keen financial intelligence though. In highschool I remember marketing a beer we made and naming it Satans Piss. Hard to believe, but I was awarded for that! I'm 32 as of today, and I'm just now starting to take my finances seriously. I've known I'd always be rich I just didn't know how to do it. It's still bottomless and overhead, but I know if I just keep pushin' and listening to men like Robert I'll be there to join you at the 19th hole.
I live in Czech Republic, attended 1 technical and 1 economical university (MBA), but absolutely NO financial education here - even "business" schools prepares students only for jobs (managers, accountants...). Teachers teach students how to run own businesses, while they never did so themselves. With one exception - we once had a teacher who personally owned several businesses, but he still liked teaching, and his hours were incredible - full of real-life stories, practical advices, very very interesting. But unfortunately, he was an exception.
Most of people here just go to work, save money, and expect government takes care of them.
I attended primary school in a little village in East Anglia England.In those days there were 12 pence to the shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.I remember doing lots of sums involving money.At high school in New Zealand accountancy or economics wasn't an option like it is now.So bottom line is that then financial education was a non event.I once tried working my way through a high school accountancy book at home after work trying to upskill myself but found it really boring and couldn't relate it to my situation.I believe there are schools that use your cashflow games and perhaps there are creative teachers who take their students out on field trips eg to banks,or stockbrokers or the mint etc to make the subject more interesting and relevant.I would like to think that this is happening.
I went to school in Uganda and through all my training, the subject of money and how to use it was never discussed. It is only my parents and relatives who would try to teach me how to spend my money. Even in places of work, we never receive such training. One works and retires at age of 60 without knowing how to use money. So we need to start these schools to help our population.
I'm from New Orleans La, the school system here can't teach the basics...so teaching financial education is out of the question. I believe there is a conspiricy to keep people uneducated especially financially. The more uneducated " zombies " created no offense intended, the easier they are to exploit and take advantage of. Therefore Banks, mortgage brokers, Oil Companies....ect make record profits. The public is told to tighten its belt and make do while the true criminals skate off with billions.
However I'm about solutions so here is one. The banks who recieved bail out money should be sued ...similar to what NACA did. The money should be used to place financial literacy programs in schools.
I honestly do not remember being taught about money. I mean really taught about it. I was taught how to count it and the values but not the origins of the whole financial system. I wish I had learned about this at a younger age, instead of just learning it now.
I finished all my Study in many cities School around Indonesia (Belitung, Dili, Maumere, Manado, Solo, Yogyakarta), and none of them teaching me anything about money.
They said, if I clever enough and finish my Scholatic Study Programs, apply for a job, then the money will come automatically enough for the rest of my life (which is absolutely nonsense).
They were not even mention there are subject about money that so important to learn.
Now I understand that so much things for me to learn about money, I'll go trought this on-line book to learn part of it.
I am from South-Africa, living and working on the UK at the moment.
In South-Africa we never had anyone teach us how to use money properly, or how a bank operates with your money, or how and what credit cards are and are for...
We had economics, business economics and accounting in high-school, but we never touched anything relating to "real-world money management", budgeting, investing or anything relating to spending and investing money for that matter.
I think it would have been so beneficial to all of us if they at least focused on small things like how to use a credit card wisely, what are the downsides and consequences of using credit cards and personal loans - using one to pay the other. How can we use them to our advantage, safely and wisely?
Even if they could have showed us how to setup a budget for your monthly income and expenses. Small things that makes a big difference.
I think if schools are not going to teach our children these crucial points, then it is up to us. To be honest, I think it is up to us in the first place, then the schools.
I will first let you know that I am a college drop out. I am from the midwest (oklahoma actually). I have never recieved any "financial education" in school, I would say that I have recieved a large amount from my business mentor. I have also read many books and listened to hours(probably months) on the subject.
I think that the education we recieve on the subject in school is lacking in the sense that true "financial eduction" teaches how to have money work for you or to create leverage over you money, they only teach the dogma of working for money or allowing yourself to be leveraged. I can not recal who said it but it was not a teacher that taught me that there is really only 2 ways 2 create wealth and that is to either multiply money (make money) or multiply people(create levearge). I believe that this knowledge is not imparted on our society because is stems from an old misreading of the bible, people will tell you the Money is the root of all evil, it actually said THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil. The point is because of the error we as a nation have got it in our mind that money is bad even though we all use it. If those who subscribe to the concept Money is Evil would take this to thought The bible says the GOD has given us the ability to create wealth and that we should prosper. If we could focus on this and possible recreate the ideas surronding money then I think that it may become more popular to teach the subject.
While I was at school in the 80s we were taught how to earn money but not on how to spend or invest it.
The South-African School system is now trying to implement entrepeneurship but the teachers are not mentally equipped to teach the subject.
We should stop expecting the school system to do the teaching and take some responsiblity ourselves. As parents we are role models and we should try to set an example.
At school we were only taught about money when they invited an employee of a bank it to help set up an account at their bank, thats it!!
I don't know of any school that teaches financial education independently (meaning other than a bank that wants your business) What an outstanding idea though, I would say financial education is much more important than many other topics that are taught.
Imagine learning to make money so you can travel to international destinations and learn much more than a geography class will ever teach you.
Have a most outstanding day!
Mike
Nivel de educacion financiera (Level of financial education)
The level of this kind of education is worse in our contry the only thing that we recibe of financial education is to tray to design some kind of business and we recieve only counting information, how to make a balance or a state of results but that´s the final exam. I study high school in Queretaro, Mexico in Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Queretaro. I read almost all your books and I dont think that nobody are interested of doing this change in the schools progams, for shure not the way you explained. (my english is really bad can I write in spanish? is that permitted??)
I´m from Sweden. sens i get older and started to read books from richdad not intil now a have understand how bad or Financial education realy was. It´s scary
I cannot recall a single lesson from grade school, junior high or high school on the subject of money that went beyond how to balance a checkbook. To make things even worse, the concept of money was never even discussed. What is money? Where does it come from? These are incredibly important questions as we continually debase our own currency in the interest of "protecting the public". After reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" I began to realize how ignorant I was on the subject of money. I went on a financial self-education rampage and I found myself furious at times that I had never been taught about money. The subject of money is one of the most important to every person since, like it or not, you will be spending your entire life under it's influence. When I ask myself how such an important subject can be completely overlooked in our basic education I find myself wondering if it's all accidental or if it's by design.
No, I do not think that the schools out there a doing a good job at teaching financial education at all. If students are interested in it, which I believe all of them have some money and financial concerns or questions, they have to take it upon themselves to pursue that type of information and education.
I am in my late 20's. I went to high school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and college in the midwest. In the required curriculum, most people didn't have to take economics or anything related to finance or money.
