The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

Book Type: Paperback
Published: 01 February 2004
Publisher: New American Library
RRP:£5.99

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The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
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Review:
This is just about the best non fiction book I have ever read and most certainly the best £4 I ever spent. There are many thousands of books out there which claim to make us millionaires over night, many of which are sold here on Amazon. But while they quite often have overall 5 star ratings, you never actually see any customer reviews informing us they did indeed become a millionaire over night. What The Richest Man In Babylon does though is instead tell us that through using common sense and a bit of self discipline, we can all become rich over time. The synopsis is simple, through a series of very brief stories taken from recently excavated scrolls perportedly found in the ancient lost city of Babylon, you are told how to manage your money. Each little tale has one main message and pretty much all of them ring true today. The startling thing about the success of this book for me was that there isn't actually anything new in it. The classic example of this is one of the early messages: 'Spend less than you earn and you will become rich.' Duh! Blatantly obvious really but if you think about it how many of us in this day and age actually do this? Where credit is so easy to obtain, how many of us now live beyond our means? I genuinely feel this should be given to kids and taught in schools as they are the ones who would most benefit from it. One of the tales did stick in my throat a little bit and is slightly more difficult to apply in today's society: A chap in considerable debt who has decided to turn his life around is advised to go and see all his creditors to inform them that he is sorting it out and that they will get their money back gradually over a certain period, all the while still maintaining his 'spend less than he earns' mantra. A good idea indeed but not very practicle in today's economy. Let's say an individual owes a large amount on their credit card and their minimum payments plus their other outgoings amount to more than they earn. (sound familiar?!) If he goes to his credit card company and says "look, sorry - I can't pay what you want each month but can give you £100 a month until it's cleared." The credit card company will probably agree to this in some form or another, after all £100 is better than nothing and this is pointed out in the book. But this kind of Individual Voluntary Arrangement today now becomes a social stigma and official black mark against our name, effectively stopping us from getting mortgages or any other type of ligitimate credit in the future. The author of the 'scrolls' would say that this was not an issue as we should never use credit but today it is a necessary part of life and certainly about the only way most of us would be able to buy a house. This minor quibble aside, I still wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who listens (and a few who don't, especially if they have kids too young to have made their parents' financial mistakes). Unlike one previous reviewer, I found the style very easy to read and even managed to get through entire chapters while waiting for my kettle to boil! While there isn't really any true method to follow as such, I've applied the messages to my finances where possible for nearly 2 years now and have reduced my debt to a 10th of what it was and saved up a tidy few quid. I know it won't make me rich over night on it's own but I also know that I certainly won't be working for the rest of my life! Get it, read it, follow what it says and you will become rich evetually.