Wisdom of Rich Dad

I’m a sucker for tradition.  Actually, I am a fan of nostalgia – things that make you warm and gooey and bring you back to the days of your youth.  When it comes to issues of personal finance, however, nothing I was taught (even the more “traditional” lessons) really panned out for me.  While I’m a big believer in balancing the budget, following the law, and doing your share, I won’t teach my kids money lessons that are popular simply because they are old.  Here are a few examples of lessons that are still being handed down from generation to generation – but that really need to stop.

“Be a Company Man”
There are two problems with this lesson.  First, there are no company “men”.  Just as many women are pulling down a fair wage in today’s economy, and the occasional guy who spouts this lesson may also still think “women shouldn’t be in the workplace”.  The second issue I have with this is becoming more obvious in this current economy.  Companies try to take care of workers, but they can only do so much.  Be a family man.  Be a man of truth.  Be a funny man.  But don’t ever base your identity solely on the corporation who signs your checks.

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In the wake of the financial crisis, “Sesame Street” is teaching children financial literacy. Ron Lieber talks to Elmo about saving and sharing.

In his prime, Johnny Unitas was the guy you wanted quarterbacking a football team. The Hall of Famer set seven lifetime NFL passing records during his storied career. But he might not be your pick to run a circuit-board maker.

In 1984, Unitas and partners bought National Circuits for $3.5 million. The company foundered, and six years later they could only sell it for $1 million. Unitas declared bankruptcy in 1991 after he couldn’t pay back loans he took to purchase National.

“The No. 1 reason athletes lose money is they invest in areas they don’t really understand and not related to their expertise,” says Alan Lancz, a wealth manager who works with a number of professional athletes.

Björn Borg’s another good example. When he retired from tennis at the age of 27 in 1983, the Swede had won 11 Grand Slam championships. He tried to replicate his on-court success in the world of fashion with the Björn Borg Design Group; it didn’t work.

The company quickly ran into liquidity problems and shut down in 1989. Borg refused to take outside financing for fear of losing control of the company. Creditors later sued Borg, but he claimed he couldn’t pay because he was “more or less bankrupt.”

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In conjunction with World Children’s Day, Hartamas Shopping Centre (HSC) and Yuber, which provides child training services, organised the Kids Marketplace recently to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in youths.

The highlights at Kids Marketplace included the Kids Entrepreneurship contest, Cashflow 101 for Kids Challenge, workshops by Yuber and a green bazaar.

A total of 39 teams comprising 78  youngsters participated in the Kids Entrepreneurship contest for the chance to win holiday packages, Yuber scholarships and the grand prize of an Asus Notebook.

Participants  who were grouped under the junior (aged 8-12) and senior (aged 13-18) categories competed for the Best Display, Most Creative and the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Awards.

The Most Promising Young Entrepreneur, in particular, were judged based on creativity and leadership skills, as well as the ability to make the most profit from an undertaking.

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Women need to get smarter about their money says Nicole Pederson Mckinnon editor of Smart Investor Magazine.

Should couple share financial responsibility?

In The Education of Millionaires, author Michael Ellsberg details the successes of a number of “self-educated” billionaires, including hair-care magnate John Paul DeJoria, Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Sean Parker, fashion designer Mark Ecko, Hip Hop and fashion mogul Russell Simmons, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg.

Like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates before them, these highly successful entrepreneurs either dropped out of college or never enrolled in the first place, once again raising questions about the value of a higher education.

“If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer [and] go into a traditional profession, [college] makes a lot of sense,” Ellsberg says. “But for people who have no idea…$50,000 a year is an expensive way to figure out what you want to do with your life.”

In the accompanying video below, the author and Forbes blogger discusses the common traits and the 7 Core Success Skills he gleaned from these titans of industry:

• Learn How to Sell
• Learn Marketing
• The “Right” Way to Network with Big Wigs
• Define Your Vision
• Invest in Yourself
• Build the Brand of “You”
• Take an Entrepreneurial Mindset

“These are the real world skills we don’t learn in college,” Ellsberg says, stressing, as the subtitle of his book indicates, “it’s not too late” to learn these lessons, even if you did go to college.