22 Nov Timeless Money Creating Principles from The Richest Man in Babylon
![]() |
|
Topics Covered:
- Personal Finance
- Money Management
- Conservative Value Investment
Review:
Generally I like to read and review the most recent books, but from time to time I am lured into a true classic. My guess is that many of us on our path to success have already stumbled upon this one and that’s just why I’ve reviewed it. If you’ve read it in the past, it’s worth another glance. Its lessons are more relevant than ever as many of those around us face difficult economic times. Perhaps our country wouldn’t be where it is today if we had all heeded the lessons of fundamental personal finance and investment that George Clason laid out for us almost 100 years ago.
Clason takes a creative, yet simple story-telling approach to teach the reader the basics and the foundation of how to conservatively build wealth over time and become financially successful. The story takes place in Babylon some 6,000 years ago where the significance of financial wealth, gold in this case, was as important as ever. As much as I hate to admit it, we live in a society that only seems to put more and more importance on money. I hope and trust that you readers are driven and motivated by your own definitions of success, but our culture as a whole still has a long way to go.
In Babylon there is a man who is wealthier than all and there is another poor man deeply interested in how he has achieved such status so he begins to make daily visits to his house on the hill, bringing others along, to learn the lessons that created such wealth. The man is open to share his keys to success and the others intently listens as he tells stories and experiences in his life that get across the most fundamental techniques of personal money management, savings and investment.
At times I found myself so deep into the stories being told that I had to step back to realize the significance of the seemingly simple lessons. To be honest, most of us have surely heard these in one form or another but most likely not in the form of such an engaging playbook.
Some of the core lessons include:
- Part of what you earn is yours to keep–Save 10%
- Control thy expenses
- Don’t borrow unwisely or unnecessarily
- Make gold multiply–invest wisely and prudently
- Guard against loss–invest with a margin of safety
- Understand where you invest
At first glace it’s easy to discredit these as simple common sense. But the thing we should all be aware of at this point is that common sense is not common practice. As I reread through some of these key points, I realized that they have so much in common with many of the wealthy men of our time. Take Charlie Munger (who’s recommendation first turned me onto this book), Benjamin Graham or Warren Buffett. These guys have followed these points closer than you’d think possible and they are known to be the best investors of all time, not to mention quite wealthy. I have been reading Warren Buffett’s biography, Snowball (which you’ll see a review on shortly) and it has reaffirmed how incredibly fanatic Warren has been from day one to do everything mentioned above. He has been saving money since he could walk and to this day he controls expenses more stringently than even the great majority of the middle class, yet he is worth some $60 billion. And we should all know that he’s followed the last three. That’s what keeps him from investing in so many of the things that lead to ruin. And his mentor, Ben Graham, made famous the idea of guarding against loss in his concept of a margin of safety. He wouldn’t touch an investment unless it possessed something that insured against the downside–which often meant investing in a company with a strong balance sheet and a ton of cash.
My point in mentioning these guys is that they are famous for their wealth creation and while George Clason and the richest man in Babylon (if he really did exist), are not quite as well known, their lessons teach us the things that will all but guarantee the strict follower to become far wealthier than necessary. Proof is riddled throughout history. But yet what continues to blow my mind is that despite this historical evidence, most everyone around us is still over-spending and in up to their ears in debt. Even those who make half a million or a million a year still manage to let their expenses run wild and don’t possess the discipline to save. Granted everyone else around them is in the same rat race–Make money so you can spend more money so you need to make more money; all so you can look good to others. The truth is that the answer is simpler than any of us would like to imagine but it takes more discipline than most anyone wants to put forth.
As these lessons become more and more relevant, the discipline required to really execute on them only gets larger. Our culture seems to be convinced that spending and material accumulation is the way to success. It’s true that it may be the way to outward and superficial success, but that won’t take you much farther than a couple compliments at your first few cocktail parties. Sooner rather than later it will catch up to you, as it has done to our country as a whole. And at that point it will become necessary to dust off your ‘internal yardstick’ and start measuring yourself, your actions and your success by what you know to be proven and true. This goes for your financial success as well as success in every other part of your life. Measuring yourself against the superficial standards of others and society will only lead to disappointment and further you from your own fulfillment.
