“When I was a kid, there were no credit cards. Instead, retailers offered layaway plans. My mom would go to a store, such as a furniture outlet, choose the sofa she wanted, and put it on layaway. That meant she put a little money down to hold the sofa, and every payday she'd pay a little toward the purchase.”

“My dad seemed comfortable with his decision to be a 'have-not,' but I knew that I wasn't.”

“My rich dad believed we should all learn to take care of ourselves.”

“In 1997, in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I stated, 'Your home is not an asset.' Real estate agents sent me hate mail.”

“Ken Lay, the disgraced former chairman of Enron, found a way to escape his legal problems: He died after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges.”

“Learn to invest in investments where you can achieve an honest, legal advantage over other investors. When it comes to investing, why play on a level field?”

“Regardless of what our national credit rating is, people will always want a roof over their heads, food on their tables, fuel for their cars, and clothes on their backs.”

“People concerned about inflation today tend to buy big houses and nice cars.”

“Bad debt is debt that makes you poorer. I count the mortgage on my home as bad debt, because I'm the one paying on it. Other forms of bad debt are car payments, credit card balances, or other consumer loans.”

“My company survives because I've learned to respect the ideas of people younger than me and recognize when my wisdom is obsolete.”

“If you want to thrive in today's economy, you must challenge the status quo and get the financial education necessary to succeed.”