I don’t know one person in my sphere of influence that couldn’t use a little extra monetary help. Everyone I know would like to have more money and not have to work so hard everyday to get it. Yet so few people get any income from sources other than their jobs. It doesn’t have to be this way but they do not realize it.

It is important for me to say that I do not think everyone has to have the same goals as me. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur or full time investor. Not everyone wants to or is willing to devote their lives to getting out of the rat race. Some people just want a little more than they’ve got now. There is help out there for all types.

So what can these people do? They say they’ve got no extra money to spend, no time to read or the don’t like reading, they just aren’t smart enough to get the principles of money or it’s all too complicated.

Books

Let’s start with the simple – books. Money should not be an issue when it comes to books. There are cheap books from used book stores and online and then there’s the free library. Reading them should not be an issue either. I know that some books are boring and painful to get through. But if a book is enjoyable and easy to read then it should take no effort. If you really don’t like reading then try an audio book and listen to it in your car on the way to work. I would recommend “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “The Cashflow Quadrant” books by Robert Kiyosaki as a good place to start. They are easy to read and enjoyable books. But there are others. It doesn’t matter, just read something and start changing your perspective on your own money situation.

Games

Games are supposed to be fun so why wouldn’t you play them? Some games actually help to teach you financial skills. Robert Kiyosaki created a game called “Cashflow 101? and it really does teach you to learn how to create and manage your own financial statement and, more importantly, the secret to financial freedom – PASSIVE INCOME. The game is actually pretty expensive, probably because it is not mass-produced, but that doesn’t have to stop you. There are Cashflow clubs all over the country that meet and play regularly. And if you can’t go that far, you can even play now for free at http://www.richdad.com so there should be no excuses.

Networking

Networking with like minded individuals is very important and it doesn’t have to be painful. Golfing, for example, is a great way to meet succesful people. I know many people who love to golf and do so regularly but do not take advantage of the opportunities that might be right in front of their faces. If this is you then the next time you’re out on the course and find yourself in a foursome with people you’ve never met, instead of talking about the Cowboys game last night, try to start up a conversation regarding money, investing or business and see who bites. You never know what you’ll find. Better yet, try to put yourself into new foursomes instead of always playing with the same group of people. You may stumble upon a great investment opportunity that you would never have known about otherwise.

How about your kids’ soccer and Little League games? You ever strike up a conversation with strangers there? Try throwing in questions about what they do for a living. Give them hints that you’re interested in learning to make more money and, again, see who bites. If they don’t bite then don’t push the subject but if they do it might lead you down a road you’ve never been. Everywhere you go you have opportunities to meet people. I’m not saying you need to become a social butterfly just that when you do get into conversations with people at parties, on airplanes or wherever you are, try to casually bring up the topic of money and see what happens.

You can go to REIAs (Real Estate Investment Associations) to meet people interested in Real Estate. You can go to financial seminars. Many of them are very inexpensive or even free because they intend to sell you on expensive things while you’re there. Don’t let that stop you. You do not have to sign up for anything if you show up, in spite of the hard sales tactics, but you may meet people there like you and you never know what that will lead to.

Get in the game

Just about everyone has some money they could use to invest in something. You never know what you’ll learn or what you’ll like until you try it. Sounds like your parents trying to get you to eat broccoli right? But it is true with investing too. Take a bite and see if you like it. You don’t have to eat the whole thing if you don’t want to, just try it. Find something you can invest in like a stock, precious metals, Real Estate, start up a small business that you can do on the side like an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing - look it up), contact me or someone like me, it doesn’t matter what you do, just do something. DO NOT think that putting aside a few dollars from your 401K is doing something. That is taking the easy way out and is a sure way to make someone else rich.

These are all things that anyone could and should do. Everyone is playing the game of money whether they want to or not. It can be fun, exciting and rewarding, but perhaps the way someone is playing it right now it is not fun but rather a struggle. Everyone should devote some time to learning to play it better so they are not always the ones at the bottom always making the ones above them richer.

Over the weekend, we had some friends round, who are interested in getting out of the Rat Race and sorting out their finances. They have read my book, and we have gone through their budgets and spending habits and had a good old sort out already – but they are now interested in the next step.

