In old Babylon a poor scribe named Arkad asked a rich moneylender how to become wealthy. The old man answered: “A part of all you earn is yours to keep. Pay yourself first — not less than one-tenth, no matter how little you earn.” Arkad protested that all he earned was already his. “Fool,” the lender said. “You pay the garment-maker, the sandal-maker, and the baker. You labor for everyone except yourself.” Every coin you save becomes a slave that works for you; its earnings become children that work as well. Wealth grows like a tree from a tiny seed. Plant the first copper soon, water it faithfully with savings, and one day you will sit in its shade. Do not take advice about gold from a brickmaker. Seek those who have already walked the road.

The lesson is, pay yourself first. Keep at least one-tenth of everything you earn and put it to work so it can earn more. Do not spend all of the money you make, and do not take money advice from people who have never handled money well. Small, steady savings grow into wealth, wasted earnings never do.