The Opposite of “Get a Good Job”
Chapter Thirteen
The Opposite of “Get out of Debt”
Chapter Fourteen
The Opposite of “Live Below Your Means”
Chapter Fifteen
The Opposite of “Don’t Cheat”
Chapter Sixteen
The Opposite of “The Rich are Greedy”
Chapter Seventeen
The Opposite of “Investing Is Risky”
Chapter Eighteen
The Opposite of “Save Money”
Chapter Nineteen
The Opposite of “An Emergency Is Bad”
Final Thoughts
Afterword
References & Resources
INTRODUCTION
Once Upon a Time…
America was the richest creditor nation in the world.
Once Upon a Time…
The U.S. dollar was backed by gold.
Once Upon a Time…
Printing money was a crime known as counterfeiting.
Once Upon a Time…
A person went to school, got a job, retired young, and lived happily ever after.
Once Upon a Time…
All you had to do was buy a house, and when your house went up in value you were rich.
Once Upon a Time…
All you had to do was invest in the stock market, and when the stock market went up you were rich.
Once Upon a Time…
A college degree meant higher pay.
Once Upon a Time…
Age was an asset.
Once Upon a Time…
A retired person could count on Social Security and Medicare to take care of them.
Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time is over. The fairy tale has ended. The world has changed and continues to change.
Q: So what does a person do now?
A: That’s what this book is about. This book is about a second chance for you, your money, and your life.
This book has three parts: the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Past… examines the real causes of the financial crisis we’re facing.
The Present… analyzes where you are today.
The Future… what is financial education—and why financial education is opposite of traditional education.
The most important word today is crisis. Remember that there are two parts, two sides, to the word crisis: danger and opportunity.
Your second chance requires that you avoid the dangers that lie ahead and be prepared for the opportunities that exist in a growing, global financial crisis.
There are three basic types of financial crashes: Stock market crash, real estate market crash, and a currency collapse.
This book is about a possible currency collapse.
I was in a Starbucks the other day and ran into a friend I had not seen in years. Although happy to see him, I was surprised to find him working behind the counter.
“How long have you worked here?” I asked.
“About five months,” he replied as he took my order.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well, after the market crashed in 2007, I lost my job. I found another one, but that job soon disappeared, too. Finally, after burning through our retirement and savings, we lost our house. We just couldn’t hang on.” He continued: “Don’t worry. We’ve been working. We’re not unemployed. We both have jobs, but we’re not making much money. So I work here, at Starbucks, to make a few bucks. Get it, I work for bucks at Starbucks?” He said, laughing out loud.
Stepping aside so the customers behind me could place their orders, I asked, “So what are you doing for your future?”
“I’m back in school. I’m getting another Masters degree. It’s kind of fun being in school again. I even take a few classes with my son. He’s earning his first Masters degree.”
“Paid for with student loans?” I asked.
“Yeah. What else can we do? I know they’re terrible loans. I know I’ll be working for the rest of my life, just to pay off my loan. My son has more time to pay off his. But we all need more education if we want high-paying jobs. We have to make money. We need to earn a living. So we’re in school.”
I paid for my coffee and was handed a steaming cup. When I offered him a tip, he refused… and I know why he refused. So I wished him luck, and walked out the door.
Part One of this book is about the past. More specifically, how we got into this global financial crisis.
As George Orwell wrote in his book 1984,
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
WHY THE RICH DON’T WORK FOR MONEY
“They’re playing games with money… Our wealth is stolen via the money we work for.”
– R. Buckminster Fuller
Rich Dad Poor Dad was self-published in 1997. It had to be a self-published book because every major publisher we pitched it to turned it down. A few publishers commented, “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
Some of the points they objected to were my rich dad’s statements such as:
1. Your house is not an asset.
2. Savers are losers.
3. The rich don’t work for money.
Ten years later, in 2007, the subprime mortgage crisis hit and millions of homeowners found out—first hand—that