So what is an asset?
In business terms, assets are your pros and liabilities are your cons. You need assets to offset your liabilities. Once you get away from the Rich Dad Scams, it's easier to think in those terms, to think like an entrepreneur. But what exactly are assets?
The simple definition of an asset is something that puts money in your pocket. This is accomplished through four different categories, one of which is real estate. When I say real estate, I don’t mean your personal residence, which is a liability. What I mean is investment real estate, which is a great investment because it puts money in your pocket each month in the form of rent.
There are three other primary assets: business, paper, and commodities. If you are an entrepreneur or a business owner, your business is an asset. Paper assets are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and so on. Finally, commodities include gold, and other resources like oil and gas, and so on.
My wife and I started out making our money in real estate, putting our money to work in properties that we could rent them out and see ongoing returns. After that, we diversified, so now we have some money in all of four of these asset areas