Luckily, he did have his financial security needs covered by a teacher's pension, Social Security, and Medicare. If not for those safety nets, he would have been in very bad financial shape. The reality was that he planned for a world of scarcity, a world of bare minimum survival, and that is what he got. My rich dad, on the other hand, planned for a world of financial abundance, and that is what he achieved. Decide Now What You Want to Be 103 Both lifestyles require planning. Sadly, most people plan for a world of not enough, although a parallel world of fi- nancial plenty is also possible. All it requires is a plan. So the mental attitude question is: Do you have a written financial plan to be: 1. Secure? Yes_ No_ 2. Comfortable? Yes_ No _____ 3. Rich? Yes_ No_ Please remember rich dad's lesson that all three plans are important. But security and comfort still come before being rich, even though being rich may be your first choice. The point is that if you want to be rich, you will need all three plans. To be comfortable, you need only two plans. And to be secure, you need only one plan. Remember that only three out of every hundred Americans are rich. Most fail to have more than one plan. Many don't have any kind of written financial plan at all. Chapter 11 Investor Lesson #9: Each Plan Has a Price "What is the difference between the plan to be rich and the other two core values?" I asked. Rich dad turned to his yellow legal tablet and wrote down the following words: 1. To be secure 2. To be comfortable 3. To be rich "You mean the difference between rich and secure and comfortable?" "That's what I am asking," I responded. "The difference is the price," said rich dad. "There is a tremendous price difference between a financial plan to be rich and the other two positions." "You mean the investments in the rich financial plan cost more money?" I asked. "Well, to most people, it looks like the price is measured in terms of money. But if you look closer, you'll see that the price is not measured in money; it is really measured in time. And of the assets of time and money, time is really the more precious asset." Each Plan Has a Price 105 A scowl came over my face as I tried to comprehend what rich dad was saying. "What do you mean the price is meas- ured in time? Give me an example." "Sure," said rich dad. "If I wanted to go from LA to New York, how much would a bus ticket cost?" "I don't know. I'd guess under $100," I replied. "I've never purchased a bus ticket from LA to New York." "Neither have I," said rich dad. "Now tell me how much a ticket by a 747 jetliner from LA to New York would cost." 'Again, I don't really know. But I guess it would be around $500," I replied. "That's close enough," said rich dad. "Now let me ask you. Why the difference in price? You're traveling from LA to New York in both instances.