So – we played Cashflow. This is a board game based around the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki. In it, you are given a profession, with an income after expenses, and with that – you invest in order to get out of the rat race and fulfil your dream.

The four of us picked our profession cards: I ended up as an airline pilot with a Cashflow of $2,600. One of my friends picked the Janitor Card, with a Cashflow of just $650 a month. This is the lowest earning card in the pack. I predicted that the mild mannered Janitor would win the game: and he did.

In fact – no only did he win the game, the rest of us hadn’t even got out of the Rat Race and onto the Fast Track when he did it.

So – why is that predictable? Why do you not have to have a high income to be wealthy?

Because you do not need a high passive income to live on if your expenses are low! The Janitor may have a low income, but he has low expenses: a small mortgage, not many other debts, and when he has a child, the expenses for the child are relatively low (that game seems to assume that the high income earners clothe their children in Baby Gap and send then to private prep schools).

The janitor needed to get a passive income of just $950 to get out of the Rat Race. I needed a passive income of $6,900 to cover my expenses. So basically – if you can cut your expenses; you can retire on your investments quicker.

Not only does the game show that a High Income is not necessary in order to become wealthy – it also shows you how cutting your expenses can affect your outcome. Some expenses in the game – you cannot alter, but you can choose to pay down things like car loans, credit cards and retail debt. Doing that increases your monthly Cashflow and can have quite a positive impact on your game. It also means of course, that you do not need such a high passive income.

If you are thinking of going into investing in any way seriously – I really recommend playing this game. It’s obviously a highly simplified version of real life, but it does teach you a lot about how things work. You can buy and sell shares, property and businesses; you can get downsized; you can have (expensive) children; you get to waste money on Doodads (Rich Dad’s name for anything that wastes your money – like coffee). It is a fun way to learn the basics and to get your head round what you look for in an investment.

Cashflow is a pretty expensive game, so look around for people running games nights in your area. If you can’t find one – contact me and ill see if I can put your in touch with someone running a game.

The game that Robert and Kim Kiyosaki (of Rich Dad Poor Dad) developed – Cashflow 101 and 202 can now be played online for free.

This game is a good way to test your financial literacy and see if you have what it takes to get you out of the rat race.  It is a fun way to learn about investing smart without the risk of real money.

The game is designed to teach you how to think like the rich and learn what it takes to get out of the rat race and live a financially independent life.

There’s no software download required.  You can play right from your internet browser.  And you can play by yourself or with other players online.

All you need to do is register for free.

Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow 101 game is a great learning tool. The following hints have been compiled so that you can get the most value you possibly can from the game. These tips apply to real life as well, so keep your heads up.

1. Don’t cheat. The purpose of the game Cashflow 101 is for you to learn so if you cheat you learn to cheat. Why make money illegally when it is so easy to do it legally?

2. Read the rules. You should especially read the three-hour millionaire piece on the back of the Cashflow 101 rulebook. See also Robert Kiyosaki’s Hot Tips page that comes with the game. Know the legal side of things and listen to the advice of professionals.

3. Find learners to play it with. Find people who want to learn more about investing and money to play with. It is wholly different to play with people with the same money and financial interests, than family and friends who play with you because no one else would. Some action is better than none, but better yet is someone motivated to the action for his/her own personal reasons.

4. Know there will always come another deal. If you haven’t got interest in a deal at this very moment, know that the next deal of the decade is around the corner (or the next card in the deck).

5. Investigate your options. Don’t let a shortage of cash let you out of great deals. There are other people in the game that might be interested in the deals only you’ve got access too.

6. Learn to share. Share deals – split the cost and the return if you feel the risk of borrowing the money is too great.

7. Understand the power of leverage. If that $1 deal comes along and you don’t have any cash, borrow if you must, but take it. This is just one example of how you can leverage of the bank’s money for extraordinary returns.

8. Have backup in a calculator. Yes, you might know your sums pretty well, but it does not hurt to have a calculator handy for estimating how long it will take you to get out of the rat race.

9. Understand potential of grey areas in rules. Yes, rules and laws do not cover everything so there might be some loopholes. But rather than using loopholes, set up a contract that at least two parties can agree to that is a win-win situation for both. Do not see the absence of rules as an obstacle, but rather see it as an opportunity.

