From the title of this post, you would see some similarities between Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I think many of us have had a Rich Dad Poor Dad experience in life. Mine came a little later and was more of a Rich Teacher Poor Teacher experience.
Very early on in my career, I had the privilege of meeting two other colleagues who were teaching in the same department as me. One of them was my rich teacher, while the other was my poor teacher. Both of them taught me some very important lessons that has helped in my finances as well as my career. Well, one of them at least.
Invest Early
My rich teacher used to say that it is never too early to invest, speaking of the importance of not just saving up but in investing in mutual funds and stocks for the future. My rich teacher used to say that you are never too poor to put some cash away for investment purposes even when my pay was lower. Sooner or later, my rich teacher mentioned that the constant investing would become a habit no matter how much you put away. After that, the magic of compound interest would happen. This was by far one of the best advice very early on in my career.
My poor teacher however would advise that I was still young and I should spend my time doing something useful. By definition of useful, he meant partying on Friday nights. Investing, according to my poor dad was something that I should not have to worry about too early on in my life. I've got to say that I would have followed his advice if not for his constant complaining of financial woes.
Buy Assets Quick
My rich teacher also advised that I accumulate assets as quickly as I could. I was encouraged, nay, strongly encouraged me to buy my first house as soon as I was able to. To show how serious my rich teacher was, I was taken house hunting by my rich teacher. One of the main reasons as pointed out by my rich teacher was that the price of a house would never depreciate as there is always demand. To this day, it has not. If I were to buy a house now, it would have cost me double the price. Thus, I am thankful for my rich teacher pushing for me to do so very early on in my career.
My poor teacher however had other ideas, stating the convenience of renting as a reason to never have to buy a house. Assets according to my poor teacher was the need for a better and bigger car, you know, for the ladies. Investing in a nicer car was an asset as it helped in making me look cooler.
Find A Niche & Stick With It
If you have read Robert Kiyosaki's book, the first two points are not exactly new. My rich teacher, being a teacher also gave me advice on issues that would make me 'rich' in my career. Unlike my poor teacher who was contented to just go with the flow and repeat the same tasks daily, my rich teacher challenged me to go further. My rich teacher sat me down and spoke to me about the importance of finding my niche and pursuing it.
Niche in this case refers to being an expert in something. This niche can become the subject of my masters thesis as well as my doctorate thesis. The point was to be an expert in my field which would increase my employability. Not to mention, some really fulfilling projects that has benefited other institutions. This has opened up opportunities that I would not have otherwise gotten if I had just went with the flow.
Invest In Certification
Another great advice from my rich teacher was to not wait to pursue a higher certification. I was planning to wait at least two years to pursue my masters. My rich teacher however pointed out that there was no sense and the sooner I started the better. My rich teacher pointed out that it is true that a teacher's ability can't be measured purely on certification. However, the decision makers would pay attention first to certification first. Thus, even if I can be promoted, having a higher certification would make the process smoother.
My poor teacher however had a different point of view. Certification is useless as my poor teacher would leave it to the students to decide how good my poor teacher was. I figured why not just pursue a higher certification while doing a good job as a teacher. After all, there was no reason why I could not do both.
Conclusion
I may not be like the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, financially free and rich. However, I dare say that I am much better off following the advice of my rich teacher. It has helped alleviate much stress that I could be facing now if I had followed the advice of my poor teacher.
What is most amazing is that my rich teacher would spend time investing in my life. I hope that one day I would be a rich teacher to someone else. I hope the post was informative, do you have a rich dad or a rich teacher in your life? Do let me know in the comments below.