avatarNitin Sharma

Summary

The author, inspired by "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," advocates for proactive wealth accumulation through side hustles and skill development rather than traditional long-term investment strategies.

Abstract

The author shares a personal journey sparked by the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," which led to a profitable side hustle in technical writing. Disappointed by the repetitive and unhelpful nature of many financial books, the author emphasizes the importance of leveraging current trends and skills to generate income within a few years, rather than waiting decades for compounded returns. The author argues that starting a side hustle based on one's expertise can be more rewarding than relying solely on a traditional job and passive investing. They encourage learning new skills, mastering them, and diversifying investments to make more money and avoid the pitfalls of inflation and unforeseen circumstances.

Opinions

  • Many financial books are considered poorly written, uninteresting, and fail to deliver on their promises.
  • Traditional financial advice, such as saving for retirement over many decades, is deemed less viable and less rewarding.
  • Earning money through a side hustle or personal business ventures is seen as a more effective way to build wealth and enjoy life.
  • The author believes that reliance on a single source of income, such as a job, is insufficient to combat inflation and secure financial stability.
  • Investing in oneself by acquiring new skills is advocated as a better use of time than reading repetitive financial advice.
  • The author values active income strategies and personal development over passive investment strategies for immediate and tangible financial gains.
  • Despite advocating for active income generation, the author also acknowledges the importance of investing and diversifying income streams.

I Hate Financial Books

Photo by frame harirak on Unsplash

When I was 19 years old, I discovered Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a popular book that discusses personal finance and investing.

Yes, I love it.

This book inspired me to start looking for ways to make money, even at a young age. As a result, I stumbled upon the world of technical writing, which I soon realized could serve as a lucrative side hustle.

I dedicated most of my evenings to improving my technical writing skills, and over time, I became quite proficient. By the time I graduated from college, I had built up a solid portfolio of work and was able to land a job in the field. This allowed me to start making a good income from my side hustle.

Given my interest in making more money and personal finance, I continued to seek out books on the subject. However, I found that many of the other books I read were not as impactful as “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”.

In fact, I found them to be quite disappointing. Despite my initial excitement to learn more about finance and investing, I often found myself feeling bored or frustrated after reading just a few pages.

I soon realized that the problem was not with me, but with the books themselves. Many of them were poorly written, uninteresting, or simply did not deliver on their promises. After purchasing several books that did not meet my expectations, I decided to stop wasting my time and money on them.

Most of them are saying the same thing: save more, invest more, build wealth over time, avoid falling into debt traps, have an emergency fund of six months, avoid credit card debt, and other nonsense.

Yes, I understand this, but can you provide more information on how individuals can accumulate wealth within a few years and generate more money to enjoy their adulthood?

I realize that accumulating wealth takes time, but not so much that you have to blindly invest for 50 years before seeing any returns from compounded interest. Instead, focus on the latest trends and skills you can learn, and spend time developing them so that in the next 5 years, they can become a significant source of income.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that many individuals are making money this way. I have several friends who have a business, a side hustle, or a skill that generates substantial income. Even, I spent two years writing and made a decent amount of money from it.

And speaking the truth, money makes money. The more money you have the more you enjoy, the more you make, and the more you can spend time with your family.

To me, the idea of getting a well-paying job, working for 30 years, and then relying on compounded returns from stocks doesn’t seem like a viable option. And, believe it or not, most of us start earning income after the age of 20, so even saving for the next 30 years make no sense.

Instead of that, I would work from 9 to 5, and instead of spending the remaining time watching Netflix, I would start a side hustle that could help me make money within a year or two based on my expertise.

If you ask me, I have already done that.

After graduation, I worked with two startups while also earning well through my side hustle. Eventually, I quit my job and started working on my own projects, which gave me much more happiness than just saving money for the next 30–40 years to get compounded returns.

I understand that some of you may not agree with me, but earning a low-paying job or working for a company will not make you enough money to enjoy life. Inflation can quickly erode your savings, and you never know what the future holds. You may fall sick, your country may face a crisis, or the company where you’ve invested all your savings may go bankrupt or scam you.

Instead, it’s better to learn a new skill, spend most of your time mastering it, diversify your investments, and work on becoming a better person every day. By doing so, you can make more money and avoid wasting your time reading the same financial advice over and over again.

I don’t mean to suggest that you shouldn’t invest your money in the stock market or other sectors for your future. I myself invest a significant portion of my income. However, what I’m trying to say is that blindly following financial advice and working like a slave for the next 30 years, only to then finally start enjoying life, doesn’t make sense to me.

And please don’t read tons of financial books, as they often repeat the same information in different ways.

Hope you like it.

That’s it — thanks.

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