My grandmother used to tell me, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
For years, I followed everything she taught me.
Saved every dollar I could. Felt proud watching my bank balance grow.
But Robert Kiyosaki (the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” guy) says that advice was actually making me poorer.
At first, I thought he was nuts. Save money = bad? Come on.
But then I looked at my own savings account and realized something terrifying:
Even though my balance kept growing, I could buy less stuff every year.
That’s when Kiyosaki’s famous “savers are losers” motto finally clicked for me.
The brutal math behind why saving sucks
Here’s what Kiyosaki figured out that most people miss:
Your savings account pays you maybe 1% interest. Sounds good, right?
But everything you want to buy goes up 4-6% every year. Gas, groceries, rent, everything.
Do the math: You’re losing 3-5% of your buying power each year.
Kiyosaki says “Saving money is like storing ice cubes in the sun. They’re guaranteed to melt.”
That $10,000 you saved last year? It only buys you about $9,600 worth of stuff today. Next year? Even less.
You’re working your ass off to save money that becomes worth less while you sleep.
Why the system is rigged against savers
Here’s the part that really pissed me off when I figured it out:
The government keeps creating more money.
Not literally printing it (though sometimes they do that too), but creating new dollars electronically.
Every time they do this, your saved dollars become worth less.
Meanwhile, people who own real estate, businesses, and other assets?
Their stuff becomes worth MORE as more dollars get created.
Kiyosaki calls our money “fake money” because it’s not backed by anything real anymore.
And he’s got a point.
When you can create something out of thin air, how valuable is it really?
The tax rules that makes it even worse
This one made me want to throw my laptop across the room:
You work hard, earn money, and pay on it.
Then you save what’s left and get taxed AGAIN on the tiny interest it earns.
You’re getting taxed twice for being responsible.
But people who buy rental properties?
They get tax breaks for depreciation, repairs, and other expenses.
Sometimes they pay zero taxes on their profits.
The system literally rewards asset owners and punishes savers.
What Kiyosaki does instead (and why it works)
Instead of saving money, Kiyosaki buys assets that put money in his pocket every month.
His rule is simple:
Asset = Puts money IN your pocket
Liability = Takes money OUT of your pocket
Most people think their house is an asset. Kiyosaki says that’s wrong.
If it’s not generating income, it’s a liability (mortgage, taxes, maintenance).
But a rental property that brings in $2,000 rent with $1,500 in expenses? That’s a $500/month asset.
While your savings lose buying power, his assets do two things:
Pay him every month (cash flow)
Go up in value as more dollars get created (appreciation)
He’s literally using the same forces that hurt savers to make himself richer.
The “boring” strategy that changed everything
Here’s where Kiyosaki gets really clever:
He uses cash value whole life insurance as his own personal bank.
Sounds boring, right? But here’s how it works:
He puts money into the policy, lets it build cash value, then borrows against it (tax-free) to buy more assets.
The genius part? The money in the policy keeps earning dividends even while he’s borrowed against it.
He’s using the same dollar in two places at once.
He buys a rental property with the borrowed money, uses the rental income to pay back the loan, and ends up owning another cash-flowing asset.
Are you starting to see how powerful this is?
Why savers really are losers (and it’s not their fault)
Kiyosaki’s message isn’t “don’t save anything.”
It’s “don’t let saving be your wealth strategy.”
Because in today’s backwards world, savers really do lose.
While you’re playing it “safe” with savings, three forces are working against you:
Inflation eating your purchasing power
Taxes on your measly interest
Money printing is making your dollars worth less
Meanwhile, asset owners benefit from all three of these forces.
The wealthy figured this out decades ago. They don’t just save money. They buy things that make them more money.
And those things protect them from inflation, give them tax breaks, and create income that grows over time.
Maybe it’s time to stop playing by the old rules and start thinking like they do.