Don't Be Like The Filthy Poor

Photo by Tim Pannell

I'm sure you're familiar with the filthy rich? The person who lives a miserable life because they got destroyed by the money they possessed.

Well have you heard of the filthy poor? The person who lives a life full of debt so that they can live like a rich person even though they are poor? Yes there is such a person. And these persons borrow money like there's no tomorrow in order to acquire material possessions to project that they are rich, even if they are not.

The filthy poor is an example of someone who abused to power of debt to acquire liabilities instead of assets. Debt, as Robert Kiyosaki put it, is the best leverage that people can use to get ahead financially. However, it is also the worst tool that people can use to get into poverty.

The financially educated people uses debt as leverage to help them get ahead financially. They use it to purchase assets that can earn them money regularly. These assets then will be the one to pay off their debt while also putting money in their pocket. This is what Robert Kiyosaki calls as good debt.

But for most people, they use debt to buy things that don't generate money for them, just like the filthy poor. They see something they want, like a new Plasma TV, a brand new car, a new house, but they don't have the money for it. So they resort to borrowing money in order to be able to afford it. The problem though is that the items they usually buy are items that doesn't put money in their pocket, it takes money out of their pocket. Robert Kiyosaki calls it bad debt.

I was once like that, using credit card to buy things that I couldn't afford. I was disciplined enough though at first to pay off my debts in full so as not to incur interest rates on my debt. But the more I use it, the bigger my debt became, until it became too big for me to pay it in full.

Through hard work and determination though I was able to pay off my debt. It wasn't easy, but I was able to pull it off.

So don't be like the filthy poor, living a life full of debt so that you can live large like a rich person. Instead, be financially educated and use the power of debt to help you achieve financial freedom.

The Start of the Truly Rich Journey

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I'd like to share one of the most important lesson that I learned from Bro. Bo Sanchez, how to be truly rich.

The  idea of becoming rich first came to me when I read Robert Kiyosaki's book, Cashflow Quadrant. The book basically described the four (4) quadrants in which people get their income from: employment, self-employed, business and investing. All quadrants can make people rich, but it is the business and investing quadrant that offers the fastest way for people to become rich. It requires people though to have financial education to be successful in these two quadrants.

After reading the book, I wanted to become a businessman and an investor so I became obsessed about increasing my financial education, constantly reading and researching about the subject. In my quest to increase my financial knowledge, I came across Bro. Bo Sanchez and the Truly Rich Club. Becoming a member was an easy decision for me to make, because I consider anything that can help increase my financial education is considered a good investment. 

After becoming a member, one of the first thing I learned is how to properly invest in the stock market (Bro. Bo provides a free copy of his book "My Maid Invests In The Stock Market"). But one lesson that I learned from Bro. Bo that really stuck to me is also the title of his club, Truly Rich. 

Becoming truly rich is a lesson that really hits me, because as a devout Catholic, becoming rich is something that is looked upon negatively by most Catholics. Wanting to be rich is seen as being greedy, evil, bad, unholy, and so on. In fact, in our society, most of the rich people are generally considered as greedy and selfish. So If I wanted to be a businessman and an investor means that I have to be bad, greedy and selfish.

But wanting to be rich or wanting to have a lot of money is not really evil or bad. Because money in itself is neutral, what makes it good or bad is how you created that wealth and what you intend to do with it. As Bro. Bo mentions in his talks, God gave us the ability to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) so it means that God provided us with talents that we can use that will enable us to create wealth. 

So what will we do with that wealth?

Bro. Bo also shares in his talks that God gave us the ability to create wealth so that the wealth we created will be used to serve Him and His people; which means that, instead of becoming rich for our own selfish desires, we become rich to serve God and help His people (people who are poor and in need).

After learning that, I looked at becoming rich on a completely different level. Instead of wanting to be rich for my own benefit and comfort, I now wanted to be rich to help my family and other people who may require it. This somehow puts more meaning in my reasons for wanting to be rich.