In 6th grade we played this game where we would invest in the stock market. We'd form teams, pick stocks and "trade" them with other people in the class. This was the age before the internet so we'd have to check the newspaper and learned how to lookup the stock symbols and read if they went up or down. We didn't really understand what drove the stock prices, but it was very educational as far as the basics and introduction to stocks and stock investing.
In high school, I was interested in business and economics. I took an intro to economics class and a macro economics class. In the intro to economics class I remember being taught how to balance a check book, some basics of the economics and a little personal finance. But I do not believe it was sufficient for dealing with personal finances in the "real world". The biggest thing that I had learned was if you take a penny and invest it over 30 years with compounded interest it could be worth many thousands of dollars as well as the rule of 72.
In college I went on to take additional classes in economics and obtained a minor in economics in addition to my technical degree in engineering. I would probably say that I was in the minority, as most of my peers were interested in getting a safe secure job.
I wanted to learn business and the technical aspects to work a few years and build my own company/business. In the classes that I took, I learned to read financial statements, learned about the United States Current Account Deficit and our national debt. I was first exposed to your Rich Dad, Poor Dad book while in college. It confirmed my thinking that the old rule of study hard, work hard and get a safe and secure job was a formula from the industrial age. Today we are hearing about layoffs from Microsoft, Google, Intel, Motorola and Sony. Circuit City, Linens and Things shutting down and tens of thousands of people losing jobs.
I determined that the best way to take control of my life and ensure that I have financial freedom was to build a business. Most of my financial education was acquired either through reading books such as yours and the ones with your advisors, and listening to tapes, attending seminars or just going out there, doing it and learning. And I continue to read and study every day. Especially in times like these where there is a lot of uncertainty and turmoil, trying to figure out what to do with my own business, money and investments.
Thank you for trying out this new format for your book and I look forward to the next few chapters.
I was an honors student at Katella High School in Anaheim, California (US), and in my senior year, I had half of a year in Advanced Placement Economics (college-level class) and I had to pass a test in order to get college credit. I was taught about the Federal Reserve, interest, national debt, etc. and how it applied to the nation. Nothing was taught about personal finance, although some of what I learned crossed over into my personal financial knowledge.
I attended International Schools in the Philippines and Thailand and met some incredibly smart people and always thought that they would achieve so much but to this date I haven't seen any of my classmates on TV nor heard any news of their great successes.
Talking about money seems materialistic to so many which is why it is not talked about regularly. It's sad that we choose not to discuss the most important issues of our lives; money, sex, love, fear, etc. It must be the coward in us that keeps us from being "controversial".
I now currently reside in Japan (fyi, the address I used to post this with didn't allow me to choose country) and here Japanese people seem to only talk about money at work. The economic situation that we face today has changed many people's views here but Japanese, while good at change, are slow to. I worry about the future of this country and the lack of worry from the youth, the lack of power of the politicians to alleviate worry and the declining birthrate.
I teach adults English but these days for my higher level classes I tend to focus our lessons on enhancing our financial knowledge and hope that I inspire even just one student to make a change. I use both "Rich Woman" & "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" to help those interested improve not only their vocabulary, English ability and grammar structure but to feed their minds and stimulate discussion. So I thank both of you for helping all of us here see the world that much clearer.
I'm surprised looking back and talking with friends and acquaintenances about their financial education or lack thereof. I was evidently very fortunate to attend a high school which placed C students into their business/tech classes. This is where I gained basic knowledge of balance sheets, communication techniques and how to keep a general ledger. Anyone who wasn't college prep was put into these classes which was indeed very fortunate for most of us. I went on to be able to work in any business field, any company with my basic girl friday skills and yet that is exactly what led me to my true education provided by heads of companies whom became my mentors.
My financial education came from joining AMWAY back in the 80s and working with forward minded people. Reading Books, lots of books, listening to tapes, playing monopoly and staying up late to watch real estate paid advertisements and sending for their programs. Investing in Real Estate, then the Stock Market were EYE OPENERS and I never looked back. Just yesterday I flew into Phoenix to attend a two day seminar and completed a course on Advanced Technical Analysis to strengthen my trading strategies. So I guess I would be considered a student for life.
I tried to bring financial and books like RICHDAD POORDAD, CashFlow Quadrants, Think and Grow Rich, etc...books into my daughter's private high school and the librarians and english department didn't know what to do with them, they were truly foreign subject matter to them. Needless to say, they never made it onto the shelves.
Dear RObert, Im from the Czech Rep. I attend elementary school, high school and also the University of Economics in Prague. Unfortunatelly I must admit that there is no financial education. We learn by memorizing and have really no clue whats going on in real world. Teacher who teach us are well educated but financially broke. Sometimes it makes me feel sad when I talk to students and they dont think about their future. They are convinced that good job and government will take care of them. Scary isnt it?
I attended what we call a government school (public school in American, I think) for my primary-level education (first 6 years) followed by an international school for my secondary education (next 5 years).
In both cases I learned absolutely nothing about money. I elected to study Economics for my Form 4 and Form 5 (not sure of American equivalents) and even there there was nothing about personal finance, just the broad concepts of economics.
At home my mother didn't teach me anything about money, which may say something about the cultural attitude here. And she was a banker at Citibank for 18 years!
I've only come to really understand the depth of knowledge that I'm missing recently - and it's taken many mistakes for me to learn it. 'Ridiculous spending habits leading to an out-of-control credit card debt that required a bailout by the family' sums it up nicely.
I was born and brought up in Zimbabwe and although I attended a very good private school there (Falcon College), was taught nothing about financial education. Money was also not a subject we talked about much as a family and in fact the level was so bad that when I started university even, I could hardly even write out a cheque never mind balance a cheque book. I am now working in South Africa and my level of financial education has improved obviously, but that's more from reading books such as Roberts' and attending seminars, courses etc.
I was never taught anything about Financial Education.I graduated with a degreee in Engineering.After reading alot of books about Money I began to understand Money. I am from Bougaiville Island in PNG
hi Robert,
I'm from Lithuania I finished school in 1989 ,now my kids attending school I do have a friends motivates, success coachers well known in Lithuania( they have a lot of meetings in schools). I'm working in MLM for almost 8 years and I'm traveling a lot in Ukraine , Russia other east europe countries, meeting people who finished schools with the best notes and they don't have money and they're crying-why I was the best in the school.
I never met such school that teaches that important subject.
Thank you Robert for you that you are.
I'm 37 and went to school in Southeastern Wisconsin. I cannot think of any financial education I recieved in school. The consensus is to go to school and work hard all your life and save a little for your retirement account. After seeing people retired and on a fixed income try to live and just make ends meet on their 401k's, I knew something was wrong. We are trained to get up, brush our teeth, go to school wait for a bell to ring, go to the next class and so on. This conditioning process starts at such a young age in grade school, and by the time we are out of college we are in deep debt for life and looking for a job just to survive.
