Why you need to play the game CA$HFLOW

I had taken accounting in college so I knew what a balance sheet was, I just didn't really understand one yet. This is because I only used it in class.

Next, you pick a Profession card (if someone doesn't pick it for you). The profession card looks like a smaller version of the game sheet, with numbers filled in. You'll copy the info from the Profession Card onto the Game Sheet. After that, you don't need the Profession card. The last thing to set up is your starting cash. This is equal to the sum of your Savings (in the Asset Column) and one month's cash flow.  Your Profession Card will have all your starting info like Income, Debt, Assets, and Liabilities.

Playing the Game

Your turn was much different than playing Monopoly.  When it was your turn you roll the die.

The Rat Race is the track that you start on. Place your rat token on the "Start Here" arrow on this track.

You will find four main kinds of spaces in the Rat Race.

One is the yellow "Pay Check" space. Whenever you land on or pass this space, add the amount of your Monthly Cash Flow to your total cash.

Another space is the green "Opportunity" space. This means you have found an investment opportunity. When you land on this, draw a card from either the "Small Deal" or the "Big Deal" stack - your choice. ("Small" and "Big" refers to how much money you will need to partake in the deal. Most Small Deals cost a few thousand or less; Big Deals usually take tens of thousands.)

Next is the blue "Market" space. When you land on it, draw a Market card. These cards include buyers of investments you may own, such as real estate, and other economic events that may affect you.

The fourth main kind of space is the pink Doodad space. A doodad is something that you spend money on, and which does not really contribute to your financial growth, like when you buy a XBox. The expense is not optional; when you land on this space, draw a doodad card, read it, and pay up. At the end of your turn you must make the change to your Balance Sheet. 

Getting Out

When you get your game sheet, you will notice that your income is broken down into two parts: salary (from your day job), and what is called passive income. Passive income is income that comes in with little or no additional effort on your part. If you have royalties from a book, income from a rental property you own, or stock that pays dividends each quarter, you have passive income.

So, again: in this game, how do you get out of the rat race? Very simply, make investments that give you passive income. (Mostly these will come from Small Deal and Big Deal cards.) When your passive income is greater than your total expenses, you are OUT.

What this means in the real world is you have the ability to leave your job if you wish.

I, myself, only played this game three times. The first two times that I played I pulled Profession cards that had very high salaries, yet I was high in debt and had higher expenses. I thought will higher pay I could pay my way out of debt. Yet, each time I paid off something, I drew a card with another bill to pay.

Yet, the third time I played, my profession was that of a janitor, if I remember.  I had a lower lifestyle and less debt.  I was also more knowledgeable about how to use my income.  Instead of waiting my next paycheck, I took risks in the game and began to build my asset column.  We played for a few hours, but I finally had a passive income greater than my expenses. We did not have time to keep playing where I could play the fast track, I was so happy to see that I was now free from employment in this game.

Conclusion

The main reason that I feel that CashFlow is the best learning game is it gives you the best feeling of real life.  When playing Monopoly, you are dealing with Real Estate and Trading, I don't feel these scenarios come into most peoples lives. The majority of people I know work there career from paycheck to paycheck hoping to pay off their bills, thus stuck in the rat race.