THE RAT RACE WE ALL RACE AGAINST

Many individuals grow up having dreams of ending a cycle of poverty in their lives and family background. Many start well but along the line are influenced by false practices that make them believe they will be regarded as rich by following that trend. Before I dissect into this topic I make no firm guarantee that I am a professional or elite that has succeeded in getting rich or driving poverty out of my doorsteps. Saying this will be a fallacy. Now that I have made this point clear I will say that this content was inspired from a book in the series of Robert T. Kiyosaki.

Have you ever wondered why many people are always in debt and just asking for a mere US$300.00 will be like a war between North Korea and the United States of America? Well that’s because all they have acquired is liabilities that they are made to believe are assets. Before going further I will like to explain in a lay man’s language what assets and liabilities are. From the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki made a clear distinction of those two terms very simply. He explained assets as anything that puts money in your pocket and liabilities as anything that takes money out of your pocket. So simply puts, assets brings you additional income whiles liabilities drains you of money. So take a closer look at your home, what is draining money out of your pocket and what adds money to your home. Some will have a long argument over what they believe to be assets that are really liabilities, but the earlier you make the decision the better your future will be secured. And of course without connecting to a power source such as a Supreme Being your future is shaky. So whiles acquiring financial knowledge it is also crucial to be connected to a power source.

Now I will try and give practical examples of what a lot of people consider assets that are really liabilities. There is nothing wrong in building a house or buying a new car. Many young people after getting a job, dream of doing this first. In a country where the cost of renting a house keeps on escalating, people always dream of owning their own houses. But in building the house does it really brings you additional income, that’s if you plan to stay in yourself. Where did the money for the building come from? Was it a mortgage that your bankers promised will pay for itself that you will end up working your entire life paying for? If it was a gift well, then you have crossed a big hurdle. Now after building that house what really goes into that home is another ball game all together. Talk of bills that you work overtime at your work place to pay. Some even end up taking additional jobs just to pay bills. They receive their incomes which their bank will deduct that mortgage from and bills can consume almost up to 60% of the remaining amount. The rest is used for buying foodstuffs for the home and with nothing to pay for tuition fees of the kids if any they run back to their bankers for an educational loan for their kids. Well this cycle is what is called the “Rat Race” .Their kids will end up paying for these educational loans if the parents are unable to pay up in time.

Have you ever wondered why smart phones gets cheaper as they become popular? Well the real question you should be asking is that what really happens after buying that smart phone that you cherish so much. Have you ever wondered how much you spend on data? Research have shown data as smart phones gets more popular, the cost of using data as compared to voice have increased at a very high rate. People now consume 5 times more data as compared to voice. This is because a smart phone comes alive with the internet. But have you ever wondered what happens when your smart phones comes alive with the internet? (That is a question for a whole new content later) consider how much you spend a week in buying airtime just to browse. And you all will agree with me that if not for Wi-Fi, using mobile data on a smart phone is extremely expensive. But in a country where internet penetration is still developing one has no option but to rely heavily on mobile data. All these expenses are liabilities that drain money out of our home.

Now for those who just buy a car to please a couple of friends or neighbor you thought I have forgotten about you. Well here is yours. You just took a loan from your bank just to buy a car you can hardly afford to use. Of late the price of using a car has quite become expensive. Take a look at cost of fuel and other lubricants to keep the car running. All these without a steady flow of income, aside that salary of yours will also drain money out of you. The question you should always ask yourself is that can I really afford to use a car, not just buy a car. That 10 years loan that took from your bank will also turn your life into a race as you take additional jobs just to pay off that loan.

Now let us also look at assets with the same examples above. A car can be an assets based on the definition of assets. An asset is anything that puts money into your pocket. So taking a loan or buying a car with your savings can become an asset for you if it brings you income. A house can also be an asset if it also brings you income in the form of rent. That smart phone that you use can also be an asset if you find a way to generate income with it.

So again look around your home, what is really draining you of money and what brings you income. That is a question for you alone to answer