Why the poor work for money…and the rich don’t

When I was a young boy, I had the advantage of two perspectives on money because I had two dads—a poor one and a rich one.

My poor dad was a government employee. As the superintendent of the Hawaii school district, he made a decent salary, had health benefits and enjoyed a pension. Though he had a good job, he didn't understand money. So, he struggled financially all his life.

My rich dad was a business owner with a financial education. Over the years, he invested in and built an empire that ranged from small convenience stores to large hotels. He didn't have a traditional job, but he understood money. As a result, he became very rich and didn’t struggle to make ends meet.

He taught his son, Mike, and me how to view and use money to become rich through a series of lessons, and the first lesson he taught me was, "The rich don't work for money."