For the advanced player:

10. Play it real. Change the job cards to the actual jobs that some of your Cashflow circle members has and see how different people would get out of your financial situation. Example: Job Title – Store Checkout Clerk, Salary $1,500, Taxes $300, Monthly Cashflow $150, etc.

11. Play it real II. Change the Big Deal, Small Deal, Doodad and Market cards to reflect situations that you have been in personally, or where you might land in. Example: Market Card – Lose all assets due to litigation; Doodad – Buy new computer for $1,000 monthly expenses goes up by $150; Small deal – Buy stock in a small-cap company (market card might either quadruple your money or lose your whole investment); etc.

12. Teach and learn. There is always some area where you will be better in than others – why don’t you teach them how they can get better at it. Give and then receive. Allow others to teach you in areas where they are more skilled than you.

1. Simplify and get out of the rat race faster
I noticed that whenever I played the cashflow 101 game and was able to choose a “simple” profession like a truck driver for example, I was able to get out of the rat race faster. 

As a truck driver, although my salary was low, my monthly expenses were also very low. Because I had  low monthly expenses, I already had a positive cashflow and all I needed to do was just get those passive income generating deals.

After each payday, I had more money to invest, and with just a few passive income generating deals, I had enough passive income that exceeded my monthly expenses, and I was able to get out of the rat race faster.

In real life, I am applying the same strategy by reducing my monthly expenses by leading a simple life. This was also described by Bo Sanchez in his book “Simplify and Live the Good Life ” and T. Harv Eker in his book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”.

My family and I lead simple lives, which explains my very low target monthlypassive income which is why I know I am going to get out of the rat race in real life very soon!

2. Start with small deals first, and the big deals will follow
In the beginning of the game, I always chose small deals even if they produced little cashflow. Later on, when the market presents good opportunities, I was able to sell or “flip” these small deals and then I used the profit to buy the bigger deals that produced greater cashflow, allowing me to get out of the rat race.

In real life, I am also following the same path. I focus on single family homes or properties which may produce little cashflow at  the very least, but can actually generate significant profits if “flipped” or sold through “rent-to-own”. I can then use the profit later when they are enough to get bigger deals that can produce bigger positive cashflow.

3. Over-leverage often leads to bankruptcy
During the game, we often encounter great deals that produce a lot of positive cashflow but require a big downpayment and it is tempting to borrow money from the bank just to be able to buy those great deals. However, there is such a thing as becoming over-leveraged which can produce negative cashflow situations because of the high monthly payments for those loans.

Even if one’spassive income is enough to cover the monthly payments for those loans, imagine if something happened and the monthly income of one’s investment properties were affected, suddenly the monthly payments for the loans cause a negative cashflow and can lead to bankruptcy. The same can also happen when one is downsized. This is the reason why one should avoid deals that lead to too much exposure or over-leverage.

Applying this is real life is a no brainer. I would not dare buy those multi-unit apartments unless they were in the same price range as the single family homes I focus on. As mentioned in lesson number 2 above, I can go for those bigger deals later when profits from my small deals are enough.

4. It is better to wait for a good opportunity than settle for those not so good deals
In the game, good opportunities come in the form of deals that have big ROI potential, and can be bought with little or no downpayment, while producing positive cashflow. If any of these elements are missing, I consider a deal as “not so good” and I pass them up and just wait for the good deals.

In real life, I do the same and patiently wait for good opportunities. If a not so good deal comes my way, I can either look for ways to make it into a good deal, or I just pass it up and wait for another more worthwhile deal to pursue.

5. Learn how to spot a good deal and grab it
One of the biggest challenges one faces in the game is how to spot those good deals so that you can grab them. Sometimes a good deal is right under your nose and it slips away because you didn’t realize soon enough that it was a good deal.

I believe spotting good deals is a skill and you can only learn this skill by continuously analyzing deals. Once you get the hang of it, you will start seeing those good deals more often. Normally those deals would have normally slipped away without you knowing it. If you see good deals often, it’s just logical that you will eventually grab one of those deals right?!

6. Learn how to protect your investments
I distinctly remember games where apartment buildings getting toppled by mud and all the cashflow generated by these properties are gone, unless I am covered by insurance.

