By Jill Fraser
Kim Kiyosaki says the world would be a better place if there were more wealthy women in it.
"Something that puts money in your pocket without needing to sell it."
"Women have much less ego and more emotional intelligence AND are not afraid to ask for help."
Kim Kiyoksaki contends that becoming rich is a natural progression of possessing basic financial nous. Her focus on creating more wealthy women is based on some sobering US statistics, which reveal that:
Educating women in financial literacy is Kiyosaki‘s objective. "If more women were financially secure many of the social problems would be relieved," she says. Kim Kiyosaki, wife of Robert Kiyosaki, author of international best seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad, has emerged from the shadow of her famous husband as a savvy businesswoman and an inspirational and motivational role model in her own right.
She has built a multi-million dollar real estate empire and is a powerful advocate of women who want to achieve financial freedom and a passionate promoter of financial independence for women who have yet to realize the implications of its polar opposite, financial dependence.
But she doesn´t mind admitting that she had no interest in money and hadn´t even contemplated the concept of financial independence until she witnessed her father´s loyalty to the company he´d served for the better part of his adult life rewarded with a golden handshake. She says that this experience made her determined to never be in that position.
"That drove me to never want to be a life-long employee," she says. Her focus is on educating people, particularly women, about financial literacy. She is directing her message specifically to women because "when it comes to money men and women are different – historically, psychologically, mentally and emotionally".
These differences, she maintains, are at the heart of the reason why so many women are in the dark when it comes to money and investing.
"We women do some ridiculously stupid things in our lives – all revolving around money – and it´s time we got smarter about the subject," she declares.
"In this age of de-facto relationships and divorce women need to learn to safeguard their financial futures and the only person they should rely on financially is themselves if they want to avoid financial disaster."
Kiyosaki lists the following as examples of a few of the "stupid" things that women do around money:
She refers to herself as "a bold-20-something year old" when she met Robert. On their first date he asked what she wanted to do with her life.
She told him that she had aspirations to run her own business. That was February 1984 and one month later they began their first joint business venture selling items of clothing with the words Win/Win emblazoned on them. By December that year they were broke, without work and at times homeless and forced to sleep in their old beat up car.
The turning point came after a simultaneous "aha" moment in which the young couple both arrived at the same point at the same time.
"We stopped feeling sorry for ourselves," says Kiyosaki. "I basically got tired of being a victim and said to hell with this."
They decided that the way out of the mess was to build their business as opposed to getting jobs and working for other people.
"We knew that if we went for the comfort of the pay cheque we might never build our business," she says.
Based on the advice that Robert´s ‘Rich Dad´ had given him (in essence that the rich think differently) the couple began building an education company focused on entrepreneurship.
They married in 1986 and retired in 1994 and Robert set about writing Rich Dad Poor Dad, which carries the subtitle What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Kim Kiyosaki´s foray into real estate investing began in 1989 with the purchase of a small 2-bedroom / 1 bath rental property in Portland, Oregon.
"It wasn´t the sale of our company that allowed us to retire," she says. "We were able to retire because of our investments."
The investment formula Kiyosaki uses is one that Robert´s Rich Dad gave him. It´s founded on what Kiyosaki admits is her unmitigated passion, "cash flow".
"Cash flow is what gives you freedom," she says. "People invest for one of two reasons – cash flow or capital gains. Capital gains is a one-time profit. Cash flow is ongoing profit."
Kiyosaki buys and creates assets that generate cash flow. The bottom line she says is Robert´s Rich Dad´s definition of an asset, which is "something that puts money in your pocket without needing to sell it".
Therefore, for example, a diamond bracelet, a painting or an owner occupied dwelling that have to be sold in order to bring in money would not be perceived by her as assets.
"The cash flow from my assets pay for my living expenses," she says. "Once my monthly cash flow is equal to or greater than my monthly living expenses I am financially free."
Financial freedom for women is her catch cry and to achieve this, she suggests, will often require a shift in mindset around the false notion that "putting your financial life in someone else´s hands or ignoring the financial side of your future may lead to a desirable outcome".
Acknowledging that many women face a fear of the unknown when it comes to investing Kiyosaki recommends education through investment clubs, financial newspapers and the internet and once you´ve satisfied yourself with research "take a leap and grab the bar".
Kiyosaki opted for real estate over shares because "you´re in control – you can control the income, the expenses and the debt - whereas if you buy a stock you´re in the hands of what that company does and the decisions it makes".
Having armed yourself with education Kiyosaki advises "start small, put a little money down" and when buying real estate "stay close to home" in order to keep your finger on the pulse in the area in which you´re investing.
According to Kiyosaki the eight reasons why women make good investors are:
Confessing that she is a pessimist about where the market is heading (her prediction is that it will remain down for three to five years) Kiyosaki says she is an optimist regarding the opportunities that are available.
"Now is the time to get smarter with your money," she declares. "What worked for you in the past, may not work for you in these upcoming economic times.
"Read, study, and learn. Be careful of who you are taking financial advice from. Is the person really there to advise you or are they there to sell you something? The one person who is ultimately responsible for your financial well-being is you. It´s up to you to get more educated and to get smarter about managing and growing your money."
