Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 15

Before proceeding to giving out my insights and reactions for this Chapter, let me get back to Chapter 13 because it is in that chapter where the author learned that investing through securities such as stocks and bonds are not the only forms of investing. I brought that up because in this Chapter with the title “Reduce Risk Through Financial Literacy”, Mr. Kiyosaki proved my instincts that the other form of investment he is mentioning in Chapter 13 is investing in a business.

Investing is a process of putting up a certain sum of money to earn more money. It does not specify what to do with the money but as long as it gives more money in return for the amount initially used, it is considered investing. It is on this Chapter that the author introduced business as a form of investment. Like a job for an employee, a business is a form of an ordinary earned income.

People fail to observe that most of the rich have generated most of their income from their businesses that they have started, created or bought. The rich does not rely solely on passive and portfolio income but because their earnings through their businesses are big enough, they now have a lot of money to buy real estate properties for them to generate passive income as well as to hold stocks and bonds that gives them portfolio income.

If only people would learn how to spot the opportunities that they can turn into businesses, their lives would be more secure and comfortable. The problem with most people is that they are financially illiterate. They prefer having money rather than holding assets with high potential. When it comes to their financial life, they prefer to have money than holding a property that can be later developed into a profitable business. No wonder many prefer to become employed the rest of their lives.

If only people would learn on how to maximize the potential of the assets they are holding, they may end up richer than anyone. The problem is, most of us are never taught to have a mind of an entrepreneur. Most of us are taught to become employees. If we would only realize the skills and talents we acquired through time and develop them, we could make use of them and turn them to our most precious assets.

I feel happy now that a lot of my fellow millennials are doing the right thing. I see a few of my friends pursue their passion like photography and filmography for a living. There were also some who pursued cooking and baking while others are now making use of the social media and the internet through online selling. Change is coming indeed and once more and more realize that there are more ways than one in attaining a comfortable and secure life, we could get off the hump and become more financially literate.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14

Looking forward for more

I never imagined that I would reach this milestone, it never entered my mind to get this much attention as I was only getting little to nothing of it when I was starting out to write. I cannot believe that in almost a month’s time, my blog would grow to such a level that I never imagined.

I thank all the people who appreciate my way of writing even though I don’t have those flashy and eye-popping photos. I also thank those people who constantly read and appreciate whatever I write. Lastly, I thank those fellow bloggers who have posted their tips and tricks on generating traffic that many bloggers failed to do in starting out their blogs.

In celebrating this milestone, let me share my ways on how I generated this milestone (directly and indirectly) and how I plan on getting more in the future.

1. Support fellow bloggers – when we say support, clicking the reblog button would not suffice if you have only a few followers (although it helps). Supporting a fellow blogger is about following those blogs that interests you, commending the author on how honestly you feel while reading his post and constantly read them. You won’t get anywhere if you just follow a blogger and expect him to follow you back. Interacting with fellow bloggers is the thing that you should constantly do.
2. Make use of social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other more famous sites are helpful in generating traffic. Although your likes on social media would not be counted through your blogging platform, it helps in generating traffic aside from the blogging platform you use. Make sure you link your posts to your social media accounts as people will be one day or another feel irritate of posts about rants and frustrations. They would love to read something of value rather than those things.
3. Constantly write content – it’s non sense if you have thousands of followers yet you are not posting content. Do not expect to gather traffic by sitting idly and let your followers view your old posts that are a few weeks or months ago. They would not waste time to scroll through your page when once in a while they are seeing new posts from other bloggers. You are not the only person they are following and you are not the only person writing their hearts out.
4. Do not follow what you cannot read – if you intend to do tip number one which is to support fellow bloggers, it is not recommended though to follow everyone recommended to you. If you cannot read them because their posts are too long for you to read then unfollow them. If they are posting ten or more posts per hour that did not give you a rest in reading, unfollow them. Never let down those bloggers you follow yet you cannot read their posts.

That’s all for now. Again, thank you to all of you! I cannot think of any words now on how I could express my gratitude on this milestone so I will end this in three, two, one…

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 14

Here am I again full of urge and overwhelmed by a lot of lessons learned from the latest chapter of the book with the title “Basic Rules of Investing”. Looks like the author now feels that I have grasped the mindset he wanted to instill on every person. That after telling how he acquired the investing knowledge from rich dad, he is now giving the basic rules in investing.