Does Ondoy and Pepeng ring a bell? Who would have thought that a game like cashflow 101 actually teaches us to protect our investments from such disasters and calamities. Better get your investments insured with “Acts of God” coverage pronto!

7. Net worth is worth less, cashflow is king
Once you play cashflow 101, you will notice its emphasis on the importance of cashflow over one’s net worth. You will see that it really is more important to have positive cashflow frompassive income. What is the use of having a big net worth if you don’t have any positive cashflow?

In real life, we should apply this by focusing on building our positive cashflow with income generating assets. Even if we have to use leverage to buy these assets, it really is okay. We call this good debt. Don’t be afraid to have good debts that buy real assets that produce the cashflow we need to get out of the rat race for real!

Get out of the rat race in the game, and in real life!

So you got out of the rat race when you played cashflow 101. So what?! That’s useless if you don’t take action and apply the lessons you have learned from the game in real life. But playing a game is one thing, doing it in real life is an entirely different thing… or is it?

I can truly say that Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow 101 game is a “life changing” game because my life has really changed ever since I decided to apply in real life the lessons I have learned from it. Take note that I only listed the top 7 lessons I have learned and I can assure all of you that there are more lessons one can learn from this game.

People may find it hard to believe that one can learn so much from a game and can have such a huge impact in life. I guess you just have to play the game and experience it for yourselves.

How about you, have you played Rich Dad’s cashflow 101 game? What did you learn? Are you applying them in real life?

I am still reading Kim Kiyosaki’s Rich Woman and in the true Kiyosaki style she offers some incredible common sense objection handling to the common issues thrown up when it comes to why so few women have succeeded in obtaining financial independence either within a relationship or on their own.

1. I don’t have the time.

2. I am not smart enough.

3. I haven’t got the money.

Now as a mother myself, I can fully relate to the time factor involved with bringing up children, however I take on board Kim Kiyosaki’s viewpoint that if my life depended upon finding the time, I’d have found it somehow.

I concur with the viewpoint that men are not born smarter than women when it comes to finances, in fact biologically women are better equipped for investing than men. ( Kim goes on to show this .)

I began studying investing over 12 years ago, when on regular trips to the USA & Canada I was amazed at the extent of personal finance books, business and self help books available everywhere compared to the extremely limited selection in the UK. ( So I bought several on every trip & changed my course.)

I have been guilty of waiting to hit the big deal, then start investing, and with money to invest too much too soon without first practising, I have set myself a small challenge this week of finding an asset ( something that pays me a positive cashflow ) this week for around £100. I am a massive believer in learn by doing, I have come through all the money management levels required in order to be free to invest in passive income so I will research what is available and do my due diligence.

If you ever come across the chance to play the Cashflow 101 game by Robert Kiyosaki then jump at the chance, you play the part of a Rat, trying to get out of the Rat Race. You collect your Monthly Cashflow payment and decide which small deals provide you with a positive Cashflow, when to convert those samll deals to capital gains to clear liabilities and when to purchase a big deal.

The object of the game ( and is highlighted throughout Kim Kiyosaki’s book ) is Financial Freedom is achieved when your Passive Income pays for your Total Expenses.

Source: http://witoo.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/financial-freedom-is-achieved-through-passive-income/

If you think playing the Cashflow game is just like playing another silly round of Monoploy, then you need to seriously think again.  Cashflow boardgame is not just like a game, it is a educational tool for you to sharpen your finanical acumen and you get to learn different lessons each time you play the game.  

The author of Rat Race Escapes (ratraceescapes.com) shares his learnings from his recently cashflow game:

Sue, Bob, Terry and I played Cashflow 101.

I played the teacher. Because the monthly cash flow is lower than occupations I normally play, it was much longer before I started taking big deals. Things moved pretty slowly for me for quite some time, buying 400 shares of MYT4U at a reasonable price of $10, even though I immediately landed on charity and in my next 3 roles I had for paychecks. Shortly thereafter, I partnered with Bob and Sue on a limited partnership with a doctor’s office and then immediately I was downsized.

