The
Richest Man in Babylon opens with a brief story of a man named Bansir, who
never seemed able to get ahead in life.
He owed people money and didn’t really feel motivated to work hard
because it felt like his money would just leave as soon as it came in. I’m sure we can relate with Bansir in some
way or another, which is probably why the story opens that way. After this brief introduction, Bansir and his
friends meet up with Arkad, the richest man in Babylon, hoping to become more
knowledgeable about building wealth.
Throughout
the rest of the book, the author, George S. Clason, shares how Arkad became the
richest man in Babylon. Through seven
cures, we learn how Arkad beat the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck while
paying down debts and building wealth.
While this story isn’t really a true account of a real person in ancient
Babylon, the principles behind the story are very relevant to how we manage
money today.
Before
Arkad shared his seven principles of creating wealth, he shared one key
principle that helped him to find the road to wealth. He said, “I found the road to wealth when I
decided that a portion of all I earned was mine to keep, and so will you.”
The
First Cure: Start thy purse to fattening
Written
in old English for some reason, Arkad told his students the first cure for
having a lean purse (in today’s terms, an empty bank account).
“For
each ten coins I put in, I spent but nine.” Forcing yourself to live on 90% of
your income is the first step of the 7 principles.
The
Second Cure: Control thy expenditures
“That
what each of us calls our ‘necessary expenses’ will always grow to equal our
incomes unless we protest to the contrary.”
In other words, it will seem impossible to live on 90% of our income,
but you can learn to live on less.
People do it everyday, and it takes a sacrifice, but it is possible.
The
Third Cure: Make thy gold multiply
“Put
each coin to laboring that it may reproduce its kind…” Your money needs to be invested in order to
grow. Yes it sounds simple, but building
wealth is based on simple math: spend less than you make and invest your money
for the future.
*Remember,
this book isn’t going to share any secret formulas to picking the right stock
or starting a six-figure business. It’s
meant to be a foundation for people to reshape how they think about money. Every time I read the book, it’s motivating
because I know that these simple principles make sense, but without the
discipline to put them into practice, they’re useless.
The
Fourth Cure: Guard thy treasures from loss
“Guard
thy treasures from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe, where it
may be reclaimed if desirable and where thou will not fail to collect a fair
rental. Consult with wise men…let their
wisdom protect thy treasures form unsafe investments.”
While
it may be unreasonable to think that there’s an investment with zero risk of
losing money, you can be wise in how you invest. Choose a financial planner carefully and
don’t jump on the first investment you see.
The
Fifth Cure: Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.
Arkad’s
advice here is to “Own thy own home.” While we may fall on opposite ends of the
debate on whether you should rent or own a home, there are good things to
owning a home today – especially if you can get a great deal at a low rate.
The
Sixth Cure: Insure a future income
“Provide
in advance for the needs of thy growing age and the protection of thy family.”
Arkad’s advice is to make sure you have an income stream when you’re
older. Today’s retirement accounts are
what we can use as investment vehicles and with small and continuous
contributions, your goal of producing a healthy amount of interest in 20-30
years can be achieved.
The
Seventh Cure: Increase thy ability to
earn
“Be
in the front rank of progress and do not stand still, lest you be left
behind.” Always look for more ways to
improve in your job or in your profession.
Are there courses that will set you apart from others? Why haven’t you taken them? Make yourself valuable by learning more and
becoming indispensible to others.
Available
at Timbooktoo Tel:4494345
