Put Yourself on Babylonian Budget

Published September 25, 1980.

QUESTION: Just now important is money in marital stability? We hear so much about inflation, high interest rates, unemployment, bankruptcy, etc. that it’s a wonder anyone is happily married if money is at the root of it all. Could it be that we have overrated the impact of money on marriage?

ANSWER: It is true that some married couples, particularly new ones, live on relatively small incomes and are very happy. Several people just seem to get by on less than others.

There are perhaps, at least two elements regarding money and marriage. One is the level of income and the second is the management of the money. Without wise control over expenditures, no amount of money will suffice.

There is a widespread myth that if every couple had just one thousand more dollars, they would be happy. But as most people know, once the extra thousand is attained by one means or another, the wants have already escalated well beyond what the one thousand dollars can buy. At some point in every marriage, we must learn to live on a given income no matter the amount, and every couple must learn to do without some things, at least initially.

Not long ago I was in the supermarket with Susan and was looking over the paperback books while she was shopping. I picked up a copy of George S. Clason’s book “The Richest Man in Babylon.” It had previously been recommended to me by a friend, so I bought it. And it was well worth the $1.95 for it.

The book was written in 1955 and has sold over one million copies. I found it fascinating and would highly recommend it to others.

Clason wrote his story in the setting of ancient Babylon, the cradle where the basic principles of finance were nurtured and are now recognized and used the world over.

In a nutshell, here is the essence of his story.

If a man earns 10 gold coins, he should pay himself one, pay his debts with two, and learn to live on seven. Simply stated, 10 percent of one’s income should be invested, no more than 20 percent should be owed to others, and 70 percent of a person’s income should be that which he spends on a day to day living expenses.

By investing one gold coin, Clason suggests that “part of all you earn is yours to keep.” And by wisely investing part of our income we may eventually enjoy the pleasures of life. In ancient Babylon, people would buy servants who would work for them and help them attain wealth. Seldom would a man sell his servants, or spend his investments, because that is the very source of future wealth.

Those from whom you borrow money should be viewed as your potential enemies. If you are unable to repay the money, your lender will become unfriendly or even hostile. If however, you keep the amount owed to others under 10 percent, are able to repay your loan and thereby give a fair rate of interest to the lender, you have gained a friend. A borrower should wisely select both the amount of the loan and the parties from whom the loan is made.

And seven gold coins, or 70 percent of one’s money should go for a tent (housing), a camel (transportation), goat meat (food), pleasure (recreation), guards (insurance), and other daily necessities. By controlling expenditures a man can then afford to keep the 10 percent or one gold coin for himself.

But the most impressive part of “The Richest Man in Babylon” to me was the description Clason made of a man’s attitude towards himself, his family, and others when he had insufficient income or has mismanaged what he had. Clason concludes:

“That man who keepeth in his purse both gold and silver that he need not spend is good to his family and loyal to his king.

“The man who hath but a few coppers in his purse is indifferent to his family and indifferent to his king.

“But the man who hath naught in his purse is unkind to his family and is disloyal to his king, for his own heart is bitter.

“Therefore, the man who wisheth to achieve must have coin that he may keep to jingle in his purse, that he have in his heart love for his purse, that he have in his heart love for his family and loyalty to his king.”