Educators in the Wisconsin school system today do not want to teach about money, they would rather push years of theory and go with the flow to keep their jobs.
I found financial education on my own and from the internet. Robert, Thank you for publishing the books in the Rich Dad series. 85% of what I have learned came from them including the board games Cashflow 101 & 202. After playing Cashflow 101 three times, it finally sunk in that I was in the proverbial "rat race". Purchasing these games was the best money I ever spent as it taught me that I can succeed regardless of my upbringing.
It's really no wonder why 9 out of 10 businesses fail today in America. it's a lack of financial education.
I did the majority of my K-12 education in post colonial Papua New Guinea. Essentially it was the British/Australian system of education with remnants of the colonial era evident. It retrospect I can say that finance or business was rarely mentioned. It seems as if most people were encouraged to find a trade after High School or even after 10th grade. So education ws only taught to a certain level. University was reserved only for the few with the highest of grades or social position. People were being groomed to be workers or administrators, but never entrepreneurs. There was an unspoken social structure in place.
I grew up in the 60's in the state of Louisiana. I learned about financial matters from my parents who taught the "go to school, get a job, and save your money" as you mention in your book. I regret that I did not learn about money management and investing until later in life and even then did not really understand it. It was not until joining network marketing and reading the Rich Dad series that I "got it"! I am in the process now of redoing my portfolio because of many of the things I have learned from your book.
Thank you, Robert, for all that you are "teaching" to many around the world.
And, no, I know for a fact that the public school system is NOT doing the job that is should to teach any money management skills to the future generation..at least not where I live now!
I went to school in FInland 30 years ago. I remember getting some financial education when beeing 15. My father died when I was 17 and I had to take financial responsibilities together with my mom. I had a summer job in Sweden. With my first salary I bought lots of fancy clothes at Stockholm, endin up eating baby food the rest of the month.
I had no experience and idea of how to live on my salary in a different country without the helpo of my parents.
I do remember covering how to write a cheque in grade 5
and in grade 10 we covered how to balance our cheque book.
I don't ever remember discussing anything related to investment, cash flow or interest.
My father was a student of economics and a business man, as such I was taught that i didn't want to look for a job.
As a business owner now, I still struggle with money and understanding cashflow issues.
Although I'm much better than I was, it's taken me over a decade of hard knocks to understand the basic principles that you discuss in your books.
I will make a concerted effort to teach my children more about money, but I have little faith that the schools will.
I have always believed that schools were designed to make people respond to bells and prepare them to work in assembly line jobs.
Not truly educate them to ask questions and become independent, responsible, contributing members of society.
Same reason liquor and smoking are promoted as they are ways to keep the masses from thinking too hard about things and possibly wanting to change their station.
I have no problem believing in a conspiracy of the rich, it's been going on for years and still is as countries around the world spend billions and billions of dollars on systems that are broken beyond repair to keep people that have been stealing from the masses for year in their positions of power.
I went to a private school in australia and I was given the opportunity to learn about financial management matters including business accounting in our high schools. I think this training has held me in good stead in our number of businesses I own today.
The school I undertook was in fact an Anglican High School which is essentially a church school. Whilst their training in financial managment was great, especially business bookkeeping and financial management matters it was confused with their religious training that taught us that money was bad.
For many years I had this belief that having money was evil and unconsiously I sabotaged many of our profits. It wasn't I studied the SGR PRogram by Bob Proctor and read many of Roberts books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and the Cashflow Quadrant that I relised it was okay to have this money and in deed it was crucial.
During my elementary and secondary school years, we were never taught about the basics of financial education except filling up an income tax form during statistics class. However, during my college years, we had Accounting 1 and 2, but this was designed not to make me rich, but to make the employer rich. It was a training ground for the employees. In other words, our financial education in the Philippines is beyond the bottom of the barrel.
I already attended one of the premiere universities in the Philippines and I really doubt if there are other schools here that teaches even Financial Education 101 or Financial Education for Idiots.
I am from Singapore, my school once provided a 2 days Financial Literacy workshop. I was only 15 and had little financial knowledge on my own. Neither was I interested in being literate financially nor worried for my own future. Thus, for the two days, most of my classmates literately slept through the workshop. I believe if Singapore wants to equip the young with financial literacy, it should be done from the start of our education. But thank God for you, Robert, for raising the awareness in my life for financial literacy. Now at least I do not need to follow the typical Singapore lifestyle, save money and live through it. Thanks, Robert.
The schools do not educate teenagers on money management. On completion of school the teenagers lack money management and become dependant on their parents. The blame lies with the parents and school.
In high school, the only financial training I remember receiving was how to write personal checks in Home Economics class (a class considered a throw-away class when I was there).
I took an economics class in high school, but it merely taught a bit of macro-economic theory.
In university, the extent of financial preparation we were given were some tips on job types and interviewing as it pertained to our degree.
I graduated High School in '98 and University in '03.
My schooling through high school didn't begin to prepare me for the real financial world. We never learned so much as how to write a check or balance a checkbook. It wasn't until I got my Bachelor's Degree in Business that I learned about Balance Sheets & Cash Flow Statements.
Later, when I began studying the Rich Dad materials, I saw how clearly the Net Worth and Cash Flow concepts could have been taught early in high school.
I'm now teaching my children about finances & banking, and removing the 'Employee' mindset that I was raised under.
I live in South Africa, having gone through a transformation process. The schools donot educate especially teenagers money management. When teenagers leave school they become dependant on the parents. The blame lies with the parents and the schools.
My name is Raja Hafify from Malaysia, and I am honoured to be one of the CotR community.
I know that you are familiar with Malaysia, but for those who don't; Malaysia is one of the fastest growing nation in Southeast Asia region. I can proudly admit that Malaysia has done very well in many sector like education, high-tech industry and many more.
But I cannot said the same about the state of financial education in Malaysia. I get my full education in Malaysia and in my opinion, I believe I've got more information on financial education from 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' compared to 12 years I spent as a student in Malaysia.
It would be great if more people in Malaysia would read your books and learn about financial education because there isn't enough school teaching the subject as important as financial education.
I am from India where formal schooling is as in other parts of the world. However, there are other systems of education. Established business houses train students for skills and business.
I have been trained under Mr. Rajroop Tank, Dean of Jaipur Gem dealers, for four years. During those days, I stayed with him in his house. It was a 24x7 training programme for not only skills and business but also for life. It was absolutely free. besides skills, he taught me business and financial skills that was similar to what you teach in Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cash Flow Qadrant. It is to be noted that Mr. Rajroop Tank was a renowned Jeweler who had not completed his school education but taught arround 1000 people.
I have continued the tradition after his death and trained more than 50 students (free). Most of them are wel-placed.
