The Financial Principles That Hold the Key to Personal Wealth
The Richest Man in Babylon Video Summary by the Swedish Investor & Fight Mediocrity
Key Takeaways
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, offers an understanding of, and a solution to, your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime.
To bring your dreams and desires to fulfillment, you must be successful with money. This book shows you how to amass personal wealth by sharing the secrets of the ancient Babylonians, who were the first to discover the universal laws of prosperity.
Two Basic Concepts for Acquiring Wealth
1. For every 10 coins that you earn, pay yourself one coin first, then spend the nine.
2. As you start doing the first concept, this allows you to start accumulating wealth. Once you’re doing this, don’t just let is sit. Money is a commodity that generates profit just like any other thing.
If you had a house, you wouldn’t just let it sit for 30 years and rot, without renting it out. Rotting is what’s going to happen in your bank account with inflation. Invest the money you save.
1. Pay Yourself First
I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep .. And so will you. But all I earn is mine to keep, is it not? Far from it.
Do you not pay the garment maker? Do you not pay the sandal maker? Do you not pay for the things that you eat? What have you to show for your earnings of the past month? What for the past year? Fool! You pay to everyone but yourself? As well be a slave and work for what your master gives you to each and wear.
It’s a powerful analogy to see every expense you have as you slaving for someone else. If your net income is $2,000 per month and you pay, say $1000 bucks in rent, you’re effectively working 20 hours a week for your landlord.
Think of it this way and it will be much easier to handle your cravings for spending. In the book it is suggested that once you get your salary, before any other expenditures – pay yourself one-tenth of that amount. This way you make sure that you always earn money for yourself before slaving for others
2. Men of Action are Favoured by the Goddess of Luck
Most people when seeing other successful people attribute it all to luck. They come up with all kinds of excuses for why they are not in the same position as these aforementioned people, such as well they have talents … they met the right people at the right time … or They were born into it!
While this might be the case for some successful people, it’s certainly not for the large majority of them. What just bring them all together though is that they have been taking action.
Picture this: A procrastinator and a doer is faced with opportunities. Let’s say, for simplicity, that they are faced with the same amount of opportunities. The chance of succeeding when taking in opportunity can only be manipulated by a small degree, so in this way the procrastinator and the doer have the same chance to thrive. What separates them though is the number of opportunities that they try out.
- The procrastinator will always come up with excuses. I don’t feel good today … I actually had a rough day at work …. Nope, the stars are not aligned today!
- Meanwhile, the doer tries it out and takes many of the opportunities given to him. Therefore, the chances that the doer will be lucky and succeed at some point is way higher than that of the procrastinator. But it has nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with action.
3. Wealth is NOT a Matter of Income
Yesterday how many of the carried lean purses? “All of us”, answer the class. Yet thou do not all earn the same. Some earn much more than others. Some have much larger families to support. Yet, all purses were equally lean.
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 income unless we protest to the contrary.
I know a lot of smart people that earn good money, yet they have nothing to show for in their bank accounts. Every time they get an increase in salary, they increase their spending with the same amount. They have more Spotify accounts than they have friends, and piles of furniture from IKEA that will never be assembled. Always keeping up with the Joneses.
This is foolish in so many ways. Primarily because it’s a huge risk taking, which in turn causes you to be completely handcuffed and tied to your current job. If you don’t get that salary every month what is then going to happen to your boat, your house and your car?
Now when your boss tells you to go and clean the toilets for the third time during that afternoon you want to tell him to go ***** himself. But then you think about the boat, the house and the car. And instead you say: Yes, sir. That would be lovely! Right away!
No matter who you are or what your degrees is, everyone must obey under the law of income minus expenditures equals savings. No matter if you are an engineer, a Mc Donald’s crew member, or Floyd Mayweather.
4. Act When the Time is Right
If you have done a thorough analysis and asked your friends and family about possible shortcomings in your research, don’t be afraid to act on it. Great opportunities are rare and should never be missed out on.
For personal finance and investing, such opportunities sometimes means that you must cut your expenditures a little more than usual.
- For instance, during the financial crisis and the following collapse of the stock market in 2008 and 2009 such opportunity emerged. For those who were willing to increase their savings and investing during that time – great profits were to come.
5. The Power of PASSIVE Income
Once you start to obey under rule number one – pay yourself first – you will accumulate a lot of cash over time. While this will feel good all on its own, there’s something even better to come. As soon as possible you should start to put your hard-earned money to work.
The good thing about money is that unlike yourself, it never has to rest. Your money will work for you while you go to class, while you hang out at the gym and even while you’re sleeping. It’s modern-day slavery and best of all, it’s a hundred percent legal.
This is what people like to refer to as passive income. If you decide to keep your slaves, they will breed. Even the kids will breed eventually. This will cause your money to grow exponentially. The good thing about exponential’s is that they multiply over time and earning money becomes easier … and easier … and easier …. and easier.