Take this read not only as a chance to relearn the simplicity and discipline that goes into financial success but also as a reminder that the road to success of all sorts is often not lined with a bunch of spectators following the crowd. If you have your own conviction and discipline of what creates results, that crowd will be anything but necessary as your travel down your own road to achievement. The wealth–be it gold, happiness or anything in between, will certainly follow.
-Reading for Your Success
If you liked this review, please vote for it on Digg. Thanks!
Buy The Richest Man in Babylon at Amazon
Other books you may enjoy:
Valuable Quotes:
“That what each of us calls our ‘necessary expenses’ will alway grow to equal our income unless we protest to the contrary”
“Wealth that comes quickly goeth the same way.”
“Good luck can be enticed by accepting opportunity”
“Better a little caution than a great regret”
“Where the determination is, the why can be found”
Susan Kishner
Posted at 14:08h, 22 NovemberI finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
Allen Taylor
Posted at 14:15h, 22 NovemberNice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Tom Humes
Posted at 14:41h, 22 NovemberNice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
scott
Posted at 16:59h, 22 NovemberI am so glad I could give you all something fun to read and I’m grateful to hear from some visitors. Please keep checking for some of the upcoming books. And as always give me any ideas on things you’d like to see done in the future. All the best and happy reading!
-Scott
dr. karthik
Posted at 02:24h, 27 Augustwell written.pl. give some examples where these ideas were implemented and gave results.
thanx.
scott
Posted at 12:40h, 13 SeptemberGreat to hear from you Dr. Karthik. If you were asking the opposite question the answer would be pretty quick and simple. Just look at the mess the U.S. has gotten into lately due to lack of budgeting and conscious spending (i.e. not preserving thy purse) all the way down to the individual level. It looks like things are getting marginally better and the more we can stick to the principles in this classic, the quicker we will get to an economic place where we can be proud both individually and as a whole. One of the best tools I’ve found lately for implementing these tools has been Mint.com. It’s a personal finance site that takes a lot of the concepts in this book into today’s age with modern day technology as an aide. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Happy Reading,
Scott
Fileice Survey Bypasser
Posted at 00:48h, 28 MarchGreat beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site?
The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been a little
bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered
bright clear idea
Instaflow - Get Free Followers
Posted at 18:21h, 31 MarchA motivating discussion is worth comment.
There’s no doubt that that you should write more about
this topic, it miht not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t speak about such topics.
To the next! Cheers!!
Even Sørensen
Posted at 21:16h, 02 Maywhoah this weblog is great i really like studying your
posts. Keep up the good work! You already know, a lot of individuals are looking around
for this information, you can aid them greatly.
make money videos
Posted at 09:04h, 06 JulyWe have study a very few just right stuff the following. Absolutely importance bookmarking to get revisiting. I big surprise simply how much effort you determine to really make the form of great useful web page.
best wordpress plugins
Posted at 04:21h, 26 SeptemberHowdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could
locate a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one?
Thanks a lot!
Google
Posted at 15:02h, 17 MarchGoogle
Below you will locate the link to some sites that we think you must visit.
Sterling Silver
Posted at 16:06h, 22 MarchSterling Silver
[…]please take a look at the websites we follow, like this one, as it represents our picks through the web[…]
Psychic Christopher Golden
Posted at 00:59h, 23 MarchPsychic Christopher Golden
[…]very handful of sites that happen to be comprehensive beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[…]
Bring Back the Lover You Lost
Posted at 11:50h, 23 MarchBring Back the Lover You Lost
[…]although web-sites we backlink to below are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they’re in fact worth a go by means of, so possess a look[…]
cursos online com certificado
Posted at 15:07h, 23 Marchcursos online com certificado
[…]we came across a cool web site that you simply could love. Take a search in case you want[…]
Create a photography website
Posted at 17:24h, 23 MarchCreate a photography website
[…]we like to honor lots of other world-wide-web sites around the internet, even though they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]
