From George S. Clason’s timeless treasure, The Richest Man in Babylon, comes Seven Cures for a Lean Purse. This is my take on the 7 Cures for a Lean Purse section found in the Clason’s book. I’ve also created a free pdf download for Clason’s 7 Cures below. And, be sure to watch our new Richest Man in Babylon Quotes video on this same page.
As explained in our post Richest Man in Babylon Quotes, the richest man in ancient Babylon is a man named Arkad. After seeking help from some old friends with lean purses, or what we might call, thin wallets, Arkad gives them some advice.
Also, speaking of advice, I’m not a financial advisor and any information found below is not to be taken as financial advice. Always do your own due diligence and seek the advice of professionals. And, before we get started, please consider joining our Wealthvibes family. To check it out just click the following link: Wealthvibes Bulletin. As a thank you you’ll get a free 1 hour money magnet audio if you join our free list.
Seven Cures for a Lean Purse Free PDF Download
Before we get to today’s post, I’ve actually pulled the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse section out of the Richest Man in Babylon book (which is copyright-free and in the public domain) and created a free pdf for you.
It’s a quick read at only about 15 pages, but it packs a financial punch, so you’ll definitely want to check it out.
To get it just click the link below and you’ll be taken to our download page on Mediafire. Once there just click the download button and save the free pdf to your device.
If you find it valuable feel free to give it away to family and friends.
Click to: Download Seven Cures for a Lean Purse PDF for Free
The Seven Cures for a Lean Purse
Now, getting back to Arkad and the men who came to seek his advice about becoming rich. Arkad gives these men Seven Cures for a Lean Purse:
- Start thy purse to fattening
- Control thy expenditures
- Make thy gold multiply
- Guard thy treasures from loss
- Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
- Insure a future income
- Increase thy ability to earn
First Cure for a Lean Purse – Start Thy Purse to Fattening
Arkad gives them what is probably the best advice in the book about fattening their purse. “I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep. And so will you.” Essentially, it is the old pay yourself first adage.
Arkad suggests putting aside 10%, or more if able, and not touching that money for expenses. You may believe, especially in the beginning, that this will be a difficult thing to get used to. But soon after starting you probably won’t miss that extra money.
The main thing, though, when you start saving, is that you will quickly realize that the money you save will provide you with both a nice financial cushion and a mental one as well.
All of this will bring you an increased peace of mind. You won’t worry so much about emergencies. (You should create a separate fund for those). And, you won’t worry so much about your financial future. The reason being, you are doing something about it.
You will probably start to feel better about everything in your life. Which brings us to Arkad’s second cure for a lean purse – control thy expenditures.
Control thy Expenditures – The Second of the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse
This one is pretty simple – get your spending under control. Cut out what you can from the budget. If you have 4 or 5 different streaming services, see if you can get it down to 1 or 2. The big ones are living expenses and automobiles. If you can get those reduced that should make a big dent in what spend. Every dollar saved can go right into your investments so see what you can do.
You should also start tracking where you spend your money. Mint online is a free tool that can help you with that. That will help you realize how little miscellaneous expenses often gobble up more than we realize.
With more disposable income you can start rapidly increasing your savings and investments. This brings us to cure number three of the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse.
Cure for a Lean Purse 3 – Make Thy Gold Multiply
Arkad suggests saving 10% or more of what you earn. If you can do that starting young and you can increase your income along the way, you can start to amass some significant investments over the years.
For instance, say you are able to put away just $300 a month and invest it at 6% for 20 years. After that time period you would have $136,352. Over $64,000 of that is just interest. Not bad.
But, what if you are able to put away $500 a month for 25 years? That yields $338,573. Over $188,000 of that is investment interest!
Now, what if you are able to save $1,000 extra every month for 30 years? And, what if you could squeeze out just one more percent, to make it a 7% return instead of 6%? Well, then you are looking at $1,170,000.00. In that last case, you put in $360,000 over that 30 years and your investment income soars to over $810,000! So, as you can see, the more time you have and the more money you can put away, the rosier your picture will be down the road. If you are looking for some info in that regard check out our 22 Wealth Tips for a Better Life.
Seven Cures for a Lean Purse 4 – Guard Thy Treasure from Loss
Over the years I’ve had a bit of trouble with this one. From scams to bad investments to con men, I’ve seen it all and have gotten stung a number of times. (See The Chain Letter Scam I Fell For for instance). Best advice for you in that regard is to do your due diligence. Thoroughly know what you’re investing in and if it fits your temperament. Follow the adage, “If it sounds to be good to be true, it probably is.”
Stay away from giving individuals with a good story your hard-earned money. Invest in real estate and stocks for a way to get some ownership interest going. Keep some of your money in cash, but just know that it is slowly eroding as it sits there. The more control you have over assets that pay you the better you’ll be in the long run.
Cure 5 – Make of thy Dwelling a Profitable Investment
My take on this one is a little bit different than Clason. He makes some good points about having a home that your family can come home to and be proud of. Nothing wrong with that but a lot of folks don’t really consider a home as an asset because you have to live somewhere anyway.
However, if you do buy a home and you have a fixed-interest mortgage, you’ll soon discover that the landlord isn’t constantly raising the rent. That’s because you’re the landlord! As rental prices naturally trend up you’ll find that having a payment every month that doesn’t rise, is another great thing for your peace of mind.
And, in the beginning of living in your home, if you don’t mind having guests, you might want to rent out a room or two. Nowadays this is referred to as “house hacking.” Doing this can free up a lot of money for investments as well as allowing you to pay down your mortgage a lot faster. I did this for years and highly recommend it.
Seven Cures for a Lean Purse 6 – Insure a Future Income
Here Clason mentions that we must prepare for our later years. You can do this by increasing investments, having a pension, upping what you’ll get from social security, creating your own business that generates revenue, investing in dividend-paying stocks, rental real estate and so on. The more you do early on, the easier life will get as you get older.
In addition, you may want to think about adequate life insurance if you have a family to protect.
Cure Number 7 – Increase Thy Ability to Earn
If you can do this throughout the years you’ll be in great shape. Always learn and study new ways to make money. Look at being the best you can be in your present job. Also, looking at starting your own business or doing side-hustles. The more talents and abilities and knowledge you have the more different ways you’ll be able to make income going forward. And, as you get better at your main money-making gig, you should get more higher-paying opportunities in that realm as well.
So, there you have it – Seven Cures for a Lean Purse. These 7 cures should give you an ample number of ways to start fattening your purse or wallet today. Also, don’t forget to download your free copy of the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse PDF to read that portion of George S. Clason’s classic work, The Richest Man in Babylon.
I hope you enjoyed our take on the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse and the actual 7 cures in the free pdf. If you enjoyed them please let us know in the comments section below.
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