Thanks,
Jyoti Kothari
Vardhaman Gems
I am from the Eastern Part of Nigeria, in West Africa. I was born in Kano, the Northern part of Nigeria,had my Primary and Secondary Education in Imo and Abia States in the Eastern Part of Nigeria and had my University Education in Port Harcourt, the Southern part of the same country. Currently, I reside in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. I read Education and taught in private schools for sometime and now I work as a library assistant.
I am familiar with the Educational curriculum here except if there is a new one after I had left the educational system.There is no serious curriculum for financial education here.Apart from the mention of money as a medium of exchange in commerce and Economics class,where you are taught the qualities of money and all that,nobody tells you much about money here.In secondary school you choose not to do Economics here, what that means is that you may pass through the educational system without any formal education about money.
I acknowledge the fact that we have an apprentice system here for traders, where your master teach the basics about your trade,but that for people who are trading the traditional way.
Roberts, I have read most of your books From Rich Dad,to Retire Young and Why We want you to be Rich, co authored with Donald Trump.Though You are writing about the American system but I think the basic things apply here.I believe that financial education can solve some of the problems both here and there but it may solve all the poverty problem we have here, there are may sides to it. Nevertheless a good knowledge of Financial education will help a lot of people here. Keep up with your work on the conspiracy of the rich, I can see it on the Bestseller list.
Speaking from my own schools days, which were in the late 70s and early 8s there was no level of financial education. It was a traditional curriculum until I chose to study Economics in the the Sixth Form. This changed everything for me and gave me a great insight into many issues. I went on to study a degree in the subject. However, this subject is quite dry and not always of practical financial benefit.
I went to work in business for 5 years and then became a teacher of Business Education in 1993. I have spent the last 16 years trying to promote the importance of the subject in schools. The problem in the UK has been a very prescriptive curriculum that has not always helped. However, there are many schools in the UK that are now Business and Enterprise specialist schools. These are addressing these issues but there is still a major problem of the relevance of the school system in the UK to the modern world, as highlighted in Robert's first book.
The level of financial education in my own school is poor and the subject a plays a minor role relative to other areas. In some schools this is far better and the government is keen to promote and Enterprise culture.
Regards
Jeremy Williams
I went to a private high school in Huntsville, Alabama. The only required financial class I had to take was economics during my senior year. However, it wasn’t even a full year of the class just half a year after a class covering the U.S. government. I found the class to be very easy since I had been studying about finance and economics for six years at home in my spare time. I found the majority of the class to be a waste of time. The book we used was a paperback and thin. So I knew we wouldn’t be learning much. At least it was an easy A for me. We did play a stock investing game around the end of the class. I enjoyed it, but it was basically just seeing who could gamble the best. Most of the kids in my class just bought penny stocks in hopes of them going up. We did not learn anything about how to value companies. The book we used that showed the steps in showing how to buy and sell stock was still showing the person calling his or her broker of the phone to place a trade. I found that to be stupid and costly. It was the year 2001 online discount brokers were what individual investors were using now if they were smart. We should have been required to read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. It would have been much more valuable. The only other class that was required that had some financial value was the Algebra math classes. However, the only thing in the book about finance was simple interest, compound interest, break-even analysis, and some probability. I did take three elective classes during high school that did have value. The first was consumer math it was considered an easy A class so I naturally took it. We learned how to balance a checking account and the proper way to write a check, how to fill out the income tax form 1040EZ, how to compare items at the grocery store by the unit price, how to read water and electricity meters to see how much you were spending, and simple and compound interest. I thought it was the best class I had during high school. The second class was accounting. It was a good class but we were still using paper and pencil to write debit and credit accounts and that was old school. We should have been using Excel for that class. Talk about a pain in the wrist. The third class was advanced computer applications, which were just Microsoft Office applications. At least I learned the basics of Excel and Access.
I went to a public college in Auburn, Alabama where I majored in Finance. The only problem I had with college was that two Calculus classes were required. They were said to be Calculus courses with Business Applications. The first class had very little business applications to me. I only remember there being compound interest and break-even analysis. I had a hard time the professor was foreign and I could barely understand him. The second class was hard at first but I got the hang of it and the professor was not foreign. It had some good probability problems but that was all I saw of value for business applications. In all I think we were required to take these classes to keep the college of science and mathematics in business. They simply needed students to take the class so they could pay the professor to teach it to keep him at the college. I never have thought calculus should be required in finance. I like to remember what Warren Buffet said “If Calculus or Algebra were required to be a great investor, I’d have to go back to delivering newspapers.” I think Calculus is what got us in the current mess that the world is in with the financial derivatives of mass destruction. Almost nobody knows how to do the complicated math these things are based on. Out of all the classes I took in college the most important to me were Personal Finance, Investments, and Financial Statement Analysis. However, I do not find much value in my degree. I sometimes feel it is worthless and I should have just went to work at McDonalds after high school. I could have invested in their stock and had a decent sum in my 401k by now. The cost of college compared to the value of the degree is not worth it in my opinion anymore. I was thinking about going back to school to get an MBA, but I feel I would just get deeper into debt. At least I learned how to do loan amortizations in Excel and financial calculators in college. I know how much interest the bank is making off me. Sadly, most graduates do not even know this until they are out of college and it is too late. I did learn how to use Excel decently to figure out financial ratios for different companies. I learned how to use options and the time value of money. But I could of learned that by just going to the local library and reading books for free. College just teaches you how to be a good employee in my opinion. Just hope you can find a job after you graduate now that gives you enough cash flow to pay your student loans and rent.
I went to a goverment school in a little city in South Africa called George. I only have a standered 7 it took the school system 8 years to realize that I had sever dislecsia. If a system can't see there a baysick short fall. Then educating my kids to day about money will defently be the last thing on there minds that is why I am educating my kids and my self with rich dad products.
I’m from Baja, Mexico, I studied in one of the best universities in Latin America, got my masters in finance in 03 at the biggest private school in Mexico City because I wanted to learn how to manage money and be rich... and I did learn something, they taught me how to manage money for a Rich mans Business. No, they don't teach you about your money even if you go in to studying money in a great post-graduate school.
Financial education is virtualy non-existant in schools today. Financial education for many begins too late (if at all) when they are already using it, with belief systems for people in the E and S quandrants of the cashflow quadrant. It takes study, patience and pratice to learn the skills needed to be successful in the B and I quadrants if there has never been any real financial education in their lives. It is really simple too because the financial statement and balance sheet is all you really need to see. Most people do not apply the principle of the financial statement and balance sheet to themselves in their own personal lives. I live in London and have only recently started playing the games Cashflow 101 & 202. The leasons those games teach are priceless. 202 teaches how to make money in any market, even the market of 2008. These leason should be taught in schools, and the school system has failed people. This week I saw a report how a couple had lost everything in this economic downturn, they were in their late 50's and if they did not make changes they would be poor forever. The same report also followed a young man who has taken advantage of the economic downturn to buy assets at depressed prices. He is buying more and more, while most people are trying to save as much as they can. The contrast in the two reports was stark and alarming because the link between the two were so clear and direct. The difference was financial education, or lack thereof. Many more people and communities will be wiped out during this time and financial education is the key.
