Rich Dad Poor Dad is a starting point for anyone looking to gain control of their financial future

To successfully pay yourself first, keep the following in mind:
1. Don’t get into large debt positions that you have to pay for. Keep 
your expenses low. Build up assets first. Then buy the big house or 
nice car. Being stuck in the Rat Race is not intelligent.
2. When you come up short, let the pressure build and don’t dip
into your savings or investments. Use the pressure to inspire 
your financial genius to come up with new ways of making more 
money, and then pay your bills. You will have increased your 
ability to make more money as well as your financial intelligence.
So many times I have gotten into financial hot water and used my 
brain to create more income while staunchly defending the assets in my 
asset column. My bookkeeper has screamed and dived for cover, but I 
was like a good soldier defending the fort—Fort Assets.
Poor people have poor habits. A common bad habit is innocently 
called “dipping into savings.” The rich know that savings are only used to 
create more money, not to pay bills.
I know that sounds tough, but as I said, if you’re not tough inside, 
the world will always push you around anyway.
If you do not like financial pressure, then find a formula that works 
for you. A good one is to cut expenses, put your money in the bank, pay 
more than your fair share of income tax, buy safe mutual funds, and take 
the vow of the average. But this violates the pay-yourself-first rule.

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Chapter Eight: Getting Started
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This rule does not encourage self-sacrifice or financial abstinence. It 
doesn’t mean pay yourself first and starve. Life was meant to be enjoyed.
If you call on your financial genius, you can have all the goodies of 
life, get rich, and pay bills. And that is financial intelligence.
6. Pay your brokers well: the power of good advice 
Sometimes I see people posting a sign in front of their house that
says, “For Sale by Owner.” Or I see people on TV claiming to be
“Discount Brokers.”
My rich dad taught me to take the opposite approach. He believed
in paying professionals well, and I have adopted that policy also.
Today, I have expensive attorneys, accountants, real estate brokers,
and stockbrokers. Why? Because if, and I do mean if, the people are
professionals, their services should make you money. And the more 
money they make, the more money I make.
We live in the Information Age. Information is priceless. A good 
broker should provide you with information, as well as take the time to 
educate you. I have several brokers who do that for me. Some taught 
me when I had little or no money, and I am still with them today.
What I pay a broker is tiny in comparison with what kind of
money I can make because of the information they provide. I love
it when my real estate broker or stockbroker makes a lot of money 
because that usually means I made a lot of money.
A good broker saves me time, in addition to making me money— 
like when I bought the vacant land for $9,000 and sold it immediately 
for over $25,000 so I could buy my Porsche quicker.
A broker is my eyes and ears in the market. They’re there every day 
so I do not have to be. I’d rather play golf.
People who sell their house on their own must not value their time 
much. Why would I want to save a few bucks when I could use that 
time to make more money or spend it with those I love? What I find 
funny is that so many poor and middle-class people insist on tipping 
restaurant help 15 to 20 percent, even for bad service, but complain 
about paying a broker three to seven percent. They enjoy tipping 
people in the expense column and stiffing people in the asset column. 
That is not financially intelligent.

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Keep in mind that not all brokers are created equal. Unfortunately, 
most brokers are only salespeople. They sell, but they themselves own 
little or no real estate. There is a tremendous difference between a broker 
who sells houses and a broker who sells investments. The same is true for 
stock, bond, mutual fund, and insurance, brokers who call themselves 
financial planners. 
When I interview any paid professional, I first find out how much 
property or stocks they personally own and what percentage they pay in 
taxes. And that applies to my tax attorney as well as my accountant.
I have an accountant who minds his own business. His profession is
accounting, but his business is real estate. I used to have an accountant 
who was a small-business accountant, but he had no real estate. I 
switched because we did not love the same business.
Find a broker who has your best interests at heart. Many brokers will 
spend the time educating you, and they could be the best asset you find. 
Just be fair, and most of them will be fair to you. If all you can think 
about is cutting their commissions, then why should they want to help 
you? It’s just simple logic.
As I said earlier, one of the management skills is the management 
of people. Many people only manage people they feel smarter than and 
they have power over. Many middle managers remain middle managers, 
failing to get promoted, because they know how to work with people 
below them, but not with people above them. The real skill is to manage 
and reward the people who are smarter than you in some technical area. 
That is why companies have a board of directors. You should have one 
too. That is financial intelligence.