The Richest Man in Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason
First published in 1926

"There are a few books of basic wisdom that endure for generations. One of these books is The Richest Man In Babylon, first published in 1926."

Seven cures for a lean purse:

Start thy purse to fattening.
- For every ten coins thou placest within thy purse take out for use but nine. Thy purse will start to fatten at once and its increasing weight will feel good in thy hand and bring satisfaction to thy soul.
- Now I will tell a strange truth, the reason for which I know not. When I ceased to pay out more than nine-tenths of my earnings, I managed to get along just as well. I was not shorter than before.
Control thy expenditures

How can a man keep one-tenth of all he earns in his purse when all the coins he earns are not enough for his necessary expenses?
Now I will tell thee an unusual truth about men and sons of men. It is this: That what each of us calls our "necessary expenses" will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary.

I tell you, my students, a man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse; it is in the income he buildeth, the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse and keepeth it always bulging. That is what every man desireth. That is what thou, each one of thee desireth; an income that continueth to come whether thou work or travel.
Behold, from my humble earnings I had begotton a hoard of golden slaves, each laboring and earning more gold. As they labored for me, so their children also labored and their children's children until great was the income from their combined efforts.

The first sound principle of investment is security for thy principal. Is it wise to be intrigued by larger earnings when thy principal may be lost? I say not.
This, then, is the fourth cure for a lean purse, and of great importance if it prevent thy purse from being emptied once it has become well filled. Guard thy treasure 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. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable handling of gold. Let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investments.

Thus come many blessings to the man who owneth his own house. And greatly will it reduce his cost of living, making available more of his earnings for pleasures and the gratification of his desires. This, then, is the fifth cure for a lean purse: Own thy own home.

Therefore do I say that it behooves a man to make preparation for a suitable income in the days to come, when he is no longer young, and to make preparations for his family should he be no longer with them to comfort and support them.
The man who, because of his understanding of the laws of wealth, acquireth a growing surplus, should give thought to those future days. He should plan certain investments or provisions that may endure safely for many years, yet will be available when the time arrives which he has so wisely anticipated.
No man can afford not to insure a treasure for his old age and the protection of his family, no matter how prosperous his business and investments may be.

As a man perfecteth himself in his calling even so doth his ability to earn increase.
The more wisdom we know, the more we may earn. That man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded.
Thus the seventh and last remedy for a lean purse is to cultivate thy own powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful, to so act as to respect thyself.