The Richest Man in Babylon

[Coleslaw]

Wasn't sure whether to post it here or A&L. Is it good? Is saving 10% of all you earn enough for the contingencies of the modern age?

 

[Mediocre]

The richest man in Babylon would buy $GME for the short squeeze.

 

[ChromaticAberration]

It's a very basic book, but considering the surprising amount of cattle out there struggling to make ends meet, it's a must-read.
I don't find "save 10%" to be the most valuable lesson in the book. The most important ones are "invest in yourself" and "Lady Luck smiles upon those who show up." After all, there's a limit to how much you can save, but no theoretical limit to how much you can earn.

 

[Milkis]

Haven't read the book. IMO have 2 months of normal expenses in liquid form (can withdraw instantly, e.g., your bank's low-yield savings account) for emergency use, and another 4 months in a stable low-risk investment (I personally do govt paper, lots of people swear by money market accounts but I don't have one) which you can draw from given maybe a week. Save as much as you comfortably can until you have those two reserves. After that I guess what you put into investments is dependent on what your retirement goals are.

 

[Freshly Baked Socks]

I am enjoying the audiobook. At the end of chapter two I had to stop and rewind the tape when he says "do not become niggardly" while speaking of the hazards of being a miser. I sort of wish this was required reading in public schools, it seems so practical.

here is the excerpt: "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.”

 

[Spasticus Autisticus]

Haven't read the book. IMO have 2 months of normal expenses in liquid form (can withdraw instantly, e.g., your bank's low-yield savings account) for emergency use, and another 4 months in a stable low-risk investment (I personally do govt paper, lots of people swear by money market accounts but I don't have one) which you can draw from given maybe a week. Save as much as you comfortably can until you have those two reserves. After that I guess what you put into investments is dependent on what your retirement goals are.

Another option for emergency funds is I Bonds. They earn interest for 30 years that is adjusted for inflation (more accurately, the CPI, it's debatable how much that reflects actual inflation), so if you're concerned about losing out to inflation, this could be an option. Right now newly-purchased I Bonds pay 1.68% which is better than even long-term CDs. Downsides: you can't cash them out within the first year after purchase, you will lose three months interest if you cash them out before five years, there is a purchase limit ($10k per year per SSN but there are ways to get up to $15k more), and you have to deal with TreasuryDirect which looks like it hasn't been updated since 2002.

 

[Uncle June]

Love the book. I checked it out after listening to Millionaire Next Door. I think one of the comments sums it up the best.

"Its a cheat code to life."

 

[cantankerous jackalope]

The Intelligent Investor is another good read OP, and since I'm a shameless Bitcoin shill - The Bitcoin Standard. Half the book breaks down the very concept of money and it's really interesting.

 

[X Pac Heat]

I read it my senior year of high school because some dude I helped at my job told me to. It's pretty basic, but what I've noticed is that I actually have savings and very very little debt while most of the classmates I kept up with are drowning in debt. So it must have done something to my impressionable mind.

 

[Stasi]

Its a good book OP, like others have said. Most of the advice is basic if you are already financially savvy but if not its a good starting point.

The full audiobook is on youtube so you can have it on while doing other stuff. Reading/listening to it is time well spent.