The Richest Man In Babylon Summary

1. Live below your means.
2. Learn how to be lucky.
3. Never take on debt.

What is it that makes rich people rich?

I’m not talking about the kids of millionaires or oil sheiks, who’ve always been rich.

I’m talking about the people who, after working hard for a few decades, can walk out the door of their job and never return again, because they can live off the wealth they have accumulated.

Do they stuff every penny they earn into their mattress? Or do they just work abnormal hours no one can keep up with?

The truth is in the middle.

Wealthy people develop their riches mostly based on 2 things:

1. Living slightly below their means.
2. Investing the money they save well.

Living below your means is the first checkpoint you have to pass to even have the money to invest, so why not start there?

The goal of our Western economy and education system is for you to take on a 40-hour day job and then spend everything you earn .

But nobody said you have to play that game.

You don’t have to stop drinking the occasional Latte or going to the movies. But you can still spend less than you earn .

You know best where you’re spending money just for the sake of convenience, entertainment and gratification, that’s really not necessary and that’s exactly the money you should be saving and investing instead.

The Richest Man In Babylon suggests you save 10% of your income to invest .

I personally have been saving 20% of my income for the past year and it’s put me in a much more relaxed situation financially where I have some savings and even a small portfolio of stocks.

So look at your expenses and cut the ones that are really unnecessary and you’ll see finding those 10% is easier than you think

The summary intro said “learn how to be lucky”. What a fascinating idea, isn’t it?

But how can this book teach you something that’s really not in your hands?

This is where most people are mistaken. No one ever said luck was something that can’t be manufactured . We just expect it to be.

That’s something called chance. A random occurrence with very little likelihood of happening, such as winning the lottery or being struck by lightning.

Luck, however, is based on opportunity and you can create more opportunities by working hard.

Consider Jerry Weintraub’s story.

364 times, the man said ‘No’. But eventually, on the 365th day, he said yes.

Jerry didn’t get lucky. He worked. Every day he called, until the timing was right and the opportunity presented itself to him.

This should (in theory) be a no-brainer for anyone, yet we find ourselves in a world where the average American is over $150,000 in debt .

One of the first steps to build wealth is quitting the irrational self-talk that makes you justify purchases you can’t afford .

Money is a pretty rational thing and it’s about time you started treating it that way.

That’s how you become lucky.

The summary intro said “learn how to be lucky”. What a fascinating idea, isn’t it?

But how can this book teach you something that’s really not in your hands?

This is where most people are mistaken. No one ever said luck was something that can’t be manufactured . We just expect it to be.

That’s something called chance. A random occurrence with very little likelihood of happening, such as winning the lottery or being struck by lightning.

Luck, however, is based on opportunity and you can create more opportunities by working hard.

Consider Jerry Weintraub’s story.

364 times, the man said ‘No’. But eventually, on the 365th day, he said yes.

Jerry didn’t get lucky. He worked. Every day he called, until the timing was right and the opportunity presented itself to him.

This should (in theory) be a no-brainer for anyone, yet we find ourselves in a world where the average American is over $150,000 in debt .

One of the first steps to build wealth is quitting the irrational self-talk that makes you justify purchases you can’t afford .

Money is a pretty rational thing and it’s about time you started treating it that way.

When you can’t afford a fancy new car, or a flashy TV, well, you can’t afford it.

But when you go out and get a loan to finance it, you’ll delay your journey to wealth for months or even years, because you now have to spend the money you save each month to pay off the debt, instead of being able to invest it.

Instead of solving your problems with loans, ask “how can I afford this?” and figure out ways to make more money or save more money, so you can buy the things you want.

Taking on debt has never solved any problems, it just creates more, so finish the spending spree and start saving!

The Richest Man In Babylon is a must read for anyone wanting to truly master the concept of money. The book delivers financial tips in a very strong way: by wrapping them into amazing stories. What’s more, you can read them all individually, which means you don’t have to read the book in one go to get the most out of it. Fantastic!

The 21 year old on his first corporate job, who’s happily spending his income every month, the 45 year old who’s taken on a loan or two to finance luxury purchases, and anyone who buys lottery tickets on a regular basis.