There are seven steps given on the chapter but I did not realize that it was a long chapter after all. The rules given out by rich dad was really a good read even though I had a few ideas on some of the rules. As much as I want to share word for word the basics of investing as stated on the book, it is against the law. What I think I could give is the important elements of investing based on the seven basic rules. They are as follows:

1. The kind of income you earn – there are three classifications of income according to the author. The kind of income you earn and the kind of income you wanted to earn through investing. It is an important element that if you cannot distinguish one from the others, you might set the wrong financial plan and result to financial losses.
2. The investor – as the one steering the ship, having the resources, expertise and experience, it is the investor who would devise the plans and strategies to take in order to achieve the desired goals. The investor’s mindset would determine the outcome of his or her decisions which makes it a vital element of investing.
3. The changes that might occur – lastly, the thing that makes investing risky are the changes. It might be a change in market situation, a change of intent or a change of plans by the investor. From the famous quote of Heraclitus stating “There is nothing permanent except change.”, investing is also not excused from various changes that might occur.

From those three elements in the basic rules of investing, it revolves now on how investor will use his excess cash, experience and education to attain his goals. There was also a question by the author to rich dad on how he was able to do the things that he were able to do, what are his options and more. Questions that rich dad will unfold on the succeeding chapters.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 13

Too much stress has really got on me that I needed to rest for quite a lot during the weekend then came along a typhoon that gave me the chills every morning that I weren’t able to do my weekly jog because of either the rain or the cold breeze every morning that made me stay on my bed. All I got to do was to lie on my bed, eat and play. I was never in the mood to write anything.

It’s a wasted weekend for me as I wasn’t able to share an insight for the weekend that I realize that in less than a month, it’s Christmas already and I am planning to finish giving insights about the book before the end of Christmas! Sigh! I hope I can do this now consistently. Going through the book on Chapter 13 with the title “On which side of the table do you want to sit?”. The author really likes challenging questions I say.

The question of the chapter was related by the author to the cash flow quadrant as well as to a scenario in which an old person is seeking employment from a business owner. The way how the author relate the cash flow quadrant and the scenario was really great that reading along the chapter, I have already chosen on which side of the table would I want to sit.

Being a business minded person, I would prefer sitting on the B and I quadrants rather than the E and S quadrants. I would also think of myself as the business owner rather the one applying for a job but aside from choosing which side of the table we wanted to play, the author also cited a few reasons why there are a lot of people who never got out of their comfort zones.

A lot of good and bright people chose to be employed because they do not want to go to the hustle and learn on how to invest for their future. Once they are employed, their employers will be giving them benefits and would do the part of investing for their retirement once they reach the retirement age.

Being currently employed by a government agency, I were able to see how people rely on their government and their employers in terms of their health, retirement and even their homes and properties. Most employees depend on their employers so much that they get too attached to their work and realize they had wasted their time working all their lives.

It was painful to see middle aged to elderly people struggling everyday to earn a few dollars just to survive the day or those people who have retired from their service living through their pensions that weren’t even enough for their medications.

Every time I see those people, I aside from feeling their pain, I also feel sorry for them that they weren’t able to see through themselves how poor they are in making financial decisions. From the examples and stories cited by the author, I have felt a stronger urge to push through my plans of being an entrepreneur rather than wasting my most precious asset, my time, in doing things that I would regret to do when I grow old.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 12

It has been a couple of days without writing and I already felt the guilt. There will really be times like this that we had to do real life duties in expense of our planned objectives for the day. As much as I wanted to write for the last couple of days, I wasn’t able to do so for various reasons which is why I am sorry for those who are waiting for me to give my insights on the next chapter.

Chapter 12 with the title “Why investing isn’t risky?” is a very short chapter of about three pages. Instead of giving the reasons why investing isn’t risky, it cited three major reasons why many people think that investing is risky, but the best thing I’ve learned in this chapter was the hints given by the author.

The first hint was that in order to know more about an entity, instead of investing from the outside or through the stock exchange, Mr. Kiyosaki and his rich dad recommends investing from the inside. Another hint was that brokers and fellow traders in the stock exchange are also outside investors who only know a few things about the publicly traded shares of stocks but might not know what was really the standing of the entity itself.

From those two hints, I have thought that the track rich dad and Mr. Kiyosaki wants us aspiring investors to realize is that if we wanted to be good investors, we should look to invest as a business owner rather than looking to gain from the market changes. It makes total sense because once you become a stock holder through the stock exchange, you are still a stranger to an entity even if you had a few number of its shares.

It’s employees, officers and even production sites would not welcome you in an instant by just having a certain amount of their shares. It is clear that what the author wants to emphasize by investing from the inside is to be involved in the decision making, operations and programs of your chosen entity. You should learn their ways and how they do business rather than depending on the little changes in the market value of the shares you hold.