Equipment
Posted at 01:25h, 24 MarchEquipment
[…]Every as soon as in a while we opt for blogs that we read. Listed beneath are the latest web sites that we pick […]
non echical hacking
Posted at 06:35h, 24 Marchnon echical hacking
[…]below youll obtain the link to some web pages that we think you must visit[…]
proof of weak hands
Posted at 08:07h, 24 Marchproof of weak hands
[…]here are some hyperlinks to sites that we link to mainly because we consider they may be really worth visiting[…]
Tattoo Santiago
Posted at 12:01h, 24 MarchTattoo Santiago
[…]always a massive fan of linking to bloggers that I really like but dont get quite a bit of link enjoy from[…]
Computer Repairs
Posted at 17:42h, 24 MarchComputer Repairs
[…]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we feel they may be essentially worth a go via, so have a look[…]
psychic christopher golden
Posted at 22:37h, 24 Marchpsychic christopher golden
[…]that would be the end of this post. Right here youll locate some internet sites that we think you will appreciate, just click the links over[…]
https://www.bestspiritualpsychic.com/
Posted at 02:20h, 25 Marchhttps://www.bestspiritualpsychic.com/
[…]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]
spell to attract customers to your business
Posted at 06:32h, 25 Marchspell to attract customers to your business
[…]we prefer to honor a lot of other net web pages around the net, even if they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]
Little India Suppe vonn little Lunch
Posted at 08:24h, 25 MarchLittle India Suppe vonn little Lunch
[…]Every as soon as in a whilst we opt for blogs that we read. Listed beneath are the newest web sites that we decide on […]
psychic
Posted at 15:39h, 25 Marchpsychic
[…]just beneath, are several totally not associated websites to ours, nevertheless, they’re certainly really worth going over[…]
Instagram unfollow
Posted at 17:04h, 25 MarchInstagram unfollow
[…]Here are a few of the sites we advocate for our visitors[…]
Healthy snacks + Female Metabolism
Posted at 02:24h, 26 MarchHealthy snacks + Female Metabolism
[…]below youll discover the link to some web-sites that we think you’ll want to visit[…]
Escorts Directory
Posted at 10:21h, 26 MarchEscorts Directory
[…]one of our visitors a short while ago encouraged the following website[…]
mining schweiz
Posted at 16:08h, 26 Marchmining schweiz
[…]here are some links to sites that we link to simply because we assume they’re really worth visiting[…]
South Africa online communities
Posted at 17:20h, 26 MarchSouth Africa online communities
[…]The data talked about in the report are a number of the best obtainable […]
gps tracker
Posted at 23:42h, 26 Marchgps tracker
[…]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated data, nevertheless seriously really worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 study about Mid East has got more problerms too […]
phoenix tile removal
Posted at 05:50h, 27 Marchphoenix tile removal
[…]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]
a spell with small beginnings
Posted at 09:30h, 27 Marcha spell with small beginnings
[…]one of our guests a short while ago encouraged the following website[…]
drivers
Posted at 16:41h, 27 Marchdrivers
[…]here are some links to sites that we link to because we feel they may be worth visiting[…]
how to prepare the nails for shellac
Posted at 18:53h, 27 Marchhow to prepare the nails for shellac
[…]here are some links to internet sites that we link to because we believe they may be worth visiting[…]
Trichocereus bridgesii
Posted at 21:22h, 27 MarchTrichocereus bridgesii
[…]we came across a cool site that you just could possibly love. Take a appear if you want[…]
youtube mp3
Posted at 05:19h, 28 Marchyoutube mp3
[…]very couple of internet sites that come about to be comprehensive beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly properly really worth checking out[…]
fun sex toys for beginners
Posted at 22:32h, 28 Marchfun sex toys for beginners
[…]below you will locate the link to some sites that we consider you need to visit[…]
سرور مجازی
Posted at 00:11h, 29 Marchسرور مجازی
[…]always a large fan of linking to bloggers that I appreciate but dont get a good deal of link really like from[…]
دستگاه ليزر
Posted at 01:36h, 29 Marchدستگاه ليزر
[…]Every when inside a when we decide on blogs that we study. Listed beneath would be the most recent web pages that we choose […]
prepa en un examen
Posted at 11:40h, 29 Marchprepa en un examen
[…]here are some hyperlinks to web pages that we link to since we believe they are really worth visiting[…]
golf news
Posted at 20:17h, 29 Marchgolf news
[…]one of our guests not too long ago encouraged the following website[…]
prayer
Posted at 22:18h, 29 Marchprayer
[…]the time to study or pay a visit to the content material or internet sites we have linked to beneath the[…]
brazilian hair
