“Where the determination is, the way can be found.”

― George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon

Title: The Richest Man in Babylon

Author: George S. Clason

The Richest Man in Babylon is a famous classic that gives exemplary financial advice. It uses parables that one can easily adopt and apply. In the book, Arkad is the richest man in Babylon who shares his journey to wealth.

He shares ‘the seven cures for a lean purse’, which are:

• ‘Start thy purse to fattening.’ This reminds us how there are many trades with which we can use to earn money and how to use that source of wealth that one already has. From what you earn you can start fattening your purse by saving one-tenth of your earnings.
• ‘Control thy expenditures.’ Budgeting for the necessary expenses will help to put away one-tenth of the money you make.
• ‘Make thy gold multiply.’ Making money work for you means that a stream of wealth will continue to flow into your purse.
• ‘Guard thy treasures from loss.’ It’s wise to consult with people who have the knowledge to help with protection from unsafe investments.
• ‘Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.’ It highlights the important distinction between renting and buying, and also how you can use your property to establish a business.
• ‘Insure a future income.’ It’s prudent to provide in advance for your needs as you grow older and for the wellbeing of your family.
• ‘Increase the ability to earn.’ It is smart to develop your skills and sharpen your investment knowledge to increase your earnings power.

Amongst other parables, the book also shares five laws of gold which Arkad considers to be greater than the gold itself. These detail how gold works, whom it favours and whom it slips away from.

This book is a wise investment when making your way toward building your wealth or increasing it. After reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Tony Robbins’s Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom, I could already understand where most of their advice comes from and how many wealthy people practise the same financial habits that are in Clason’s book.

It will teach you a lot about how a great desire for wealth can be a good place to start, even when you don’t have much else to begin with. It will also emphasize why you should take advantage of opportunities available to everyone. You will learn how luck favours those who act and those who grab opportunities.

The Richest Man in Babylon is short and featherweight and despite some of its language being rather archaic, it’s still heavily loaded with beneficial advice. Its size and ease also help when you want to go back to its pages for a reminder, to find something that you previously missed or simply to clarify something along your journey to wealth.