In short, the author wants us to think like entrepreneurs because it is the path where we can learn a lot and adopt concepts and practices that we can use in the future if we chose to establish our own businesses. Depending on market changes through speculation is not a sure thing whereas knowing the plans and status of the business you are interested to invest into is a better option. The author also said that he is to elaborate what investing from the inside means on the next chapter, let’s see in the future if I am now having the grasp of the book itself.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 11

Here am I again imparting what I have learned on a chapter of this book that I loved to read over and over again. Chapter 11 revealed something that most people weren’t able to appreciate. The title was “Each plan has a price”.

Reading through the chapter, I realized the difference of thinking between the rich and the poor. There are a lot of observations cited that was a common behavior of people in money. Most people only realize the value of money but not of time. People are so eager to earn money that they forget to put value in time.

The problem with most people is that they are only seeing the value in money. Yes, money is something that we need to continue living the life we wanted but it has its cost. If it costs us majority of our lifetime to just survive and live the life that we want, would you feel that it’s just right? Don’t you feel that you are robbed of your time? The time that you are still strong, full of energy and drive.

People tend to prioritize being in a secure job until they get old and then regret what they have done once they get old for not maximizing their lives while they are still young. They fail to think ahead, they fail to put their time to good use and they fail to earn more than they could have earned because they hold on to money and does not value their time.

Time is a valuable asset that each and every one of us equally have and if we let those assets go to waste, we could end up like those people who have spent their lives working in a loop without even trying to change our lives. We often save money at the expense of our time and effort but we fail to give more value on our efforts and time.

Saving money is a good practice but we have to also consider the costs. We might be able to save a good amount of money but is it worth our time and effort to do so? Do we really have to cling to money? Is money all that we need in life? Are we meant to work hard for money? Feel free to react using the comments and if you wanted to read more insights, here are the links:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 10

Here we go now on Chapter 10 with the title “Decide now what you want to be when you grow up”. This chapter was full of stories and conversation between rich dad and Mr. Kiyosaki but what the author would want to highlight on this one is for his readers to figure out what they badly want.

The chapter’s lesson was alike the one on Chapter 3 wherein the author made his readers choose between security, comfortable and rich. Once you have decided you now pan out your ways on achieving your goals based on the priorities given. But what I was amazed in this chapter was how rich dad enriched the mind of our lovely author.

I was shocked to know that getting rich is boring for him but it was tested and it works. The problem though with it is that once you get bored, you might be enticed by various investment tools around the market but are risky.

There was also an enlightening conversation wherein a lot of people fail to consider the path of investing and chose to live through their lives doing boring things as employees. The problem with people is that once they are secure, they ended up being contented and would be trapped in a loop.

This chapter alone had opened my mind to look for possible ways of earning without depending on a day job. After learning every bit of information the chapter has to offer, I was able to see and appreciate what life has to offer. That there are other paths that I can take, yet I was afraid because I wasn’t that confident. Because of this chapter, I have become more open and able to see how investing can help my life to become rich, comfortable and secure.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 9

Am I serious? Trying to write another insight on a Sunday night? Well, after writing about Chapter 8 earlier, I felt like something hit me and decided to post another one to compensate everyone for the days that I weren’t able to publish a post.

Well aside from the urge I felt, I have also observed that Chapter 9 is short that I can easily share an insight about it. It was titled “How can you find the plan that is right for you?”. Mr. Kiyosaki mentioned five steps in determining the right plan for you. As much as I want to share the content of the book, I would not go through that as I may become liable for violating copyright issues. Besides, the steps are quite simple and it could be summarized on to one step which is to assess yourself.

Many business enthusiasts fail in business for the very reason that they have failed to determine what their plans are. Most of the times, they are seeking help or advice from family, friends and colleagues but none among those persons have actually helped them. Sometimes we really just have to follow our gut feelings and dreams.

According to Mr. Kiyosaki, once you are certain on the plan that you ought to take, that’s the time that you may talk to others but not necessarily to those who wouldn’t help at all. You can seek professionals like lawyers, accountants, brokers and fellow businessmen. You wouldn’t like to hear from people that doesn’t think the same way you think in pursuing your plans. After all, it will be your life that you want to change and your dreams that you want to become a reality.

This was really a short chapter yet full of content and learning. I was amazed that the author has developed his advice to cope up with everyone of different financial statuses. His steps in determining the right plan was really something that every business enthusiast must follow. The steps are not even hard at all because everyone, once in their lives would come to a point that they ask themselves on what path to take, the only difference was just not everyone have the courage to do what they needed to do in order to succeed.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8

Insights on Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing – Chapter 8

For those who have waited for me to write about my insights and reactions to Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing, I’m very sorry as I am still coping up with the recent events this week. As for those who have no interest at all, please bear with me on this one and the rest to come.

