Real Estate: The Secret Weapon of the Rich

Taxes are a necessary evil in our society, and for many it seems natural to grouse about having to pay a large percentage of our earnings to the government while those who have more money seem to be bearing less of the burden than they ought. It's certainly disheartening that it works this way - as the fortunate shirk their obligations through legal loopholes, the rest have to pick up their slack. It's frustrating and unfair, and there's no question that many of the complaints against the upper class are quite legitimate.

Unfortunately, simply recognizing injustices and complaining about them isn't sufficient to change the ways of the world. The rich will inevitably have money and therefore power, and they will use this power to stack the deck in their favor, particularly when it comes to using tax breaks to keep their money. They will claim that there simply isn't enough money for everyone to get what they need, all the while cutting corners and keeping their spoils for themselves. This extends to elected officials as well - how many poor politicians have you heard of?

That's why you are going to have to take action. Don't be one of the downtrodden masses. If you want more money, you are going to have to go get it yourself. And yes, you too can get more money in the form of tax breaks.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" books, makes the sensible suggestion that those who are not rich but would like to be should watch what the rich do, and then do the same. You don't really need to watch too closely, however, to learn the open secret of the wealthy- that secret is real estate.

"One of the reasons I chose to work predominantly in the B and I quadrants are the tax advantages," he says in his book, "Cash Flow Quadrant." The cash flow quadrant, after which he named the book, is his rich dad's diagram of the four different kinds of people, with respect to where they get their money and their philosophy about procuring money which, oddly enough, match up. In other words, people who are Employees have one set of values while the people who are Self-employed have another.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, the real money is in the business and investment quadrants of the Cash Flow Quadrant.

As they say, if you can't beat 'em, you've got to join 'em. This is doubly true when you're talking about the wealthy. With this mindset, you'll realize that tax breaks for the rich aren't really so bad, since you can take advantage of them when you become rich.

The path to riches is actually very simple; all you've got to do is start investing, or join the 'I' quadrant. If you have a high-paying job, you may be able to do this without leaving the 'E' (employee) or 'S' (self-employed) quadrants, but Robert Kiyosaki advises that you move into the 'B' or business quadrant, devising a system that will make you money regardless of whether you are putting time into it or not.

So, invest - invest in apartments, condos, vacation homes, whatever suits your fancy. This is the true, time-tested road to wealth.

Author: Alexandria P. Anderson specializes helping people to find and purchase Golden Valley MN Homes, as well as Golden Valley property for her Minnesota realty clients.

Success In Real Estate Takes The Right Attitude

What is the difference between people who get rich and people who don't? It is a very simple question that many people simply forget to ask. The first time you are truly confronted with this question, you will probably reach for an easy answer, such as, "Being born into a rich family" or "Getting lucky with the lotto" or even "Having a good career that pays a lot of money." And you might indeed be considered lucky if any of those things had happened to you.

The truth is that not all of these lucky people can be truly considered to be rich. It is the belief of "Rich Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki that the true measure or wealth isn't really the amount of money you take in, but how much you manage to keep.

Kiyosaki's father, the titular "Poor Dad," was no bum; his work earned him more than enough to live on. The problem was, however, that none of his money was left at the end of each quarter

The good news for you, is that becoming rich has less to do with external factors like your job or whether you were born a Rockefeller, which you can't control, and more to do with internal factors which you can.

The real key to becoming right, is the way in which you think about money. It's as simple as that.

Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" demonstrated the effects that one's personality and attitude have on the way in which one earns and handles money using a graph called the Cash Flow Quadrant. This graph is split into four quadrants, labeled 'E,' 'S,' 'B,' and 'I'-- "employee," "self-employed," "businessmen," and "investor," respectively. Not only do these four categories show how a person earns his or her money, claims Kiyosaki, but they shed light on the way in which different individuals view the world.

The quadrant into which an individual falls isn't determined simply by the luck of the draw; on the contrary, a person's perspective on money and the world, and their resultant decisions are the key.

In to book "Cash Flow Quadrant," Kiyosaki states that the people inhabiting the four corners of the graph are, in fact, totally different people. Their different intellectual and emotional mindsets are the main determining factor of how each group deals with money.

Individuals gravitate to one of the previously mentioned quadrants based on their innate natures, driven by their personal values in regard to money. You can tell which corner a person falls into simply by hearing them speak about money. A person who frets about money and desires nothing more than simple security is obviously an occupant of the 'E' quadrant, and there isn't anything wrong with that; this person will probably be unhappy if he or she strays into a different quadrant. The "Employee," quadrant, however, is not the path towards wealth.

Though the revelation that wealth simply depends on your attitude and personality may initially seem rather intimidating, you should take it as encouragement. Even if you don't see yourself as a lucky person right now, rest assured that you can, if you have the drive, become wealthy.

If you want to be rich, you should invest, and buying properties is a great place to start. Investing in real estate, in fact, was the very path Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" took to become rich. So, start thinking rich - quit working for your money, and start letting the money you earn work for you, building your wealth.

Author: Alexandria P. Anderson specializes helping people to find and purchase Golden Valley MN Homes, as well as Golden Valley property for her Minnesota realty clients.