Untitled Document

Years pass. Paychecks come and go. Are we better off financially than we were a year ago or ten years ago?
What if you had a rich friend who agreed to teach you the way to become prosperous? Would you be open to learning? If you would be open to the lessons, you might enjoy The Richest Man in Babylon by Goerge S. Clason.
The book presents seven lessons set in ancient Babylon, the richest city of the ancient world. (The language is deliberately stilted to make you think of ancient times.) Below are excerpts from the first, and most important lesson.
"'...We have earned much coin in the years that have passed, yet to know the joys that come from wealth, we must dream about them....After half a lifetime of hard labor...I admit that my purse is as empty as thine. What is the matter? Why cannot we acquire gold and silver - more than enough for food and robes?'...

"'Perhaps there is some secret we might learn if we but sought from those who knew,' replied Bansir thoughtfully.

"'This very day,' suggested Kobbi, 'I did pass our old friend, Arkad, riding in his golden chariot. ...

"'He is said to be the richest man in all Babylon,' Bansir mused.

"A new light gleamed in Bansir's eye's. 'It costs nothing to ask wise advice from a good friend and Arkad was always that....We wish to become men of means. Come let us go to Arkad and ask how we, also, may acquire income for ourselves. ..."

The two men went to their childhood friend, the man now the richest man in Babylon, to have him teach them how to become wealthy, too. He agreed to teach them, lesson by lesson, what they must do.

"...He looked at me shrewdly for under his shaggy brows and said in a low, forceful tone, 'I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all that I earned was mine to keep. And so will you...
"...A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should not be less than a tenth, no matter how little you earn. It can be as much as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and sandalmaker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough for food and charity....

"Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed. The first copper you save is the seed from which your tree of wealth shall grow. The sooner you plant that seed, the sooner the tree shall grow. And the more faithfully you nourish and water your tree with consistent savings, the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade.'" (excerpted from pages 4 - 14)

An easy, effective way to begin is through payroll deductions. By having the savings automatically deducted, there is less temptation to overspend "just this one time." As the book suggest, the sooner you
start saving, the sooner you begin to enjoy the rewards.