Page 161 - Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money

She was a seasoned player. She knew the game. I was the new kid, a new
player in an ancient game.

When the markets crashed and people panicked on August 9, 2007, I
thought of that old woman. The first thing I did was check the trends.
Instead of joining the crowd and going into panic mode, I simply kept my
fear in check, and refocused on the trends in the market, not on its ups or

downs. I reverified the facts and formed my own opinion about the future.
I was looking for information on the actions taken by the central banks.
Once again they were printing more funny money rather than solving the
problem. When I learned the facts, that international central banks were

injecting cash into the crashing markets, I knew my opinion that the
purchasing power of the dollar would continue to trend down was still
sound.
Today, instead of diversifying, I prefer to focus on a few small assets,

notice a trend, and invest with the trend. Since I know a trend can reverse
and change direction, I do not blindly invest for the long term. The
Information Age is about change and I need to be flexible . . . not a robot.
Some of the trends I am investing in today are:

Trends in oil. As you know, the more China, India, and Eastern Europe
become Westernized, the more the demand for oil goes up. Even with the

rush to find alternative sources of power, oil will continue to be a primary
source of power for years to come. As much as I do not like the
environmental damage oil causes, the harsh reality is we all use it, even the
most devoted environmentalists. I believe the long-term trend for the price

of oil is up, possibly as high as $200 a barrel in the near future. This high
price will have serious repercussions upon the world economy, which will
later lead to other trends worth following as alternative energy technology,
such as solar power, makes advances.

Trends in silver. I believe silver is the best investment in 2007. I believe it
is a better investment than oil. There are two reasons I say this. The first

reason is because silver is consumable industrial metal. This means it’s used
up. Silver is the metal of choice for electronics. It is used in computers, cell