Cash Flow 101 board game

How to get out of the rat race?

After hearing many good things about this game I decided to purchase it and find out for myself. I took it away on vacation with us, and had the chance to play it with my girlfriend, sister and brother in law. To start the game you must choose your color and pick a profession card. On my first game I managed to choose the "Business Manager" card. As an example, the business managers total income is $4600 per month. Total expenses are $2930 leaving the monthly cashflow of $1670. Expenses range from tax, mortgage repayments to credit cards and child expenses. Seems the more exotic your profession the more income you receive, but also the more expenses. A lot like real life. Some other examples of professions are truck driver, mechanic, engineer, teacher, airline pilot, doctor and so on..  The first time I played this game I thought it was going to be tedious as the game is based around a balance sheet, something I am not particularly familiar with. My brother in law is an accountant and is very quick with numbers and calculations, so having him there was very helpful! But you do not have to be an accountant to play this game, as the calculations are very simple. The idea of the game is to purchase enough cash flow positive assets to exceed your everyday living expenses. You can do this buy purchasing cashflow positive properties, businesses mutual funds and shares. As you work your way around the board, you land on different squares, examples being "paycheck" (where you receive your monthly paycheck depending on your profession) or though you do not have to land on this square to receive your income, just passing it will get you paid.. another example square is "opportunity" where you will be presented with investment opportunities such as businesses, property shares mutual funds etc. Another example square is "doodads" these are unexpected expenses that are often unnecessary and require you to spend your money..for example "Buy Big Screen TV, Pay $4000"  Once you have accumulated enough assets to generate a passive income that exceeds your living expenses you are able to leave the rat race and play on the "Fast Track" the outer circle of the board game. Once you are out of the rat race and on the fast track, your goal is to buy your dream which you select at the start of the game. A few examples of the "dreams" are "golf around the world" , "be a jetsetter" , "dinner with the president" and so on. These dreams are not cheap, and if another player lands on your dream the cost of your dream then doubles in price! The first person to buy their dream or accumulate more than $50,000 per month in passive income wins the game. The game takes a little time to get used to all the rules, and to get familiar with the balance sheets, but once you get into things it is a really enjoyable game. I think the beauty of this game is it opens your eyes to real life. You begin to realize that the only way to get out of everyday life "ratrace" is to purchase assets, and not liabilities. I think the game was a real eye opener for my girlfriend, who loves spending all her money on shoes and clothes! This is a game that will change your mind set forever!

MY RATING 5/5