What is FINANCIAL LITERACY?

Financial literacy simply means that you are educated in terms of money.

Most of us are encourage by our parents to study hard, obtain high grades, and obtain high educational attainment so that we can have the best job offer and the highest paying job in a good company that offers good benefits. Middle class and poor class follow this pattern but the rich don't. Culturally we are shaped to follow one path and that is to finish our education and work for money. That is what a successful future means to us. However, Robert Kyosaki author of Rich Dad Poor Dad called this a "trap in a rat race". We are never educated to learn how to let money work for us. We are so comfortable with paycheck to paycheck. We do not entertain the possibility of becoming the employer, the investor, the earner of passive income. So heres the basic lessons that Rober Kyosaki learned and wanted the poor and the middle class to learn:

1. The rich don't work for money. "The poor and middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them," he would say to me. The rich buy or create assets that work for them so they don't have to.
2. Why teach financial literacy? You need to understand the difference between an asset and a liability. An asset puts money in your pocket and a liability takes money from your pocket. The rich understand the difference and buy assets, not liabilities.
3. Mind your own business. Many people confuse their profession with their business. To become financially secure people need to mind their own business. Your business revolves around your asset column, as opposed to your income column. The rich focus on their asset columns while the poor and middle class focus on their income columns.
4. The history of taxes and the power of corporations. The Tax Code of the United States provides many vehicles for people to save on their taxes. Most of these vehicles are available to anyone but it is the rich who usually look for them and use them because they have learned to "mind their own business." For example an individual can utilize the tax advantages and protection provided by a corporation to get rich much faster than someone who is an employee or a small-business sole proprietor.
5. The rich invent money. Great opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with your mind. Most people never get wealthy simply because they are not trained financially to recognize opportunities right in front of them. The rich have learned to recognize opportunities as well as how to create them.
6. Work to learn--don't work for money. To become successful you must learn how to manage cash flow, systems and people. Being in the Marines taught me leadership and working in sales for Xerox taught me how to sell and how to accept rejection. All of these skills were important for my success. Look for jobs that can help you develop the skills of managing cash flow, systems and people rather than just pay you well.