#TiburcioTipidTips : What the Richest Man in Babylon Can Teach Us About Money

Master the laws of money and this guy could be you!

One of my highly recommended books about Personal Finance is The Richest Man in Babylon. In fact, as of writing this post, I have already read it three times!

What I really like about this book is that it contains ageless wisdom not only about how to handle money, but also how to grow it and protect it.

Amazingly, these personal finance lessons that were suggested in the book are very simple and easy to follow. It wouldn’t make your nose bleed if you try to read and understand them.

If there is one section in the book that I would want you to read, that would be the chapter that talks about the Five Laws of Gold. If you don’t have a copy of the book yet (which I highly recommend that you invest on), here are the five laws that you can start applying right away:

The First Law of Gold

“Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.”

If you want to increase your income, set aside at least 10% of your income for investments. Personally, since I want to accelerate my wealth creation, I allocate at least 20%.

The Second Law of Gold

“Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

Using the 10% that you set aside, you must find the right investments for your money. This emphasizes that we should let money work hard for us and not the other way around.

I primarily invest in the Philippine Stock Market. I have firsthand experience that money really works hard in there!

The Third Law of Gold

“Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.”

Protect your investments by doing due diligence before investing in your choice of investment vehicle. I have a general rule that says “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”

The Fourth Law of Gold

“Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.”

Even though you have the money to invest but you are not investing wisely, you will still risk losing your hard-earned money. Do not invest in income sources that you are not familiar with or if the one giving you financial advice lack the experience.

The Fifth Law of Gold

“Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.”

Just remember the general rule I stated earlier that if it’s to good to be true, it probably is. A lot of Filipinos fall for dubious companies that promise to double or triple their money without knowing how those companies will achieve such high results.

There you go, the five laws of money.

Simple yet very profound.

The next question is, can you commit yourself to following these simple laws of money?

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To our success in all areas of life, 
Argel Tiburcio 
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