First of all, I would like to summarize the main idea of the book in a single sentence: The path to wealth goes not through luck, but through saving money and making the right investments; people constantly spend their income on others but forget themselves in the process, and to become wealthy, the moment one receives their income, they must first keep at least 10% of it for themselves (it can be more if it doesn’t lower their quality of life) and learn to make the ‘right’ investments with this money.

The important quotes I underlined in the book are as follows:

• “A man’s wealth is not in the purse he carries. A fat purse quickly empties if there is no golden stream to refill it. Arkad’s secret to always keeping his purse full is that he has an income coming from somewhere, no matter how much he spends.”
  • In this quote, what is meant by the phrase “has an income coming from somewhere” is that he had saved 10% of his salary in the past and invested it, and as a result, the money is now coming to him passively.
• “‘But is not all I earn mine to keep?’ I continued. ‘Far from it. Do you not pay the garment-maker? Do you not pay the sandal-maker? Do you not pay for the things you eat? Can you live in Babylon without spending? What have you to show for your earnings of the past month? What for the past year? Fool! You pay to everyone but yourself. You labor for others. You might as well be a slave and work for what your master gives you to eat and wear. If you kept for yourself one-tenth of all you earn, how much would you have in ten years?’ (…) A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough for food and charity and penance to the gods.”
  • This quote conveys that a person actually spends the money they earned by investing their own time on everyone but themselves, and for this reason, they cannot possess any tangible wealth, emphasizing that one must pay themselves first as soon as they earn the money. This amount doesn’t have to be a high figure like 30% or 40%; on the contrary, a 10% amount, which won’t drastically change the person’s past living conditions, should be the absolute minimum. It should not be forgotten that wealth is relative and depends on how much a person spends. Person X’s understanding of wealth, Person Y’s understanding of wealth, and the amount of money they need to have to be wealthy are different.
• “‘Every gold piece you save is a slave to work for you. Every copper it earns is its child that also can work for you. If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn, that all may help to give to you the abundance you crave.’ (…) Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed. The first copper you save is the seed from which your tree of wealth shall grow. The sooner you plant that seed the sooner shall the tree grow. And the more faithfully you nourish and water it with consistent savings, the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade.”
  • Here, it explains that a person should not only save 10%, but also invest it. With the sentence “If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn, that all may help to give to you the abundance you crave,” it actually emphasizes that the money earned from investments should be reinvested. This highlights the concept of compound interest, often referred to as the 8th wonder of the world and attributed to Albert Einstein, which allows money to grow exponentially by adding earnings on top of earnings.
• “As my savings increased, I occasionally had the urge to spend; I wanted to buy the good things the merchants brought by ships from the lands of the Phoenicians or on camels from other places. But I wisely held myself back.”
  • This statement actually explains that as people get richer, the only thing that increases is not their income; their expenses also increase due to the rise in living standards, and people need to be cautious about this situation. To become wealthy, the money earned should not be spent but accumulated and yield returns until it exceeds the amount covering a person’s needs and wants.
• (Upon the character making a wrong and illogical investment with the money he saved) “‘Why trust the knowledge of a brickmaker about jewels? Would you go to the breadmaker to inquire about the stars? No, by my tunic, you would go to the astrologer, if you had power to think. Your savings are gone, youth, you have jerked your wealth-tree up by the roots. But plant another. Try again. And next time if you would have advice about jewels, go to the jewel merchant. If you would know the truth about sheep, go to the herdsman. Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings from one who is inexperienced in such matters, shall pay with his savings for proving the falsity of their opinions,’ he said, and went away.”
  • As I just mentioned; it emphasizes that the place where a person invests their money should be a field they understand or with someone who understands the subject.
• (Upon him taking this advice and investing his next savings in the right place) “‘This time I entrusted my savings to Aggar the shield maker, to buy bronze, and each fourth month he pays me the rental.’ ‘That is good. And what do you do with the rental?’ ‘I do have a great feast with honey and fine wine and spiced cake. Also I have bought me a scarlet tunic. And some day I shall buy me a young ass upon which to ride.’ Algamish laughed at what I said. ‘You do eat the children of your savings. Then how do you expect them to work for you?’”
  • It is emphasized that even if the investment is made in the right place, attention should also be paid to the concept of “Compound Interest” that I just mentioned.
• “Arkad, you have learned your lessons well. You first learned to live upon less than you could earn. Next you learned to seek advice from those who were competent through their own experiences to give it. And, lastly, you have learned to make gold work for you.”
  • It briefly summarizes the mentioned advice.
• “My advice is, take the wisdom of Algamish and say to yourselves, ‘A part of all I earn is mine to keep.’ Say it in the morning when you first arise. Say it at noon. Say it at night. Say it each hour of every day. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky.”
• “Guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe. High interest rates are deceitful sirens that sing but to lure the unwary upon the rocks of loss and remorse. ‘Provide also that thy family may not want should the Gods call thee to thy realms. For such protection it is always possible to make provision with small payments at regular intervals. Therefore the provident man delays not in expectation of a large sum becoming available for such a wise purpose. (…) A small and safe return is far more desirable than risk. ‘Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain 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.’”
  • It discusses that the risk and return of the investment made should be balanced. It mentions that if it cannot be tolerated, high risks should be avoided. At the same time, it emphasizes that life is temporary, and therefore, one should not forget to enjoy life by trying to save too much.
• “The First Cure: Start thy purse to fattening (…) The Second Cure: Control thy expenditures (…) The Third Cure: Make thy gold multiply (…) The Fourth Cure: Guard thy treasures from loss (…) The Fifth Cure: Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment (…) The Sixth Cure: Insure a future income (…) The Seventh Cure: Increase thy ability to earn.”
  • Pay yourself first. You must set aside a certain portion of every money you earn (the rate recommended in the book is 10%) before spending it. Transferring money to a savings account before paying bills or debts is the first step in wealth building. Distinguish between wants and needs. As your income increases, your expenses should not increase (avoid “Lifestyle Inflation”). You must determine the difference between your mandatory needs and arbitrary desires and create a budget. Saving starts not with increasing income, but with managing expenses. Make your money work (Compound Interest). Letting your saved money sit idle will not make you rich. You must turn that money into an investment (stocks, funds, interest, business partnerships, etc.) and let the money earn money. In modern language, this is called creating passive income. Manage risks. Do not fall for get-rich-quick promises. Protecting your principal comes before making a profit when investing. Instead of getting into businesses you do not know, you should consult experts and prefer reliable, solid investments. Own property. The book advises owning your own home instead of paying rent. This way, your cost of living decreases, and the property you own appreciates over time and becomes an asset for you. Plan for retirement. While you are young and strong, you must invest for your old age and your family’s future. Insurance, private pension systems, or long-term dividend investments fall under this category. Invest in yourself. Your biggest asset is yourself. Improving your professional skills, learning new things, and gaining experience is the surest way to increase your potential income. When you are more knowledgeable and skilled, you earn more.

If I were to summarize the book, this is what I would say, but I must note that the book is much more detailed and also delves into debt, luck, and Babylon, a great city and empire built on the Euphrates River; I definitely recommend reading it. Personally, I knew I had to invest a portion of my income every month and was trying to do so, but because I left this to the very end, there were periods when I had no/little money left. However, the biggest habit I will change after reading the book will be investing my income the moment I receive it…

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“Where there is a will, there is a way”