Book Review: The Richest Man In Babylon
“Gold is reserved for those who know its laws and abide by them.”
The Richest Man in Babylon is an older book written by George Clason around 1926. To give you a real idea of the age of the book, its author served in the Spanish-American War (that was in 1898 for those of you wondering). The book is not written as one constant story; instead it is a collection of parables the author wrote over a period of time, all assembled into one collection. Each parable has a theme to it, such as seven cures for a lean purse and the five laws of gold.
The writing style is unique. Most of the story is told through character dialogue, in a language that I can only describe as Shakespeare without the rhyme. You will see the words “thou” and “thy” frequently throughout the book. It took me a few pages to get used to the style, but after that I hardly noticed it.
What I like most about this book is the length. My copy is only 155 pages, but those pages cover most of the major personal finance lessons with easy to understand stories that still manage to get the message across.
1. Pay yourself first
2. Spend less than you make
3. Take advantage of compound interest
4. Exercise risk management and don’t lose money
5. Own your own home
6. Create passive income so eventually you can stop working
7. Improve your ability to earn more money
The rest of book continues to build on these 7 ideas, as well as add a few new ones.
Recommendation:
If you are looking for a short but great lesson on personal finance this is the book to go too. The lessons in this book are timeless, and since it’s such a quick read it’s definitely worth a look. If you’re just getting started on learning the basics of personal finance this is a great place to start.
The Richest Man in Babylon
