When adults learn from a kiddie coloring book
I first heard of the book "The Richest Man in Babylon" when I read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad. The fundamental lesson I learned from RK was that we should always pay ourselves first as soon as we get our paycheck. I know I have been doing that by putting aside a percentage from my salary back then for my savings. But I am still not rich.
Whenever I need cash, whenever I want to buy something that is not in the "needs" column in the budget plan, I still need to think a lot about the money I'll be spending. After giving in to splurges and calls of luxury, I still find myself feeling guilty for taking something out of my savings. Of course, I console myself by saying I deserved to have fun, or that I worked hard for that money, etc. But still, the fact remains that I still need to go through the process of having to think twice about spending, giving in to the urge, and then feeling guilty about it. I want to be rich. Not too rich, but rich enough to experience and enjoy the convenience and some luxury in life without having to chop a big chunk off of my savings.
And so I went on ahead and looked for the book "The Richest Man in Babylon." I couldn't find the book itself but I got the next best thing. A kiddie coloring book titled "The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon by Rose Fres Fausto." The original story "The Richest Man in Babylon" was written by George Samuel Clason. I am still on the lookout for the original book because like this kiddie storybook, I am going to bequeath my book collection to my little one when the time comes. This is a great addition to the collection so if anyone of you knows where I can buy one here in the Philippines, please let me know.
The Basic Laws of Money
I am no financial analyst or financial advisor so anything I am about to share here should not be taken as advice. I am merely sharing what I am learning in my journey to increasing my Financial IQ. The following are the things I learned from the kiddie book.
- Pay yourself first.
- Get only into a business you understand.
- Make your money work for you.
)money money money money money money
To my surprise, getting rich was actually that simple. In the book, it showed examples - excellent and relatable examples - for each law.
Before I got into the habit of saving up, I made the biggest mistake of saving only what is left of my money after paying all my dues. Back then, I thought I was being a responsible individual. I am responsible, alright. To the big corporations, but not to myself. It was a good thing that even without having read any financial books, (I used to ONLY read fiction books before) I figured out that I should love myself first and that I should pay myself first before giving money to my internet provider, or to the electric company.
After reading this kiddie book, I finally realized why my parents did not get rich even after venturing into several micro-businesses before. My mom used to be in the sewing business before. She made alterations, she creates custom apparels, she was known for her round rugs and doormats. She switched into the food business. She was good in that field too but later on, she switched to many other small businesses, and then she lost her way. If she had stayed in the clothing and apparel business, a field which she knows by heart, maybe our story would have been a little bit different. Well, this is just speculation but I really think that was supposed to be our path to riches. Only, we did not follow it, and we went for businesses we don't really know the ins and outs.
The third law of money was what really hit the nail in the head. Make your money work for you. Make sure you have enough money working to get you more money before you even think about buying any luxuries. Here I am, complaining that I can't even buy the luxuries I thought I deserved when in reality, I don't have enough money slaves that give me more money.
It's a good thing I met 
Right now, I have bought a couple of tokens from my earnings here in Hive. And speaking of earnings, I have reached my yearend target of 4k HP! Hurrah! Earlier this morning, I am at 3994HP, I powered up 6 Hive just to reach 4K. I couldn't wait for my curation rewards to fill the missing 6HP. hehe. I Just a little bit more and I'll be moving up from a little minnow to a little dolphin. Slowly but surely, I am applying everything that I learn from the books that I am reading. Slowly but surely, I am on my way to my ultimate goal. I am still sticking to my safe and not so risky targets for now. Once I am more comfortable with the movements and processes, I may start getting a little bit more aggressive. I still need to read more to increase my financial intelligence so that I can process more financial information being thrown at me. That, I learn from Robert Kiyosaki's book, Increase your Financial IQ. I'll be sharing more of the lessons I learned from this book once I'm finished reading it. :)
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