The Chapter was titled as “Getting Rich is automatic, if you have a good plan and stick to it”. On the title alone, you would get the idea that being rich is attainable as long as you stick to your plan. After learning in Chapter 7 what we plan, the author now is giving us the idea that getting rich is certain as long as we keep on track with our plans.

It seems intriguing, in the sense that every aspiring entrepreneur or investor is certain to become rich but not all were able to become one. After reading through the Chapter, I was able to realize what the author wants me to realize from the title of the chapter alone. He wants us, aspiring entrepreneurs to stick to the plan and not get distracted.

Mr. Kiyosaki even mentioned that getting rich is a simple formula and not as complex as everybody does on the stock market with the various formulas and ratios that every stock broker formulates. The problem with the people who wanted to get rich is that they tend to be amazed and feel as if they are not doing good on their plan.

All throughout the chapter, the very concept that the author would want everyone to realize is that getting rich is automatic in the sense that you have to do what you do everyday on a consistent basis until you wake up one day shocked because you have attained your plan to become rich. Many individuals fail in their plan because they seek the thrill and excitement in attaining their plan to get rich that they end up losing everything they have worked for because they got distracted by those exciting investments.

Every business person typically fail in decision making because they tend to accommodate more risk than what they should. It is true that there are a lot of enticing investments and business opportunities in the market right now but all differ in the risks. The problem with people eager to become rich is that they think that they would always get the longer end of the stick, which is not the case in business.

NOTE: IF YOU MISSED THE EARLIER CHAPTERS HERE ARE THE LINKS:

• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7

The thing that ruined my routine

Hello! Here am I again with my fingers on top of my laptop. The feeling I missed a lot in these past week. As much as I wanted to continue on giving chapter insights about Robert Kiyosaki’s Guide to Investing, I would love everybody to know what ruined my routine. It was a pain to spend every night last week playing with my smartphone, watching tv or just laying on the bed. If only a book would fit in my bag, I would love to bring one for that week but I can’t. Last week I attended a seminar on Philippine Public Sector Accounting System (PPSAS), which is the second time that the Philippine Government Accounting System would change in the last thirty (30) years.

 

The seminar/training started from Monday (November 14) and ended on Friday (November 18). It was spearheaded by the Government Accountancy Sector (GAS) of the Commission on Audit (COA) aiming to harmonize the financial statements of all Government Agencies of the Philippines.

The event was hosted by Ms. Cristina C. Gungon, a Training Specialist of COA under the Government Accountancy Sector. She is the one responsible to make our mornings and afternoons fresh and lively. I would say that she have done a pretty good job at the expense of the trainees by requesting us to perform in front, specially the late comers.

The training was held at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildilfe Center in Quezon City from Monday to Friday and at the National Housing Authority for the last day of the training.

This was the entrance to the Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Center. According to our co-trainees, there were the three (3) entrance routes that we can take but I were only able to see the two entry points and only capture one for documentation purposes. (I am sorry for rushing this one but this is the best shot I can get as I am afraid of performing in front)

After a short walk from the entrance, a better signage would welcome you in the vicinity that’s worth to take a picture with.

Being a Wildlife Center, its meant to have many trees around. But the ones that intrigued me more are:

The infamous Balete Trees. A lot of trees can be seen throughout the Wildlife Center but it was the Balete Trees that intrigued me a lot. It was such an art during the day but when it gets dark, it is creepy, I wonder how the people in the vicinity walk through those trees during the dark.

Then there was also a figure of the late Benigno Aquino Jr. The namesake of the Wildlife Center.

But the thing I liked the most on the Wildlife Center was the lake. The air from the lake makes me forget that I was in a poluted city in Metro Manila, it felt like I was in a province.

There was also this “Elephant Sculpture” which is a good spot to take a picture with for tourists. These were some of the things I urged myself to enjoy despite of not being able to keep in touch with everybody, and it sort of fill up the emptiness I am feeling of being unable to write something.

Going back with the seminar, we have made a lot of new friends as there were around seventy (70) of us who attended the event.

And the seminar was filled with a lot of exercises. Exercises to awaken those who feel sleepy during the seminar as well as to grasp quickly what was discussed.

And during the last day, there was a workshop wherein we are tasked to convert our financial statements to the desired reporting standard to be implemented in reporting for the 2016 Financial Statements.

Overall, it was a good training/seminar wherein we are able to refresh and learn a lot. Although no one could easily learn everything from the get go, the good thing is that everyone would implement the desired changes as mandated as well as quipped with the knowledge and know how on preparing the financial statements. Thus, I can say it was still a productive one, but still, it ruined my routine.