Posted at 10:32h, 30 Marchbrazilian hair
[…]Here is a great Weblog You may Come across Exciting that we Encourage You[…]
try sex toys
Posted at 10:52h, 30 Marchtry sex toys
[…]Here is a good Weblog You may Locate Exciting that we Encourage You[…]
remy hair
Posted at 19:24h, 30 Marchremy hair
[…]Every the moment in a while we pick out blogs that we study. Listed below would be the latest web sites that we pick […]
how a financial plan is like a survival plan
Posted at 19:28h, 30 Marchhow a financial plan is like a survival plan
[…]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they’re really really worth a go by means of, so have a look[…]
disaster preparedness outside the home
Posted at 03:41h, 31 Marchdisaster preparedness outside the home
[…]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not associated to ours, we really feel they are really really worth a go via, so possess a look[…]
Indian hair
Posted at 04:51h, 31 MarchIndian hair
[…]please stop by the internet sites we stick to, which includes this 1, because it represents our picks through the web[…]
vibrating finger pads
Posted at 08:53h, 31 Marchvibrating finger pads
[…]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]
special deals for your online shopping needs
Posted at 15:08h, 31 Marchspecial deals for your online shopping needs
[…]Here are several of the web pages we advocate for our visitors[…]
everything you need for better health all in one place
Posted at 21:01h, 31 Marcheverything you need for better health all in one place
[…]we prefer to honor several other web web sites on the net, even when they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[…]
malaysian hair
Posted at 23:13h, 31 Marchmalaysian hair
[…]here are some hyperlinks to web-sites that we link to because we assume they may be really worth visiting[…]
peruvian hair
Posted at 01:34h, 01 Aprilperuvian hair
[…]usually posts some very intriguing stuff like this. If youre new to this site[…]
have more sex for better health
Posted at 04:06h, 01 Aprilhave more sex for better health
[…]we like to honor many other online internet sites around the web, even if they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[…]
Ethereum
Posted at 13:48h, 01 AprilEthereum
[…]The details talked about within the report are some of the top accessible […]
remy peruvian malaysian indian Brazilian Hair
Posted at 16:32h, 01 Aprilremy peruvian malaysian indian Brazilian Hair
[…]always a significant fan of linking to bloggers that I enjoy but really don’t get quite a bit of link really like from[…]
The Best Bullet Vibrator
Posted at 17:56h, 01 AprilThe Best Bullet Vibrator
[…]just beneath, are several totally not associated web pages to ours, nevertheless, they are certainly really worth going over[…]
philosophy slovar
Posted at 03:48h, 02 Aprilphilosophy slovar
[…]here are some links to web pages that we link to due to the fact we think they’re really worth visiting[…]
Black & White Stripes
Posted at 08:55h, 02 AprilBlack & White Stripes
[…]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless truly really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular study about Mid East has got far more problerms too […]
fantasy novel
Posted at 11:18h, 02 Aprilfantasy novel
[…]although websites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we feel they may be basically worth a go through, so have a look[…]
dīvānu tīrīšana
Posted at 18:33h, 02 Aprildīvānu tīrīšana
[…]Every once in a though we opt for blogs that we read. Listed below would be the newest web-sites that we opt for […]
Face cream with snow algae.
Posted at 21:33h, 02 AprilFace cream with snow algae.
[…]always a massive fan of linking to bloggers that I like but really don’t get lots of link like from[…]
Google
Posted at 01:26h, 03 AprilGoogle
Usually posts some quite intriguing stuff like this. If youre new to this site.
clit vibrator
Posted at 01:34h, 03 Aprilclit vibrator
[…]although internet websites we backlink to below are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they’re really worth a go by, so possess a look[…]
adam & eve my first willy
Posted at 05:16h, 03 Apriladam & eve my first willy
[…]here are some hyperlinks to internet sites that we link to simply because we feel they may be really worth visiting[…]
100% pure kona coffee beans
Posted at 21:18h, 03 April100% pure kona coffee beans
[…]we prefer to honor a lot of other world wide web sites around the web, even though they arent linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]
travel tips
Posted at 21:53h, 03 Apriltravel tips
[…]that may be the end of this post. Right here you will find some web-sites that we feel youll enjoy, just click the hyperlinks over[…]
how to remove a curse with salt
Posted at 00:22h, 04 Aprilhow to remove a curse with salt
[…]here are some links to internet sites that we link to due to the fact we consider they may be really worth visiting[…]