The game of us all.
Hello my friends,
I hope you are fine. Today I'll post briefly about a game we all play:
The game of money!
I'll now zoom out a bit to give a broader perspective of how all this works.
We all have money or want to have it.
We all use money or want to use it.
We all want to have more money because of what we can buy with it.
For all these and other reasons most people work for money, right?
Well... for the sake of this argument let's say money and currency are the same thing... then yes!
We all play the same game. We are all pieces of the big game of money.
Some know they are playing and do something about it.
Those who are aware of it usually know the rules, set goals, design plans and are most likely to succeed.https://www.steemimg.com/image/9tDQS
After my other post regarding Robert Kiyosaki's definitions of assets and liabilies (https://steemit.com/money/@rmach/assets-vs-liabilities-robert-kiyosaki-insights)
Some know something is going on but just live one day after the other.
They rule their finantial lives based on instict, based on the news or based on obsolete advice that was once good advice. They usually end up not reaching their full potential, living a mediocre life according to their expectations and blaming the boss, the government and the world altogether.
Some don't have a clue...
... and either blame everyone else or don't even have an opinion because they believe "it's just the way things are".
This is just the reality and I don't like it a bit.
The first thing to do when you want to make a change or to start building a plan, is to know where you are!
But you also need to know where you could be.
"Where am I operating from?"
"Where should I be operating from to get me where I want to be?"
The greater picture is explained by Robert Kiyosaki in his book:
"Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom"
Get a quick understanding here:
There are four major ways to make a living. These are represented by the four quadrants E, S, B and I.
The left side of the quadrant is where most people are. They exchange time for money. Their time is limited so the income is as well. They also pay the most taxes.
E(mployee) - People who value security over freedom. They look for a secure job with benefits. They have a job.
S(elf-employed) - Small business owners that in reality don't own a business but a job. They own their job and may offer a few jobs to other people. Why isn't it a business? Because the owner is needed to keep it working. If it doesn't run without you it's not a business, it's a job.
The right side of the quadrant is where big money is. It's also were the bigest tax breaks are. Not a coincidence...
B(usiness) owner - This is the real business! It relies on systems and not on person X or Y. This is where big corporations are placed on the quadrant. The company creates many jobs and that's why it has tax breaks. Owners have people working for them. The income arrives passively.
I(nvestor) - They have money working for them and may even pay 0% in taxes if they reinvest it a way that is important to society and/or profitable to the market.
An important conclusion to extract from the cashflow quadrant has to do with the tax system. Apart from strange moves governments sometimes do, the tax system is no more than a system of incentives. He who invests and create jobs, bringing life solutions and wealth to others should receive tax breaks. Imagine if basic products or services were not provided by investors and businesses... let's say no one builds houses. What should the government do? Build houses for everyone or give tax breaks for companies that are willing to do it? A lot can be analysed and discussed on this topic. Taxes are not the purpose of this post but the tax system explains why the cashflow quadrant is the way it is.
There is no good or bad quadrants. It entirely depends on what you like and want. If you want to change quadrant but you cannot do it at once, just find a way to do it gradually. Stay in your quadrant and find time to start operating from another one as well.
People usually look for diversification as a strategy for savings. The way I view it, operating from different quadrants is a diversification strategy for income.
https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dads-CASHFLOW-Quadrant-Financial/dp/1612680054/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 http://www.richdad.com/Resources/Rich-Dad-Financial-Education-Blog/May-2013/do-you-own-a-job-or-a-system.aspx (source: http://3tags.org/article/the-cash-flow-quadrant)
I played his game (the actual game board) as well as in real life... it changed the game with no looking back.
I tried it online and then I downloaded the smartphone version and became addicted immediately.
I though about starting kind of a club with friends to play the game board. People seem so far away from all this that I doubt I can convice anyone but some day I'll give it a try.
Robert puts it really simple to understand. Most of it goes against we are used to hear but that's the magic of it.
I'm glad you liked it