The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

To bring your dreams and desires to fulfillment, you must be successful with money. This book shows you how to amass personal wealth by sharing the secrets of the ancient Babylonians, who were the first to discover the universal laws of prosperity.

Hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth, The Richest Man in Babylon is a timeless classic that holds the key to all you desire and everything you wish to accomplish. Through entertaining stories about the herdsmen, merchants, and tradesmen of ancient Babylon, George S. Clason provides concrete advice for creating, growing, and preserving wealth. Beloved by millions, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of, and a solution to, your personal financial problems. This is the book that holds the secrets to keeping your money and making more.

Financial principles covered in this book include:
Pay yourself first.
Don't trust a bricklayer to buy jewels. (Don't get caught up in other people's excitement. Go seek the experts instead.)
Don't put all your eggs in a single basket. (Diversify your portfolio.)
Control thy expenses. (Even the richest man has a time constraint on his life. Do what you enjoy, but don't overdo it.)
Increase your ability to earn.

Keeping these core principles in mind will help you through economic hard times and put you on the road to riches.

The gold standard for personal finance books

For a beginner to savings in personal finance, this book tends to be recommended as the first steps. However, I found the forced fake-old-English style off-putting (and not used consistently either). I'm also saddened that the author didn't look for actual factual knowledge of finance in Babylon ( such as in [b:Debt: The First 5,000 Years 6617037 Debt The First 5,000 Years David Graeber https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390408633s/6617037.jpg 6811142] ), instead only learning it was where finance and banking begun- and he invented all the rest to fit his American-centric narrative.If you're looking for a starter on personal finance, [b:The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life 30646587 The Simple Path to Wealth Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life J.L. Collins https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466299641s/30646587.jpg 51187846] is a much better choice.

It is almost a century old but its lessons still hold, as no doubt they will in another 100 years' time. There was no advice in here that I had not heard before but it is always worth keeping these ideas fresh in your mind.

Если коротко, то советы такие: всегда откладывайте часть денег и инвестируйте их с умом, тогда вы станете богатым.

Обложка книги меня всегда вводила в заблуждение. Башня с “крестами” напоминает какие-то религиозные темы. Узкий классический шрифт в верхнем регистре говорит обо всех этих старых американских книгах по личному успеху и богатству: книги Трампа, Корнеги, Хилла и так далее. А у меня к ним отношение скептическое. Они все-таки выглядят и написаны так, чтобы и книги тоже продавались (были продажными), а не только люди советы получали. Короче, я ждал, что мне будут втирать инфоцыганщину.

Но на деле все оказалось очень мило. Советы не сказать, чтобы вах! Глаза вам не откроют, но если вы раньше вы никогда не думали, чтобы откладывать деньги, а не проедать на все дошираки, то теперь возможно станете откладывать.

Мне понравилось, что несмотря на непонятное название, подано как какая-то притча (не такая унылая как «Алхимик») в легкой форме, несколько раз повторяющая пять законов богатства. Для тех, кто только встает на пусть богатства — самое оно. Здесь нет подробных схем, книга скорее закладывает в вас настрой с умом относиться к деньгам и ставить цели по обогащению. Ничего плохого в этом не вижу.