Every time I feel my financial discipline slipping, I return to The Richest Man in Babylon. Its principles are simple: earn, save, and make your money work for you.
I recently reread this classic, whose core teaching is clear: ten per cent of everything you earn is yours to keep. Pay yourself first. It is your money. You earned it.
Originally written in the 1920s by George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon remains one of the most influential personal finance books of all time. Through parables set in ancient Babylon, the book teaches practical lessons on saving money, investing wisely, and building long-term wealth.
I have written a full review of the book and its lessons in The Citizen newspaper, where I explore these principles in detail and why this book remains relevant for anyone looking for practical ways to begin saving and building wealth.
Today, I want to share some of my favourite quotes from the book. I will leave them without commentary so you can sit with them as they are.
15 The Richest Man in Babylon Quotes on Wealth
- I decided to myself that I would claim my share of the good things of life. I would not be one of those who stand afar off, enviously watching others enjoy. I would not be content to clothe myself in the cheapest raiment that looked respectable. I would not be satisfied with the lot of a poor man. On the contrary, I would make myself a guest at the banquet of good things.
- Money makes possible the enjoyment of the best the earth affords.
- No one lends his entire fortune, not even to his best friend.
- I wish to be a man of means. I wish to own land and cattle, to have fine robes and coins in my purse.
- A man’s wealth is not in the purse he carries. A fat purse quickly empties if there be no golden stream to fill it.
- A part of all you earn is yours to keep.
- Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed.
- Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having.
- Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.
- Insure an income for thy future. Look thou at the aged and forget not that in the days to come thou also will be numbered among them. Therefore, invest thy treasure with the greatest caution that it be not lost.
- Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain yourself or try to save too much. If one-tenth of all you earn is as much as you can comfortably keep, be content to keep this portion. Live otherwise according to your income, and let not yourself get niggardly and afraid to spend. Life is good, and life is rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy.
- The purpose of a budget is to help thy purse to fatten. It is to assist thee to have thy necessities and, insofar as attainable, thy other desires. It is to enable thee to realise thy most cherished desires by defending them from thy casual wishes.
- Desires must be simple and definite. They defeat their own purpose should they be too many, too confusing, or beyond man’s training to accomplish.
- Opportunity waits for no man. Today it is here; soon it is gone. Therefore, delay not.
- Men of action are favoured by the goddess of good luck.
These quotes continue to shape how I think about saving, discipline, and long-term wealth. The Richest Man in Babylon may be nearly a century old, but its lessons on paying yourself first and preparing for the future remain timeless.
Which quote speaks to you most?
Always,
Jane 🙂