I am a medical doctor trained in Nigeria. I never had any training in financial literacy in any of the schools I attended. In my side of the world, even our rich people & leaders are so myopic in their views of the financial world. They generally think the good & prosperity of one is enough to protect & project their future, but I think time is proving them wrong. Most have never sincerely worked for money. The plan is to acquire as much as you can through any means mostly illegally to prepare for any financial melt down later in future. This is not sustainable for a society because eventually there will be an implosion. 70% of Nigerians do not have a bank account and those with can not even read their financial statement. Policies are effected in our banking institutions without proper supervisions from necessary government agencies. Sometimes people are mislead to invest in the capital markets without proper advice. It is only in Nigeria you can buy shares on IPO without getting your share certificate within a year or more of buying. Even to change your certificate to an instrument of trading (cscs) could sometimes take 6 months. Sometimes the federal govt lies to the general population in order to protect a priviledge few. I have read about 90% of the rich dad series & I have now decided to personally train my children not to become enslaved in their lives. I believe there is a need for people to have financial training in order to move ahead even for most of us that are educated but financially we are illiterates.
I've gone to school in California, as well as in Germany now. While in America, I attended a high school that focused upon "Academies" within the school itself - I had decided immediately to join the Academy of Business and Finance. Within this academy, we had courses on Economics (in place of the more traditional Social Studies), Statistics (in place of Calculus), Marketing, a hands-on virtual business class, among others. Of course, I had been under the impression that we would be studying all aspects of owning and running your own business, and I was truly excited to learn from the basics so early in school. However, when it comes to the amount of FINANCIAL education we received, the courses were a dismal failure. We focused on statistics, not on financial statements, in our mathematics course. We did an extensive in-depth semester on the stock market, including trading with a virtual account over a 3 month period, and analyzing the market, but we never did the same for business finances. While we did read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in my class, we didn't learn how to create and use the financial statements we read about. We had a great time playing Cash Flow as well, which I really appreciate my teacher for introducing us to. However, after graduating, I was still not any wiser in how to apply what I'd learned in the book and the game to a business which I wanted to run later.
In a way, it is hard for me to compare my experience in the American high school with the German school, since one was so specialized on business. The financial education we received in Germany was zilch, nada, nul. Even in economics I had to wonder what they were teaching us, because it was so backwards! Unfortunately, to disagree with the teacher in your essays in Germany typically meant that you would receive a failing grade, since you "obviously" didn't understand what it is that you were supposed to learn that semester. I consider it more of a "memorize and regurgitate in your own words" rather than constructive learning. I felt, in the 2 years that I spent in the German school, that I'd somehow gone a step backwards on my learning or intelligence level. It's as if they I'd forgotten quite a bit, since they focused on the most random and utterly uselessly outdated information.
In a nutshell, I haven't been too enthusiastic about the financial education found in today's public schools. When the teachers don't know, or don't care, to teach the subject, how should the students learn it? It's apparently much more important to learn who won the American Revolution... for 6 years in a row.
I'm 31, from San Diego, my schools from middle to high school taught nothing about finance, saving, spending... at most it was hearing from other students that their parents didn't have enough money, and that they were always trying to save... suddenly then the next day I'd see the kids with shiny expensive brand new bikes ...all that saved money... anyways some of the teachers (of their own free will) did hold some light investment exercises in class (which i was not a part of); competition for buying shares and watching the numbers grow; wasn't much but was something. For the most part, I had to get my education from my Dad about stocks, finances, etc... he wasn't the greatest, nor the most encouraging, but it was enough to make me realize this pride of who has the highest degree really meant nothing if you have empty wallets. Today I'm still in the rat race, trying to cut corners to save costs, and performing my part to keep the company a float... the biggest fallacy education has taught me is to keep studying, that knowledge is job security... I'm still having a hard time breaking free of that... even though I know I'm really out here on my own... my own success is entirely my burden... and relying on corporations to cover me on a 8-day work schedule with excessive labor laws and constant worries of employee complaints is the very basis to the downfall of America, and the reason it will no longer sustain itself... come in China, come in India... those who work with their own blood and lack the fear to success will dominate.
I went to a very conservative school in England in the '70s - it was proud of it's academic and sporting achievements and I learned NOTHING about how to manage money much less invest it or how the financial system worked. Unfortunately, many of the adults in my life at that time felt that the mere discussion of money was rather gauche - I'm not sure how we were supposed to learn about it, probably the same way we learnt about sex!
It's been an interesting journey over the last few decades, moving to Australia has proved fantastic for me and my wife's insistence that we attend a financial seminar was a turning point. I've been to a few since then including one of Roberts and the one constant point that all presenters make is the importance of gaining a financial education. At times I have seen this as being rather self serving as invariably they will make a pitch to offer you (at great expense) a financial education next weekend! I've been selective in taking up those invitations but I've also read many books by various authors and although I'm not out of the "Rat Race" yet, we are making some strides towards that goal.
I'm sure this book and the innovative manner in which it is being presented will prove to be another stepping stone along the way to our goal.
Iam 31 yrs old and I grew up in Zimbabwe in Africa. i have been in New Zealand for the past 4years.Were i went to school in Zimbabwe and university there was no financial education at all, none whatsoever. As we were growing up our parents taught us that to do well we needed to be very educated , get university degrees and find a good well paying job. I wish i had read Rich Dad,Poor Dad when i was younger i think i would be out of the rat race by now. The only way i have known of getting money was working hard for other people. Personally i think the only school were you can be taught about financial education is at home by your parents on condition that your parents are aware of it. My daughter and son will definately be well financially educated by me at home
Hi Robert,
I'm from Romania and I have 24 years old, my financial education has started almost 2 years ago when I start to read your book "Rich dad's Prophecy". In school I did not receive any Financial advise so I had to read all your books about financial education and few books of Donald Trump.
My mother is reading your books and she is math teacher, and in a day she decide to teach her pupils some of the basic of financial education: about assets and liabilities. And the second day her manager of that school had reproof her that in school a teacher do not have to teach about money and to don't do it again.
THIS IS THE REALITY of OUR SCHOOL !
Nice investing,
-Flavius
I was educated for primary and secondary level in SA with no financial education to think of at primary or secondary level. I did do history at school, which has allowed me to have the thinking pattern and knowledge that humans are creatures of habit and that history has a habit of repeating itself. This is what I see economists discuss with all their theories of why things happen in an economy and use examples from the past. So history was my only financial education subject I guess. Tertiary schooling was in a university in the UK in the healthcare field and we did have lessons on how to run a private practice profitably, but very little.
