Mission: Use financial information to achieve success.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, and I do not claim to be one.

Since I am not a financial expert, I study other resources and information so I can bring value to your families by reporting my findings. Today, we will discuss one of the most influential personal finance books ever written. This book was published in 1926. Financial advisors, educators, and inventors still use the teachings today. The book is “The Richest Man in Babylon,” written by George S. Clason. Since Clason wrote the book in the form of parables, I will deliver the core concepts of the story, but not the details. I highly recommend you read the book yourself.

To clarify, I read the book, so some of the information impacted me greatly based on my personal experience. Thus, I reccomend you read the book for yourself and perhaps you will discover game-changing information for your family. Get the book or audiobook and go through it, so you can gain the most knowledge possible.

Here are the 9 main concepts I gathered from the book. While you are going over them. Think of ways you can implement this concept into your homeschooling journey today.

1. 1 Pay Yourself First
2. 2 Control Your Expenses
3. 3 Multiply Your Money
4. 4 Guard Your Money
5. 5 Own Your Home
6. 6 Plan Ahead
7. 7 Learn to Earn
8. 8 Work Creates Wealth
9. 9 Luck favors the prepared

Clason’s first concept greatly impacted me. At the time I read the book, my brother and I had nine employees at our business. I was too busy trying to reinvest and scale the business that I failed to pay myself during this time. Unfortunately, I ended up losing a lot of money and time because of it. This concept teaches us that we must save at least 10% of every dollar we earn.

Many people think of saving as “What can I afford to put aside?” I get that mindset. You must pay bills. You need groceries. Possibly, you operate on one income as well. However, that doesn’t allow you to not make wise choices and not set you and your family up for success. And only saving what you “can” is not a plan that leads to financial success.

Talk with your partner and commit to making this a reality in your homeschooling experience. Determine how you will pay yourself at least 10% of every dollar you earn. Do you have to cut out certain luxuries? Do you need to open a new account to keep it separate so you won’t touch it?

We also suggest you take this one step further and ask your child to implement this concept into their spending habits.

Here are a couple more reasons why we suggest you implement this concept:

1. 1 You pay your future self when you save.
2. • You will learn how to grow this saved money.
3. 2 You become a fantastic role model for your children when you save.
4. • Your child may even use wise financial habits because of your behavior.
5. 3 You will lessen stress.
6. • You can reduce your homeschool family’s stress by saving for the future.

Clason based this concept on teaching people what “wants” are and what "needs” are.

As a homeschooling family, it’s vital that you keep your lifestyle choices below your income level. Now it may seem obvious, but you must remember this idea. People will tell themselves the greatest lies about why they can afford that truck, that boat, those concert tickets.

How do I know this is true? Because I am that person… It’s embarrassing, but it's true. Before I read this book, I had no idea where I continued to bleed money in my business.

It wasn’t until I decided to take complete control and follow every penny that I was able to get my business and my finances back on track. I know, as homeschooling families, you might struggle to keep track of everything. You wear 3,000 hats with kids and people pulling you in 10,000 different ways, after all.

Trust me. You want to dedicate time to studying your finances at least once a month–at least once a month!

Please hold yourself accountable and manage your finances properly. This will help you succeed in your homeschooling journey.

Clason used this third concept to teach us to invest our saved money. At the end of the day, we all battle inflation. Even if we gain the skill of “paying ourselves first,” we still fight an uphill battle. While the skill of saving money can be seen as the backbone of good financial habits, you won’t save your family into a better situation. However, you can invest that 10% or more, which will help you beat inflation. It will also increase the amount of money you save.

Please remember not to risk your money on unsure opportunities. Place it in a location that will beat inflation and has a guaranteed return. Also, please involve your children in the process of making investment decisions. If a young person invests early, they will achieve greatly and outpace their peers in the investment world. They will also experience the full effect of compound growth.

Clason created a fourth concept, “Guarding Your Money,” which explains the importance of protecting what you’ve already earned. He expressed that one should use wisdom and awareness when investing. Watch out for risky or diabolical schemes. He also expressed that you should not take advice or model behavior from people who aren’t where you want to be in life. This can apply to many areas of your life.

