Financial Freedom: What the wisdom of “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason can teach us

Sometimes I like to go back to the classics, to really re-learn those time-tested principles that become the foundation of success in any area. For our health goals, that might be “The Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding” by Arnold Schwarzenegger, or “Starting Strength” by Mark Rippetoe. For personal finance, one of those classics is the Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

Here is a list of principles and lessons I extracted from it:

• Wealth accumulates for those who know the laws of money and abide by them
• You have a moral duty towards the acquisition of wisdom; to be a life-long learner
• Pay yourself first; at least 10% of every paycheque should go to savings and eventually into investments
• Your spending will shrink and expand in proportion to the money you have in your bank account unless you pro-actively decide to pay yourself first. The 7-figure a year guy versus the $5-figure a year guy may vary well both end up with no savings at the end of the year because their spending will have shrunk or expanded in proportion to their income. I think we’ve all noticed this phenomenon of our bank account magically disappearing. After all, money can be looked at as just another form of…