If you are worried about money, or always feel that your monthly salary is never enough for your expenses, then this game called "Cash Flow" may be more effective than reading ten financial management books. It condenses the financial difficulties encountered by ordinary people between the ages of 25 and 65 into a four-hour board game, allowing you to truly understand what passive income is when facing situations such as unemployment, childbirth, and the bull market.
A card at the beginning determines the starting point of your life
The first thing a player does after sitting down is to draw a career card. This card defines your starting status, maybe a security guard with a monthly income of 2,500, or a medical practitioner with a monthly income of 20,000. The capital flow of security personnel is very pitiful, but the monthly constant expenses are also low; medical practitioners earn a lot of money, but their mortgage, car loans and consumer expenses are also staggering. The person sitting on your right is your auditor and is responsible for verifying each of your accounts.
The number on the career card can be said to be the starting line of your life. People who are drawn into the profession of doctor should not be happy too early, because high income is often followed by high expenses and high risks. This is the extremely real thing about this game. It does not tell you the big principles, but directly gives you a profit and loss table for you to calculate by yourself.
The Rat Race: Struggle and Anxiety in the Rat Circle
The "Rat Race" refers to the looping square in the center of the game board, with the "Fast Lane" on the periphery. The vast majority of players are trapped in a mouse trap at the beginning of the game, relying on wages to survive. After paying various bills every month, they take the MBTI personality test and have very little money left in their hands. By rolling dice, when you reach the opportunity grid, you can decide whether to start a small business.
Some people spend 5,000 yuan to buy a stock, and some people scrape together a down payment to buy an apartment. However, accidents can happen at any time. A sudden change in the market may cause the value of the stocks you buy to halve. An additional situation card may cause you to suddenly need to replace your car tires. Isn’t this feeling of never having enough money and not being able to seize opportunities when they come, very similar to real life?
The capital market is the first trial for adults
The key point that makes the 202 version of the game more powerful than the 101 version of the game is the emergence of the capital market. This means that there are situations where you can borrow money for stock trading, and there are also situations where you can buy a house together. However, leverage not only magnifies returns, but also magnifies risks. If there is a rupture in cash flow, you will most likely go bankrupt instantly and be out of the game.
In the capital market, opportunity cards have turned into big deals, which require more principal, but the returns are also more generous. This requires players to learn to settle accounts and learn to evaluate risks and benefits. There are many things that many people dare not touch in reality, but they can be tried once in the game. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they can learn a lesson.
Unemployment and extra expenses are the cure for blind confidence
In the game, the most frustrating moment is when you have just invested your money and have only a few hundred dollars in cash flow, but you hit the "unemployment" box. Under Rule 16 Personalities Test , you must be suspended for two rounds and must pay a total payout. At this moment, if the reserves are insufficient, then bankruptcy will be declared directly.
The design of the separate payment card is also extremely cunning and difficult to deal with. Sometimes it is a case of a friend holding a wedding to share the money, sometimes it is a situation where the water heater used for bathing at home is broken. This seemingly inconspicuous amount of money turns out to be the straw that breaks the camel's back in real life. The game uses this method to remind you that cash flow reserves are the bottom line for survival.
Passive income is the key from slow lane to fast lane
If you want to get out of that rat race, the rule is pretty simple: Make your passively generated income exceed your total monthly expenses. Passive income comes from dividends from stocks you buy, rent from property purchases, or profits generated by your business. In version 202, this standard has been doubled, that is, your passive income must be twice the expenditure to enter the fast lane.
This shows that you can't just rely on luck, you have to proactively plan your asset allocation. There are people who specialize in speculating on low-valued stocks, there are people who are dedicated to saving a down payment to buy real estate, and there are people who choose to work part-time to increase their principal. Everyone, in their own way, tries to beat that fixed retirement age.
Four hours, one game and one financial class
To start a game, you need a large table, six players, and a banker. The banker does not participate in the game action. His job is just to distribute money and manage cards. The whole process takes about four hours, and the game starts from 2 pm to 6 pm. Participants can be any adults and do not need to have financial background. They will naturally understand it after playing a game.
Many people realized for the first time in the game that the level of salary is not the core factor that determines wealth, but the direction of cash flow and the structure of assets and liabilities. If you have children, taking them to play a game will be much more effective than giving them pocket money.
Was there ever a moment when you suddenly realized that you were actually always spinning in a circle formed by mice? If you were given the opportunity to re-plan your life, what would you change first? Welcome to talk about your own thoughts in the comment area, and click a like to let more people see the true wealth in this game.
