Have you ever heard someone comment that “this is not like real life…”, or “these situations aren’t realistic…”?

Probably all valid comments.

Because I either host or play the Cash Flow game at least 3-4 times a month, I tend to hear this sometimes, and because I like to look for the validity of opinions(even if they are different from mine), I tried to come up with a positive reason why an unrealistic game would be valuable.

Here is my reasoning:

First,  it is probably more useful if it is unrealistic just as weight training is unrealistic in terms of how you would normally use your muscles.

We work out in a specific and exaggerated form to target muscles and muscle groups to build them up.

We use more weight than is realistic, and do more reps, because to paraphrase a common axiom, “practice makes prowess.”

Next, when we play with specific scenarios and in a specific way, we focus on the most  important aspects of the game – leverage, negotiation, cash flow, passive income, expense reduction, partnership, collaboration, thinking outside the box, and many more aspects you might think of.

So, even if some aspects of the game are restrictive or unrealistic, there is a benefit of focus, repetition,  and practice that I find extremely valuable, and if you play, perhaps you will, too!

-  Dan

For example, if I have a persistent mindset that debt is bad, I will play with as much debt both good and bad debt) as I can, to fully understand the meaning and behavior.

Some mindsets are productive, and some are not – playing with intention is one way to find out which is which

Stay happy and be wealthy!

To that end, I ask myself questions to challenge these pre-suppostitions. Questions are powerful food for the unconscious.

After yesterday’s Cash Flow Game Night, I was wondering what questions I could ask to improve my learning, so here they are:

• how many times did I partner with others?
• how many deals did I let go by without looking at all the options?
• how many win-win opportunities did I take? How many did I pass?
• how many other people at the table exited the “Rat Race”?
• how many times did I “check out” of the game when it was not my turn?
• Is there any such thing as “not my turn” in Cash Flow? (Not in my book – I once got out without rolling the dice once.)
• how many times did I say “I can’t” to myself, v. saying “how can I?”
• how could I have exited faster? More safely?
• do I play like it’s a game, or like how I do anything is how I do everything?
• was I ever bored during the game, and if so, what was I afraid of that caused “boredom”?
• what did I do differently during the game?

How many questions does your Cash Flow group ask when the game is over?

Do you play the game to win, or to change?

If you always play the same way, is this helping you open up options or solidify your current beliefs?

What came out of that conversation was a distinction about how many different ways we can use the “paycheck”, and what the various benefits of each might be.

In Cash Flow, the Paycheck is really your discretionary income, the net once your total expenses are subtracted from your combined salary and passive income.

This amount is usually fairly low, and most players begin with only one or two thousand dollars.

So, what can you do with it?

Depends on your imagination, but here are some examples:

1. Save it until it grows into enough to buy an asset.
2. Fritter it away on Doodads until it’s gone
3. Ignore it
4. Use it as to leverage a loan into an immediate property.
5. ?

This Paycheck amount is often treated by new (and some experienced) players as a monthly “savings” or accrual of funds to be used “someday” to buy an asset – if it is not eaten up by “doodads” first.

That would be item #1.

The more I played, though, the more I began to look at this number as a factor of leverage, rather than an amount in itself -see item #4.

For example, when I play, I think of my paycheck in terms of how much BORROWING power it gives me – or how much leverage.

Since a back loan is rated at 10% interest PER PAYCHECK, I know if I have a paycheck of $1,280 I have about $12,000 buying power before my monthly payday becomes negative.

So if I start with a $7,000 small deal, I know I have used my paycheck to the best advantage.

What would happen if I had it sitting in the bank?

Well, one big gap in the game is that there is NO interest if you leave your money in the bank, and in fact the longer it is there, with no passive income to boost it, the more time it will take to exit the Rat Race and win.

This also gets me in the game faster, and allows me to benefit more quickly from any good market cards that might come up.

And one big thing it gives me is the feeling right from the start that “I can do this”, and there is no price on that feeling.

Have fun!

So why branch out?

For me, this is part of keeping sharp, comparing other strategies and practicing wherever possible.

If playing a different game, like Millionaire Maker game, based on the bestselling (aren’t they all?) book from Loral Langemeier,  can challenge me to think differently, break a habit or get even one step closer to that “Freedom Day”, then why not?

My only opponent is my own conditioning.

Play on!

Silicon Valley players can check out the details nd RSVP at this Meetup site.

http://cashflow.meetup.com/273/calendar/7218805/

See you at the game!

The act of writing the numbers, doing the math, changing the numbers, and paying attention to where each amount fits and the effect it has on the bottom line is an integral part of the learning.

Having said that, once a player is familiar with the process and where each balance sheet item and cash flow amount belongs and how to use it, players will often look around for a paperless solution.

If you would like to have a copy of the Excel spreadsheet I use, register on the site and drop me a message, for now, and in a few days I will post a link where you can download one.

There are also some spreadsheets available for downloading elsewhere.

If you are familiar with Excel, you can even create macros to pre-set your electronic scorecard with the correct starting balances for each profession.

I will be creating some of these tutorials in E-how articles, and you can check them out here.

Have fun playing!

I got out of the Rat Race on the first card I drew.

I am not writing this to brag, just offer a perspective I am realizing more and more – playing the game – or in fact life – does not have to be hard.

Here’s what happened:

I had low expenses for my profession ($950), no cash flow, and little money in the bank – I had just sat down to play.

Another player had been playing longer, had a lot of money, but no cash flow.

I picked a Big Deal Opportunity card (my frequent strategy is go Big first, then Small), and it was probably the biggest in the deck.

Down pay was $100,000 and the CF was $5,000 per month.

I asked the other player if she was interested in exiting the Rat Race and she said, “Yes!”.

I sold her the card for a recurring commission of 20% of the cash flow ($1,000) and $10,000 cash up front.

She had $100,000 remaining for the down, and 80% of the CF covered her expenses, and we were both out.

This brings up what is one of my favorite lines in the game:

“Use it Yourself, or Sell it to Another Player”.

Since there is nothing in the rules defining the word “SELL”, in my game that means – and I quote Dolf de Roos, Rich Dad Real Estate Advisor – “Whatever a willing buyer and a willing seller agree to.”

That means, when I sell the rights to a property (the card), I will usually create an offer that contains one or more of the following (depending on what my situation is or the situation of the player I am negotiating with):

1. money up front (the way many players think). “I will give you $500 for the card”. “OK”.
2. Recurring Commission. A percent of the cash flow. Like a silent business partner. You can exit the rat race without buying a thing. See above.
3. Percent of net sales. If the deal is a commission, and player sell the property, I would lose the CF, so I create an insurance of a percent of the net sales if the player sells, so I get cash either way.

Try it.

Have fun!

Dan

PS: please notice in the anecdote above, I asked the other player if she was interested. I always look for a WIN-WIN, so I approach a player that will benefit from my deal.

Sometimes I need to convince a new player that a deal can be mutually beneficial, but after a while they can see the way it can work.

Will I auction a card to the highest bidder? Sure, free market rules.

Will I try to convince a new player to buy a card if it is risky?

No.

PS: Almost forgot my quote for this post:

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

- Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987), The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

I also learn something each time I look for a positive outcome from an experience that might seem negative at first.

This may seem like the old “Look on the bright side” thinking, but I think there is more to it, than just a passive, “Oh, well, maybe this will all work out” attitude.

I think it is a good exercise for my brain to force it to see a different reality than alarm and distress.

Example:

When playing CashFlow, often a Market card will come up or a person could land on a board space like DOWNSIZED, and it looks like a bad thing.

A player’s first reaction might be, “^&*, not again!”

That is normal – our brains are designed to send up alarms and point out potential dangers.

OK, but what if the player is leveraged into a negative cash flow situation where they need to PAY every time they pass a payday, and would LOVE to have a market card come up that would allow them to sell off an asset and pay down the debt?

In that case, a person might want to skip 2 turns and be happy to pay the amount of one month expenses to avoid having to pay out 2 or three, if they were moving around the board.

Each time something comes up – ask yourself if there is any positive outcome at all to doing the deal or having the experience.

It is good exercise for your brain!

To your success,

Dan

“Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let’s love turbulence and use it for change.”

- Ramsay Clark

The basic principle behind this group is to give you a focused brainstorm of ideas on a specific question or issue you want ideas on.

Synergy: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

1+1=3

When you have 4-5 people directing their ideas on a question you have, the results can be amazing.

Ideas you never thought of, comments you would never hear any other place, and all in 5 minutes.

These sessions are held in many ways. Here is how we do it: 

Each Master mind session is 30 minutes max, or 5 minutes per person.

Each group is 2-5 people. If there are more people, we make more groups, not more time.For 1 minute, the person starting will quickly tell the group one thing they want ideas for (starting a home business, getting started investing, good books on real estate, personal questions, ideas, comments, etc).