As homeschooling families, we should take this concept one step further. Don’t just guard the money you have saved; guard all of your money. Period.

So what does guarding our money look like?

1. 1 Monitor your monthly subscriptions.
2. • If the subscriptions do not bring your family value, get rid of them.
3. 2 Budget your finances.
4. • Take advantage of opportunities (Buy one, get one free).
5. 3 Understand what a want and a need are.
6. 4 Get the whole family on board.
7. • If the two leaders move in opposite directions, your household is destined to fail.

Nowadays, everyone understands that owning real estate can help you build long-term wealth. You pay it down, and it appreciates in value.

That being said, I don't own my home; I rent it. :/

Now, you can buy a home to raise your family in a good, successful area, go for it! However, I don’t believe that you need to own a home to homeschool. I chose to include this concept because it is important.

As homeschooling families, it’s extremely easy to fall into the day-to-day hustle, but it's vital that you make time to plan. You need to do this when it comes to your finances. Start thinking about the future.

Here are some questions to help you think about investments for the future:

1. 1 Do your kids want to go to college?
2. 2 If yes, what does the cost look like?
3. 3 Can you afford that amount?
4. 4 Do they want to start a business?
5. 5 How will you earn money through retirement?
6. 6 Can you handle a major medical expense?
7. 7 Do you have enough money to survive after you finish working?

Plan for the future now and help support your kids. Plan with your kids. Ask them to think about long-term investments and how to become financially secure for the rest of their lives. Explain to them that money doesn’t buy happiness, but living without it can cause stress. A famous quote illustrates the need to plan: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

If they begin planning now, they can find freedom from the financial stress that we feel today.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. 1 What type of investments create healthy long-term investments?
2. 2 What’s the rate of inflation you must beat to make sure your family becomes successful?
3. 3 Which type of investments have proven to be the best long-term?
4. 4 What alternative investments provide a safe vessel for your money? Example: life insurance, art, baseball cards, etc.

I love this concept. It shows that we are not capped as individuals when it comes to our earning potential. Clason’s work teaches us that financial information can help us discover the potential income that we can earn. We learn, through this book, that we can maintain control over the amount we earn. And we don’t have to stay where we are financially. If we use effort and energy, we can change our financial situations. We can continue learning after graduating from school/college. No matter if you're eight or 80, there is always more information you can learn.

Please repeat this concept to your kids, especially in our modern age. Because we continually witness insane technological advancement, we must learn fast. We need to learn new information to create success! The skill of learning begins at home. Make it a point to encourage them to be non-stop learners. Homeschooling allows you to curate a love for learning new information.

Take full advantage of it.

This quote is from a character in the book, Sharru Nada. His character started as a slave, but through hard work, determination, reinvesting, and honest work, he became a successful merchant.

We are blessed to live in America, where if you work hard, stay focused, practice honesty, and strive to get better every day, you can create the life of your dreams. As a nation, we forget our privileges. My grandma came from Honduras, where you will find people with no legs who use kids’ skateboards as wheelchairs. The capitalist society gifts us and allows us to be paid in direct proportion to the work we put forth. If you teach your children one concept from my words, please tell them that wealth is not given but is earned through continuous, sustained action.

As homeschooling families, your kids can start understanding how to provide value in exchange for money. Encourage them to find different ways they can make money. At a young age, they need to understand that we get paid in direct proportion to the problems we solve.

Because they can learn this as young people, your child can create or brainstorm about different career opportunities.

This final concept falls hand in hand with the one above it. And for that reason, it's a close second on my list of favorites.

The quote says it all. If you continue to do the right thing every day, Lady Luck will eventually bless you. How does this correlate with money and your homeschooling journey?

Homeschooling is a full-time job in itself. In my experience, I know that, just like with money, striving to do the right thing creates an experience and journey you want. I've seen it happen with my money. I've seen it happen with my parents' homeschooling experience. If you keep putting forth this effort daily, your homeschooling experience will be successful.

Book: The Richest Man in Babylon: Clason, George S.: 9781505339116: Amazon.com: Books