So I would say true financial education didn't come from a government school system, but from real life. Watching adults as a child the rich ones and poor moaning ones. Seeing that the very rich happy ones tended to own a business. For me a solid financial education is being taught everyday and only those who are receptive to change in their thinking patterns, understanding the past and not fearing the future can grow their financial education via reading, listening and watching.
I went to school in La Verne and San Dimas, CA and although I don't think my education was terrible, I don't believe it really prepared for "real" life either. I do remember simulating some business ideals and I also remember coming out on top of the class. I don't think I won because of my keen financial intelligence though. In highschool I remember marketing a beer we made and naming it Satans Piss. Hard to believe, but I was awarded for that! I'm 32 as of today, and I'm just now starting to take my finances seriously. I've known I'd always be rich I just didn't know how to do it. It's still bottomless and overhead, but I know if I just keep pushin' and listening to men like Robert I'll be there to join you at the 19th hole.
I live in Czech Republic, attended 1 technical and 1 economical university (MBA), but absolutely NO financial education here - even "business" schools prepares students only for jobs (managers, accountants...). Teachers teach students how to run own businesses, while they never did so themselves. With one exception - we once had a teacher who personally owned several businesses, but he still liked teaching, and his hours were incredible - full of real-life stories, practical advices, very very interesting. But unfortunately, he was an exception.
Most of people here just go to work, save money, and expect government takes care of them.
I attended primary school in a little village in East Anglia England.In those days there were 12 pence to the shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.I remember doing lots of sums involving money.At high school in New Zealand accountancy or economics wasn't an option like it is now.So bottom line is that then financial education was a non event.I once tried working my way through a high school accountancy book at home after work trying to upskill myself but found it really boring and couldn't relate it to my situation.I believe there are schools that use your cashflow games and perhaps there are creative teachers who take their students out on field trips eg to banks,or stockbrokers or the mint etc to make the subject more interesting and relevant.I would like to think that this is happening.
I went to school in Uganda and through all my training, the subject of money and how to use it was never discussed. It is only my parents and relatives who would try to teach me how to spend my money. Even in places of work, we never receive such training. One works and retires at age of 60 without knowing how to use money. So we need to start these schools to help our population.
I'm from New Orleans La, the school system here can't teach the basics...so teaching financial education is out of the question. I believe there is a conspiricy to keep people uneducated especially financially. The more uneducated " zombies " created no offense intended, the easier they are to exploit and take advantage of. Therefore Banks, mortgage brokers, Oil Companies....ect make record profits. The public is told to tighten its belt and make do while the true criminals skate off with billions.
However I'm about solutions so here is one. The banks who recieved bail out money should be sued ...similar to what NACA did. The money should be used to place financial literacy programs in schools.
P/S Not a good speller please forgive.
I honestly do not remember being taught about money. I mean really taught about it. I was taught how to count it and the values but not the origins of the whole financial system. I wish I had learned about this at a younger age, instead of just learning it now.
I finished all my Study in many cities School around Indonesia (Belitung, Dili, Maumere, Manado, Solo, Yogyakarta), and none of them teaching me anything about money.
They said, if I clever enough and finish my Scholatic Study Programs, apply for a job, then the money will come automatically enough for the rest of my life (which is absolutely nonsense).
They were not even mention there are subject about money that so important to learn.
Now I understand that so much things for me to learn about money, I'll go trought this on-line book to learn part of it.
Cheers,
Clement
I am from South-Africa, living and working on the UK at the moment.
In South-Africa we never had anyone teach us how to use money properly, or how a bank operates with your money, or how and what credit cards are and are for...
We had economics, business economics and accounting in high-school, but we never touched anything relating to "real-world money management", budgeting, investing or anything relating to spending and investing money for that matter.
I think it would have been so beneficial to all of us if they at least focused on small things like how to use a credit card wisely, what are the downsides and consequences of using credit cards and personal loans - using one to pay the other. How can we use them to our advantage, safely and wisely?
Even if they could have showed us how to setup a budget for your monthly income and expenses. Small things that makes a big difference.
I think if schools are not going to teach our children these crucial points, then it is up to us. To be honest, I think it is up to us in the first place, then the schools.
I will first let you know that I am a college drop out. I am from the midwest (oklahoma actually). I have never recieved any "financial education" in school, I would say that I have recieved a large amount from my business mentor. I have also read many books and listened to hours(probably months) on the subject.
I think that the education we recieve on the subject in school is lacking in the sense that true "financial eduction" teaches how to have money work for you or to create leverage over you money, they only teach the dogma of working for money or allowing yourself to be leveraged. I can not recal who said it but it was not a teacher that taught me that there is really only 2 ways 2 create wealth and that is to either multiply money (make money) or multiply people(create levearge). I believe that this knowledge is not imparted on our society because is stems from an old misreading of the bible, people will tell you the Money is the root of all evil, it actually said THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil. The point is because of the error we as a nation have got it in our mind that money is bad even though we all use it. If those who subscribe to the concept Money is Evil would take this to thought The bible says the GOD has given us the ability to create wealth and that we should prosper. If we could focus on this and possible recreate the ideas surronding money then I think that it may become more popular to teach the subject.
While I was at school in the 80s we were taught how to earn money but not on how to spend or invest it.
The South-African School system is now trying to implement entrepeneurship but the teachers are not mentally equipped to teach the subject.
We should stop expecting the school system to do the teaching and take some responsiblity ourselves. As parents we are role models and we should try to set an example.
At school we were only taught about money when they invited an employee of a bank it to help set up an account at their bank, thats it!!
I don't know of any school that teaches financial education independently (meaning other than a bank that wants your business) What an outstanding idea though, I would say financial education is much more important than many other topics that are taught.
Imagine learning to make money so you can travel to international destinations and learn much more than a geography class will ever teach you.
Have a most outstanding day!
Mike
The level of this kind of education is worse in our contry the only thing that we recibe of financial education is to tray to design some kind of business and we recieve only counting information, how to make a balance or a state of results but that´s the final exam. I study high school in Queretaro, Mexico in Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Queretaro. I read almost all your books and I dont think that nobody are interested of doing this change in the schools progams, for shure not the way you explained. (my english is really bad can I write in spanish? is that permitted??)
I´m from Sweden. sens i get older and started to read books from richdad not intil now a have understand how bad or Financial education realy was. It´s scary
I cannot recall a single lesson from grade school, junior high or high school on the subject of money that went beyond how to balance a checkbook. To make things even worse, the concept of money was never even discussed. What is money? Where does it come from? These are incredibly important questions as we continually debase our own currency in the interest of "protecting the public". After reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" I began to realize how ignorant I was on the subject of money. I went on a financial self-education rampage and I found myself furious at times that I had never been taught about money. The subject of money is one of the most important to every person since, like it or not, you will be spending your entire life under it's influence. When I ask myself how such an important subject can be completely overlooked in our basic education I find myself wondering if it's all accidental or if it's by design.
