An Exclusive PINK Interview with Robert Kiyosaki May 22, 2013Expert BlogsOff

A look at his new book, “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students”
 
Many of you know of Robert Kiyosaki as an advocate for financial education and author of the personal finance book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” Well, now he has a new book that gives parents a guide to financial education for their children. “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students” targets the important lessons parents need to teach their children at home. In an interview for PINK, Robert shared his thoughts…
 
Why should PINK readers and other parents out there read your book?
 
Our schools are not preparing your children for the real world because they don’t teach kids about money. Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers…and I wrote “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students—and ‘B’ Students Work for the Government” to help every parent develop his or her child’s financial genius and put them on a path where they won’t need to rely on a job or a government pension to feel secure.
 
Why do you feel financial education is so important today?
 
Like it or not, money is a part of our everyday lives. It’s essential that all kids have a basic, financial  education and understand assets, liabilities, income, expenses, debt, and other words in the vocabulary of money. In the real world, bankers don’t care about your report card card. They look at your financial statement and can tell how smart you are with your money. As the financial crisis escalates, due in large part to bankrupt social programs and the growing entitlement mentality, your child and his or her generation will shoulder the burden of aging baby boomers and higher taxes.
 
Look at the athletes kids look up to. Statistics show that NBA stars and professional football players are bankrupt five years after retirement. These ultra-rich athletes go broke, just like lottery winners who win millions, because they don’t know what to do with their money. They usually turn it over to financial planners, attorneys and others who often squander (and even steal) that money. So even if your children become rich, they can still go broke for the same reason the poor and much of the middle class continues to struggle: the lack of financial education in our schools.
 
Where did you learn to be rich?
 
I learned to get rich at home. This is my whole point—and the reason I wrote this book for parents. If you, as a parent, tell your child, “Go to school. Get a job. Work hard. Save money. Buy a house because it’s an asset and put your savings and retirement money into a 401k,” you’re teaching your child to be poor. I go into more detail about why this is bad information and obsolete advice in the book, but basically, people who become employees or are self-employed, who save money and buy a house and put their money into a 401K, pay the highest taxes. Taxes are our largest, single expense…which is why it’s so important for kids to have a basic understanding of taxes and how different choices in life can impact their tax burden in different (often positive) ways.
 
The financial crisis has just started, and I say this because the majority of my generation, the 65 to 85 milllion of us baby boomers, have no money. And what that means is when social programs—like Social Security, Medicare, and now Obamacare—implode, guess who’s going to pay for it? Your kids! We’re broke. And I keep asking the question, “Why don’t we teach kids about money in schools?” So the reason I wrote this book is to provide a guidebook for parents, a way to give your kids a head start in life—because schools are not going to teach them about money. But parents can, in small and important ways… every day, at home.
 
Many PINK readers are entrepreneurs. How can they give their kids a financial education at home?
 
It doesn’t need to be difficult or stressful. And you can make it fun. I outline specific activities parents can do with their children at the end of each chapter of the book. Just think about turning your home into an active learning environment and use things that happen every day to teach your children about money.
 
For example, when you get a bill in the mail, show your child how it is paid, where the money comes from to pay it and what happens if you don’t pay it. You can also plan a game night and play Monopoly®, CASHFLOW® or another financial game. Once your mind is opened to opportunities to teach and learn together, you’ll find all kinds of ways to increase your child’s understanding of money. Read the newspaper together, discuss television shows about money, and talk about how taxes are deducted from your paycheck—and your employees’ paychecks—to fund government programs and federal and state tax liabilities. The key is to start teaching your children about money as soon as possible, because it will give them an unfair advantage of having a financial education. How do “C” students beat “A” students? By studying what “A” students don’t’ study: Money.
 
Thanks for the information Robert!
 
To find out more about Robert Kiyosaki’s new book, “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Student—and ‘B’ Students Work for the Government,” visit www.richdad.com
 
Melanie Rembrandt is the CEO of Rembrandt Communications, a company that helps businesses boost sales, awareness and credibility with SEO copywriting and PR strategies. For more information, visit www.rembrandtwrites.com.

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