The article contains a recollection
of ancient wisdom on the subject
of thrift, financial planning and
personal wealth based on a book by
George S. Clason, The Richest Man in
Babylon.
The book contains lifetime wisdom
on seven cures for lean purses which
are shared in this article, and the five
laws of gold, which will be shared in the
upcoming Third Quarter 2016 bulletin.
Whether you’re a graduate trainee,
nurse, a hairdresser or a billionaire, the
seven cures for a lean purse, are basic
personal wealth fundamentals that
no man can simply brush aside. So,
regardless of your vocation, you have
about the same opportunity to make a
fortune.
These seven cures for lean purses still
apply today as they did hundreds of years
ago. Like the laws of gravity, the laws of
making money in society are universal
and do not change. Better a little caution
than regret.
Start by little savings
The first cure for a lean purse is to start
thy purse to fattening. Spend, but onetenth
of your income. That is, set aside
not less than one-tenth of the money you
earn.
Doing this overtime, one would
actually end up with more money than if
one had set nothing aside. If you had one
basket containing 10 eggs, and every day
you put in 10 eggs in the morning and
take out 9 in the evening. What would
eventually happen at the end of the week?
Identify your needs from wants
Secondly, control thy expenditures.
Human beings have unlimited desires
for material possessions of one kind or
another. One cannot satisfy all desires
of the mind. Discipline yourself to spend
part of your income on the things that are
necessary. Delay gratification. “Desires
are multitude, trying to satisfy them all is
an invitation to poverty”.
Choose the right investment vehicle
Make thy gold multiply. Make your
money grow or earn more money. One
may want to consider putting money
in a Unit Trust account with local
investment managers, or a savings
account with local banking institutions.
This is the lazy approach to making your
money grow. Otherwise, you can create
business opportunities for investment.
These are simple recommendations
one may consider, instead of putting
your cash under a mattress, hoping
something magical will happen to make
it grow. However, the means of earning
more money are not limited to these
suggestions.
Choose registered entities in your
financial transactions
Guard thy treasures from loss. Avoid
putting your money into dubious acts.
For example, avoid gambling or Ponzi
“get rich quick” schemes. You don’t want
to put your money in the hands of people
who lack the experience in handling
money matters.
It is smart to seek the advice of those
who are qualified or experienced to
handle other people’s money like they
would handle their own. If you want
advice on how to grow vegetables in
your garden, you don’t go to a pilot or a
computer programmeradvice; you either
go to a farmer or seek the advice of a
botanist.
Consider investing in property
Make thy dwelling a profitable
investment. Simply put, consider
the possibility of owning a house as a
residence for your family; so trust your
loved ones can have enough space to grow,
play, study and enjoy life. Make an effort
to buy your house at a reasonable price.
This would require time and research on
the housing market. Investing in a home
should be a key priority for all.
Consider a cover for the unexpected
Insure a future income. We live in a
world full of ,uncertainty. So you want
to always set aside some funds to meet
any unexpected expenses. For example,
expenses to cover your unplanned
illness or other events in life that may
occur. Putting away some money for
“emergency” events would aid you and
free you from borrowing money to handle
those unexpected expenses.
Consider making use of available
insurance products to avoid
disappointments. It is important to plan
Financial Planning Tips –
A Recollection of Ancient Wisdom
for retirement and ensure your family
some level of inheritance income that can
continue your support for them long after
you are no longer able to do so.
Be financially literate
Increase thy ability to earn. Everyone
needs some level of skills to earn money.
A Bachelor’s Degree or specific skills
certificate or diploma along with a
commensurate job might only be enough
to earn a basic living and may not earn
you enough money to reach some of your
longer term career and earnings desires.
Educate yourself in order to increase
your skills and capacity to earn more
money. “Formal education will earn you
a living, but self-education will earn you
a fortune”.
Lastly, it is sane to seek out profitable
projects, business opportunities to invest
in, or other cooperative means of earning
extra income, because profits are better
than wages.
Based on The Richest Man in Babylon
– The Success Secrets of the Ancients by
George S. Clason. Publisher – Signet /
First published in 1926 / ISBN 0-451-
20536-7