No, I do not think that the schools out there a doing a good job at teaching financial education at all. If students are interested in it, which I believe all of them have some money and financial concerns or questions, they have to take it upon themselves to pursue that type of information and education.
I am in my late 20's. I went to high school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and college in the midwest. In the required curriculum, most people didn't have to take economics or anything related to finance or money.
In 6th grade we played this game where we would invest in the stock market. We'd form teams, pick stocks and "trade" them with other people in the class. This was the age before the internet so we'd have to check the newspaper and learned how to lookup the stock symbols and read if they went up or down. We didn't really understand what drove the stock prices, but it was very educational as far as the basics and introduction to stocks and stock investing.
In high school, I was interested in business and economics. I took an intro to economics class and a macro economics class. In the intro to economics class I remember being taught how to balance a check book, some basics of the economics and a little personal finance. But I do not believe it was sufficient for dealing with personal finances in the "real world". The biggest thing that I had learned was if you take a penny and invest it over 30 years with compounded interest it could be worth many thousands of dollars as well as the rule of 72.
In college I went on to take additional classes in economics and obtained a minor in economics in addition to my technical degree in engineering. I would probably say that I was in the minority, as most of my peers were interested in getting a safe secure job.
I wanted to learn business and the technical aspects to work a few years and build my own company/business. In the classes that I took, I learned to read financial statements, learned about the United States Current Account Deficit and our national debt. I was first exposed to your Rich Dad, Poor Dad book while in college. It confirmed my thinking that the old rule of study hard, work hard and get a safe and secure job was a formula from the industrial age. Today we are hearing about layoffs from Microsoft, Google, Intel, Motorola and Sony. Circuit City, Linens and Things shutting down and tens of thousands of people losing jobs.
I determined that the best way to take control of my life and ensure that I have financial freedom was to build a business. Most of my financial education was acquired either through reading books such as yours and the ones with your advisors, and listening to tapes, attending seminars or just going out there, doing it and learning. And I continue to read and study every day. Especially in times like these where there is a lot of uncertainty and turmoil, trying to figure out what to do with my own business, money and investments.
Thank you for trying out this new format for your book and I look forward to the next few chapters.
I was an honors student at Katella High School in Anaheim, California (US), and in my senior year, I had half of a year in Advanced Placement Economics (college-level class) and I had to pass a test in order to get college credit. I was taught about the Federal Reserve, interest, national debt, etc. and how it applied to the nation. Nothing was taught about personal finance, although some of what I learned crossed over into my personal financial knowledge.
I attended International Schools in the Philippines and Thailand and met some incredibly smart people and always thought that they would achieve so much but to this date I haven't seen any of my classmates on TV nor heard any news of their great successes.
Talking about money seems materialistic to so many which is why it is not talked about regularly. It's sad that we choose not to discuss the most important issues of our lives; money, sex, love, fear, etc. It must be the coward in us that keeps us from being "controversial".
I now currently reside in Japan (fyi, the address I used to post this with didn't allow me to choose country) and here Japanese people seem to only talk about money at work. The economic situation that we face today has changed many people's views here but Japanese, while good at change, are slow to. I worry about the future of this country and the lack of worry from the youth, the lack of power of the politicians to alleviate worry and the declining birthrate.
I teach adults English but these days for my higher level classes I tend to focus our lessons on enhancing our financial knowledge and hope that I inspire even just one student to make a change. I use both "Rich Woman" & "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" to help those interested improve not only their vocabulary, English ability and grammar structure but to feed their minds and stimulate discussion. So I thank both of you for helping all of us here see the world that much clearer.
I'm surprised looking back and talking with friends and acquaintenances about their financial education or lack thereof. I was evidently very fortunate to attend a high school which placed C students into their business/tech classes. This is where I gained basic knowledge of balance sheets, communication techniques and how to keep a general ledger. Anyone who wasn't college prep was put into these classes which was indeed very fortunate for most of us. I went on to be able to work in any business field, any company with my basic girl friday skills and yet that is exactly what led me to my true education provided by heads of companies whom became my mentors.
My financial education came from joining AMWAY back in the 80s and working with forward minded people. Reading Books, lots of books, listening to tapes, playing monopoly and staying up late to watch real estate paid advertisements and sending for their programs. Investing in Real Estate, then the Stock Market were EYE OPENERS and I never looked back. Just yesterday I flew into Phoenix to attend a two day seminar and completed a course on Advanced Technical Analysis to strengthen my trading strategies. So I guess I would be considered a student for life.
I tried to bring financial and books like RICHDAD POORDAD, CashFlow Quadrants, Think and Grow Rich, etc...books into my daughter's private high school and the librarians and english department didn't know what to do with them, they were truly foreign subject matter to them. Needless to say, they never made it onto the shelves.
Dear RObert, Im from the Czech Rep. I attend elementary school, high school and also the University of Economics in Prague. Unfortunatelly I must admit that there is no financial education. We learn by memorizing and have really no clue whats going on in real world. Teacher who teach us are well educated but financially broke. Sometimes it makes me feel sad when I talk to students and they dont think about their future. They are convinced that good job and government will take care of them. Scary isnt it?
I attended what we call a government school (public school in American, I think) for my primary-level education (first 6 years) followed by an international school for my secondary education (next 5 years).
In both cases I learned absolutely nothing about money. I elected to study Economics for my Form 4 and Form 5 (not sure of American equivalents) and even there there was nothing about personal finance, just the broad concepts of economics.
At home my mother didn't teach me anything about money, which may say something about the cultural attitude here. And she was a banker at Citibank for 18 years!
I've only come to really understand the depth of knowledge that I'm missing recently - and it's taken many mistakes for me to learn it. 'Ridiculous spending habits leading to an out-of-control credit card debt that required a bailout by the family' sums it up nicely.
I was born and brought up in Zimbabwe and although I attended a very good private school there (Falcon College), was taught nothing about financial education. Money was also not a subject we talked about much as a family and in fact the level was so bad that when I started university even, I could hardly even write out a cheque never mind balance a cheque book. I am now working in South Africa and my level of financial education has improved obviously, but that's more from reading books such as Roberts' and attending seminars, courses etc.
I was never taught anything about Financial Education.I graduated with a degreee in Engineering.After reading alot of books about Money I began to understand Money. I am from Bougaiville Island in PNG
hi Robert,
I'm from Lithuania I finished school in 1989 ,now my kids attending school I do have a friends motivates, success coachers well known in Lithuania( they have a lot of meetings in schools). I'm working in MLM for almost 8 years and I'm traveling a lot in Ukraine , Russia other east europe countries, meeting people who finished schools with the best notes and they don't have money and they're crying-why I was the best in the school.
