Page 170 - Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money

As my rich dad said, “My banker has never asked me for my report card.”
The reason bankers don’t ask for an academic report card is because they

are looking for financial intelligence, not academic intelligence. This is why
they ask for a financial statement. A financial statement is a reflection of
your financial integrity. It is the equivalent of your financial report card.
Bankers are looking for answers that relate to the five financial

intelligences. Obviously, they want to know how smart people are at
making money, protecting their money, budgeting their money, leveraging
their money, and how informed they are. A financial statement will give the
bank the information it is looking for.

Out of Financial Integrity

If a person is out of financial integrity—as shown by excessive debt, not
budgeting well, spending more than he or she earns, foreclosures, and
bankruptcies—the banker will probably not want this person as a client. It is

a matter of professional integrity.
In 2007, with the crash of the credit markets, it became obvious that the
credit, banking, and investment institutions have been out of financial
integrity. Greed replaced sound lending practices. The economy cannot

expand on credit alone. By failing to teach much about money and to
expand financial intelligence in school, the system creates adults who are
unprepared for our brave new world. Billions of adults across the planet do
not have a personal financial statement, cannot read a business’s financial

statement, and do not know the financial condition of their country. This is
a breakdown in educational integrity.

Intrinsic Value

Warren Buffett does not diversify. Instead he looks for a company with

intrinsic value, a company with financial integrity. He wants to know if the
business has the five financial intelligences. In overly simplified terms,
Buffett wants the answers to the following questions: