What is Financial Literacy?
Why Do You Need to Invest in Your Financial Education and Financial Management Skills?

Wikipedia defines financial literacy as the ability to understand finance. More specifically, it refers to an individual's ability to make informed judgement and effective decisions based on sound financial knowledge and understanding.

Our school system was designed to train employees for the industrial age.  No wonder you were not taught how to handle your money and make wise financial decisions.  Most financial knowledge comes from your own experiences (either good and bad) and your close ones like your parents, friends and relatives.  You invest in 401K or RRSP and diversify your mutual fund portfolio because that's what other people do and you don't know any other investment options.  It becomes a serious problem during the economic downturns.  While many people saw their lifetime saving shrank dramatically from the last global financial crisis, some with solid financial education and financial management skills became richer than ever.  You wonder how they made it. 

"Academic qualifications are important and so is financial education. They're both important and schools are forgetting one of them.

                                                                         -- Robert Kiyosaki

It is time to invest in your own financial education and financial management skills.  It is time for our school system to adopt financial education into the curriculum of high school, college and university.  Because a sound financial education gives you an unfair advantage to those who don't.

In his best-selling book "The Conspiracy of the Rich", Robert Kiyosaki lists four basic investment categories (business, real estate, paper assets and commodities) and says a sophisticated investor invests in all four categories to achieve true diversification. If you have only one source of income (e.g. "Job", "self-employed"), no matter how much you earn, you are vulnerable to any financial instabilities. You need to have multiple sources of income. You need to have more than one investment vehicle to build and protect your wealth.  You may ask "Sounds great but where do I start?"  Well, the best and the quickest way to success is to learn from those who have been successful.  In this section, you will be introduced to some of the most successful and influential investors, entrepreneurs and financial educators of our time in North America.  So fasten your seat belt and let's explore their world.  

Robert Kiyosaki -- author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, is an investor, entrepreneur, educator and New York Times best-selling author.  His financial education book series Rich Dad Poor Dad has been translated to over 100 languages and sold more than 26 million copies world wide. He also created the educational board game Cashflow 101 to teach individuals the financial and investment strategies that his rich dad spent years teaching him.  Robert Kiyosaki's perspectives on money and investing are different from traditional teaching.  The old beliefs of getting a good job, working hard, saving money, getting out of debt, and investing for the long term are obsolete in today's world. Robert Kiyosaki's teachings focus on generating passive income through investment opportunities, such as real estate and businesses, with the ultimate goal of being able to support oneself by such investments alone.

Some of Robert Kiyosaki's bestselling books: 

• Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom 
  by Robert Kiyosaki (1998)  
  
  Find out which quadrant you belong to, why people from different quadrant think and react differently and which path to take to achieve financial freedom.  Notes taken from Cashflow Quadrant.
• Conspiracy of The Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money
  by Robert Kiyosaki (2009) 
  If you are still in the mentality of having a secure well-paid job and counting on your mutual funds to retire you comfortably at age 65, you need to read this book.  In this book, Robert Kiyosaki shares his view of global economics and explores why people are finding themselves challenged by these turbulent times. If you are worried about or were hit by the last financial crisis, you want to be prepared for the next one. Notes taken from Conspiracy of The Rich. 
  

Robert Kiyosaki on TIME Magazine Interview

Michael Maloney -- To escape the rat race, you not only need to build wealth but also need to protect it against inflation and financial downturns.  Gold and silver serve such purposes for hundreds of years.  If you are interested in investing in gold and silver, you’ve got to learn from Michael Maloney who is Rich Dad’s advisor.  Michael's book Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver presents a historical view of economic cycles, money history, gold and silver, fiat currencies, and the Federal Reserve in an easy-to-understand way.  It explains how the US government is driving inflation by diluting its money supply and people’s purchasing power,  why to invest in gold and silver, and how to invest in gold and silver.  Through the lens of the history, you know where we stand today and how to prepare for our future.

You will find updated news and analysis on gold and silver investment from Michael’s website goldsilver.com which attracts hundreds of visitors daily. You can purchase gold and silver online through his website.  

Robert G. Allen-- a Canadian born financial author.  Some of his best-selling books are:  Multiple Streams of Income, Creating Wealth and Nothing Down.  He has helped tens of thousands of people achieve their financial goals with his books and seminars. His Multiple Streams of Income covers the topics such as stock market, real estate, tax liens, network marketing, internet marketing, etc.

Robert Allen reveals the secret formula for extreme networking marketing success.  Read this 14-page eBook. 

Don R. Campbell -- Canadian-based real estate investor, author, and market researcher.  Formerly worked for Sears back in early 1980, Don achieved his financial freedom through real estate.  He is the president of Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) which one of the largest organization of its kind in Canada and has more than 15 years history.  To be a REIN member, you need to fulfill a 17-month membership obligation.  The monthly fee is relatively high to some people but the information on Canada's most current real estate market and education you will get are worthwhile.  If you are new to real estate, it is definitely a good starting place and save you many trial and error.

If you are interested in Canadian real estate investment, Don R. Campbell's best selling book 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors is a must for you.  It offers Canadian specific content and advice that are relevant to Canadians.

Chris Martenson --  a trained research scientist, and a former Fortune 300 VP.  His free video series Crash Course gives a clearest and most straightforward explanation of how our economy, energy systems and environment interact -- how we got to where we are today, and some reasonable expectations for the future.  Chris sends out the same message Robert Kiyosaki has been teaching over the years  -- the next twenty years are going to look very different from the last twenty years.