Things were looking great when I bought a “great deal” for $35,000, a government owned home with a tenant, for $2000 down and $220 per month cash flow. Just before my next turn, a buyer appeared and I sold the house for $135,000, putting $102,000 in my pocket. I paid my bank loan plus my credit card and retail debt and still had $90,000 in cash!

On my next turn I drew a Big Deal and it was the 60 unit apartment building. Perhaps I should have passed on it. It was initially a net neutral deal for my monthly cash flow: with a down payment of $200,000, I borrowed $110,000 to make up the difference in the cash I had on hand but the $11,000 in monthly cash flow covered the loan. I still had a decent monthly cash flow of about $1600. Had I passed and taken a different big deal on a subsequent turn, I’d have retained cash, increased my cash flow and I may or may not have exited the Rat Race sooner.

After a couple more turns, and starting a software company in my basement, received a paycheck and borrowing more money from the bank, I got laid off again. My cash flow shrank to less than $100 and on a subsequent turn to about -$300. I survived and then sold the limited partnership, double the money for myself and partners and then sold the MYT4U stock for $40 after a split. After paying debt down, I was back to good cash flow and still had cash. In the mean time, Bob exited the Rat Race getting $600,000 as his initial Cash Flow Day.

Bingo, now there was a private lender offering better rates than the bank. I had a Big Deal Opportunity for a 8-Plex but didn’t have the cash for the down payment and there were no partners in sight. But with the private money rates from Bob, borrowing the amount I didn’t have the cash flow made the property cash flow. Bingo!

Now I refinanced my remaining bank debt with Bob increasing my loan from him to $127,000 but my monthly payment was only $6350! Adding the cash flow from the 8-Plex and refinancing the remaining $104,000 bank loan dropped that payment from $10,400 to $5200 and Bob had $6350 cash flow from me in the Fast Track. Great investment for him and such better financing for me that I was immediately out of the Rat Race with passive income of $12,700!

Ultimately I won because of a little luck. I loaned money to Sue in the Rat Race so she could buy a property that now made sense where it wouldn’t have before because the cost of the money would have been too high and I bought several businesses. But I won because the Russian Oil Deal paid off with $75,000 in cash flow.

So I learned two good lessons:

(1) I jumped on a huge deal that immediately netted me no extra income, took all of my cash and gave me a lot of debt. Had I waited for a less expensive big deal, I would have had more flexibility and cash. I don’t know if I would have exited the Rat Race sooner but I do know it wouldn’t have felt like a struggle. Ultimately, despite some financial pain, it still paid off handsomely, primarily when I got to the Fast Track with monthly cash flow of $1.3 Million. Maybe sometimes being circumspect pays off. Or not. It’s a matter of risk tolerance and while I still did the deal, I had less stomach for it than usual.

(2) Debt strategy and exit is a major component of success. Sometimes, paying a seemingly high rate for debt is okay (think hard money, borrowing downpayments, or even using credit cards on a daily basis while running a balance), IF you have exit strategies for this debt. For example, paying down to reduce what you pay monthly is a valid strategy and the only one that “stock” rules allow for. But life isn’t like that. Refinancing and restructuring of debt are real world examples of debt strategies that allow you to get cash or reduce the cost of debt.

Strategies change over time and debt should be no different. Say you bought a property with hard money for the purchase and rehab. You bought well and now the property is occupied and you have an appraisal that shows your debt is 65% of it value. Maybe you paid 5 points are paying 15% on the hard money. You’d want to refinance, right, especially if you could at Fanny Mae rates. You’d cut you debt payments in 1/2!

My strategy changed for debt when Bob got out of the Rat Race since I now could get a money backer that would help me along beautifully while giving him returns he was happy with. I call that WIN-WIN! He got a 60% yield and there’s only one business with that kind of yield in the Fast Track. Does he have risk? Sure, if I were to go bankrupt in the game on unsecured debt, he’d have a problem and lose his money. Would it kill him? Hardly but no one would like it. The bank takes the same risk on bank loans.

I went from struggling to being free because my strategy evolved and I had a new exit. So look for your options and act when conditions change.

Cashflow 202 e-game takes you to the next step of financial skills. It teaches you the advanced skills of technical investing – make money even when the market is going down with stock and real estate options and short selling.

Here’s a sneak peepinto Cashflow 202 e-game if you have not seen it before: