Secrets the Rich Know (That We Don’t Learn in School)

Ever wonder why some people always seem to have money, while others struggle no matter how hard they work? Is it luck? A family secret? Or something we’re not learning in school?

Welcome back to the Cash Kid Podcast. I’m your host, the Cash Kid, where I’m on a mission to teach my generation how to earn, save, and invest money earlier in life.

This is episode 51 of the show, and we’ve covered a wide range of topics, but today, we’re tackling a question that I’ve pondered and others have asked me about. This idea stemmed from a famous financial book I read. What is it, and do the rich have secrets we don’t know about?

Let’s dive in. The Cash Kid Podcast is underway!

Intro tease:

So you’ve got some cash. Maybe from an allowance, or that money your grandma gave you for your 7th birthday. Here you go, sweetie. Thanks, Grandma.

Whatever it is, what are you going to do with it? Spend it, hide it away… or maybe invest it? Let’s start learning how to make that money grow.

Time to learn how to be a cash kid.

I want to make it clear that as a 13-year-old, I in no way think money will buy you happiness or fix all your problems. But debt and not knowing enough about your finances can also cause unhappiness and problems.

So the mission here on the Cash Kid Podcast is always to educate, inform, and motivate my peers to take healthy action in their financial journey. And the way we do that is through acquiring good information and taking conscientious action with our money.

Now, why should a kid or teen my age care?

Just ask your parents.

Most will tell you they were taught very little about finances when growing up or in school. Why is that?

For Christmas, my parents bought me the famous financial book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Rich Dad Poor Dad opened my eyes. It compares how two dads—one rich, one not—teach their kids about money. One teaches how to grow wealth, the other stays silent, hoping a job and hard work will be enough.

This book illustrates the difference between how the rich talk to their kids about finances

while the Poor Dad doesn’t.

But how can we change this?

This is what motivated me at the age of 11 to start this podcast. You see, I was in a special class in the 4th grade that got to play the stock market game for ten week period. We were handed $100,000 in fake money to invest for ten weeks. I felt like a mini-investor. I was totally hooked playing the game. But I realized most of my classmates never got this chance, and that bothered me.

A year later, after talking to my parents, reading books and talking to my teachers, I realized it wasn’t just kids who weren’t financially literate… it was adults too. I thought, this can’t continue. And if you don’t think we kids see and realize how much debt our nation, many recent graduates, and families are in…well, we’re watching.

So, what can we do?

I believe we need more financial education in our school systems.

As of May 2025, 27 U.S. states require high school students to complete a personal finance course to graduate. This marks a significant increase from just 6 states in 2019, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of financial literacy in preparing students for real-world challenges

Just last month, I had the opportunity to speak to 100 7th graders about ways they could earn, save, and invest money. Then two weeks later, I got to give the same presentation to 75 6th graders. You wouldn’t believe how many questions these kids had. What was even more encouraging was that we learned that numerous students, after our presentation, the students went home, talked to their parents, and opened savings or investment accounts. Then we heard that one math teacher after learning about us and how interested her kids were about investing, is working it into her curriculum.

So, how do we do it?

We educate. We talk about it. We find ways to inform.

That’s our mission and goal. Let’s close that gap.

Thanks for listening. Cash Kid, get curious. Ask questions. Read books like Rich Dad Poor Dad. Be sure to like and subscribe and check out our Cash Kid merch at cashkidpocast.com

Remember our motto: anyone can be a Cash Kid, you just have to learn how to become one.

Cash Kid, out!