I never met such school that teaches that important subject.
Thank you Robert for you that you are.
I'm 37 and went to school in Southeastern Wisconsin. I cannot think of any financial education I recieved in school. The consensus is to go to school and work hard all your life and save a little for your retirement account. After seeing people retired and on a fixed income try to live and just make ends meet on their 401k's, I knew something was wrong. We are trained to get up, brush our teeth, go to school wait for a bell to ring, go to the next class and so on. This conditioning process starts at such a young age in grade school, and by the time we are out of college we are in deep debt for life and looking for a job just to survive.
Educators in the Wisconsin school system today do not want to teach about money, they would rather push years of theory and go with the flow to keep their jobs.
I found financial education on my own and from the internet. Robert, Thank you for publishing the books in the Rich Dad series. 85% of what I have learned came from them including the board games Cashflow 101 & 202. After playing Cashflow 101 three times, it finally sunk in that I was in the proverbial "rat race". Purchasing these games was the best money I ever spent as it taught me that I can succeed regardless of my upbringing.
It's really no wonder why 9 out of 10 businesses fail today in America. it's a lack of financial education.
I did the majority of my K-12 education in post colonial Papua New Guinea. Essentially it was the British/Australian system of education with remnants of the colonial era evident. It retrospect I can say that finance or business was rarely mentioned. It seems as if most people were encouraged to find a trade after High School or even after 10th grade. So education ws only taught to a certain level. University was reserved only for the few with the highest of grades or social position. People were being groomed to be workers or administrators, but never entrepreneurs. There was an unspoken social structure in place.
I grew up in the 60's in the state of Louisiana. I learned about financial matters from my parents who taught the "go to school, get a job, and save your money" as you mention in your book. I regret that I did not learn about money management and investing until later in life and even then did not really understand it. It was not until joining network marketing and reading the Rich Dad series that I "got it"! I am in the process now of redoing my portfolio because of many of the things I have learned from your book.
Thank you, Robert, for all that you are "teaching" to many around the world.
And, no, I know for a fact that the public school system is NOT doing the job that is should to teach any money management skills to the future generation..at least not where I live now!
Linda Jones
I went to school in FInland 30 years ago. I remember getting some financial education when beeing 15. My father died when I was 17 and I had to take financial responsibilities together with my mom. I had a summer job in Sweden. With my first salary I bought lots of fancy clothes at Stockholm, endin up eating baby food the rest of the month.
I had no experience and idea of how to live on my salary in a different country without the helpo of my parents.
I do remember covering how to write a cheque in grade 5
and in grade 10 we covered how to balance our cheque book.
I don't ever remember discussing anything related to investment, cash flow or interest.
My father was a student of economics and a business man, as such I was taught that i didn't want to look for a job.
As a business owner now, I still struggle with money and understanding cashflow issues.
Although I'm much better than I was, it's taken me over a decade of hard knocks to understand the basic principles that you discuss in your books.
I will make a concerted effort to teach my children more about money, but I have little faith that the schools will.
I have always believed that schools were designed to make people respond to bells and prepare them to work in assembly line jobs.
Not truly educate them to ask questions and become independent, responsible, contributing members of society.
Same reason liquor and smoking are promoted as they are ways to keep the masses from thinking too hard about things and possibly wanting to change their station.
I have no problem believing in a conspiracy of the rich, it's been going on for years and still is as countries around the world spend billions and billions of dollars on systems that are broken beyond repair to keep people that have been stealing from the masses for year in their positions of power.
I went to a private school in australia and I was given the opportunity to learn about financial management matters including business accounting in our high schools. I think this training has held me in good stead in our number of businesses I own today.
The school I undertook was in fact an Anglican High School which is essentially a church school. Whilst their training in financial managment was great, especially business bookkeeping and financial management matters it was confused with their religious training that taught us that money was bad.
For many years I had this belief that having money was evil and unconsiously I sabotaged many of our profits. It wasn't I studied the SGR PRogram by Bob Proctor and read many of Roberts books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and the Cashflow Quadrant that I relised it was okay to have this money and in deed it was crucial.
During my elementary and secondary school years, we were never taught about the basics of financial education except filling up an income tax form during statistics class. However, during my college years, we had Accounting 1 and 2, but this was designed not to make me rich, but to make the employer rich. It was a training ground for the employees. In other words, our financial education in the Philippines is beyond the bottom of the barrel.
I already attended one of the premiere universities in the Philippines and I really doubt if there are other schools here that teaches even Financial Education 101 or Financial Education for Idiots.
Francis
I am from Singapore, my school once provided a 2 days Financial Literacy workshop. I was only 15 and had little financial knowledge on my own. Neither was I interested in being literate financially nor worried for my own future. Thus, for the two days, most of my classmates literately slept through the workshop. I believe if Singapore wants to equip the young with financial literacy, it should be done from the start of our education. But thank God for you, Robert, for raising the awareness in my life for financial literacy. Now at least I do not need to follow the typical Singapore lifestyle, save money and live through it. Thanks, Robert.
Regards, Billy
The schools do not educate teenagers on money management. On completion of school the teenagers lack money management and become dependant on their parents. The blame lies with the parents and school.
In high school, the only financial training I remember receiving was how to write personal checks in Home Economics class (a class considered a throw-away class when I was there).
I took an economics class in high school, but it merely taught a bit of macro-economic theory.
In university, the extent of financial preparation we were given were some tips on job types and interviewing as it pertained to our degree.
I graduated High School in '98 and University in '03.
My schooling through high school didn't begin to prepare me for the real financial world. We never learned so much as how to write a check or balance a checkbook. It wasn't until I got my Bachelor's Degree in Business that I learned about Balance Sheets & Cash Flow Statements.
Later, when I began studying the Rich Dad materials, I saw how clearly the Net Worth and Cash Flow concepts could have been taught early in high school.
I'm now teaching my children about finances & banking, and removing the 'Employee' mindset that I was raised under.
Robert, you've changed my life!
I live in South Africa, having gone through a transformation process. The schools donot educate especially teenagers money management. When teenagers leave school they become dependant on the parents. The blame lies with the parents and the schools.
My name is Raja Hafify from Malaysia, and I am honoured to be one of the CotR community.
I know that you are familiar with Malaysia, but for those who don't; Malaysia is one of the fastest growing nation in Southeast Asia region. I can proudly admit that Malaysia has done very well in many sector like education, high-tech industry and many more.
But I cannot said the same about the state of financial education in Malaysia. I get my full education in Malaysia and in my opinion, I believe I've got more information on financial education from 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' compared to 12 years I spent as a student in Malaysia.
It would be great if more people in Malaysia would read your books and learn about financial education because there isn't enough school teaching the subject as important as financial education.
I hope you don't mind my poor english. Thx