One book I would recommend that everyone read, young or old, is The Richest Man In Babylon by George Samuel Clason. I read the book for about three hours. It is an easy book to read as it is just seventy-two pages and packed with awesomeness. I refer to it severally and have recommended it to anyone I feel needs help with their finances. Financial health is a journey of a thousand steps…Hmm, come to think of it, so is physical health. Lol. ok, 10,000 steps.
There are possibly hundreds, even thousands of “how to” books in the market all purporting to impart important life skills to each individual. The aforementioned is a money sense “how to” book. Methinks that once one has money sense, other things will fall into place.
This is because money (or lack of it) will influence how a person thinks, the decisions they make and the standards they set hence their life chart.
Once you know how to create wealth that to quote a paragraph I quite liked from Mutuma Mathiu’s post
“Wealth is born of restlessness, an inability to sleep up to 10 am, a willingness to obsessively hustle, a preparedness to deny oneself, a tendency to pinch pennies until they sing, a capacity for hard work, and a good measure of risk-taking and luck.”
Then the rest will fall into place. You will realize that a bicycle will get you to the same place a fuel guzzler acquired on loan will and as a matter of fact, you will get there healthier and wealthier. Because exercise and fare saved!
The Richest Man In Babylon gives seven cures for a lean purse and even includes all those reasons and excuses people give as to why they cannot save. I felt that these cures were lessons in Money 101 and if one only reads up to the seven cures then the rest can be left for other days.
Cure 1 is well-worn and usually top on the list for budding entrepreneurs. That one has to pay themselves before they pay anyone else.
Cure 2 is to control one’s budget. A student of the class here says that they “rebel against the slavery of a budget which determines just how much I may spend and for what. I feel it would take much pleasure from my life and make me little more than a pack-ass to carry a burden.”
Every time a savings scheme (most recently the 52-week challenge) is brought along, people will always find an excuse not to participate. That they are barely getting by as is. That they already have insurance schemes and savings deducted directly from their bank accounts. We will deviate from our budgets on a daily but still say we don’t have money to participate in such schemes. Well, this right here is the best answer I have seen so far. Check out this article on budgeting –Finances 101: How To Create A Budget And Different Budgeting Methods You Can Use
Cure three is to make the money saved multiply. Invest the principal wisely in a way that it is not eroded and plough back the interest from this into the same or a different venture that will make it multiply. m the first three cures to ensure that the principal is safe and may be reclaimed and much of this is repeated through to chapter six with different illustrations.
Cure 4 is to safeguard the treasures from the first three cures to ensure that the principal is safe and may be reclaimed and much of this is repeated through to chapter six with different illustrations.
Cure 7 is to increase the ability to earn. This cure is something I have been needing in my personal life. That elusive side hustle that will earn me money without not taking up much of my time (I say elusive because I am yet to find it hence have not increased my ability to earn, much to my chagrin.) The cure in the book is to work more so as to earn more. To have the tangible amount you want and to ascertain how you plan to acquire it. Saving Money Only Will Not Make You Wealthy. You Need To Increase Your Streams Of Income
You can find The Richest Man In Babylon in your local bookstore, you can buy it online or you can also be able to download it legally online.
Check out this great article on Books for debt reduction. The Richest Man In Babylon summarises the lessons in terms of debt and saving.
Check out these articles and books as well
13 Books Women Recommend To Other Women Who Want To Get Ahead In Their Careers And Businesses
7 Ways We Can Teach Children The Importance Of Financial Management
