Pay Yourself First: The Ancient Secret to Building Wealth

In 1926, George S. Clason published a book that would change how millions think about money. "The Richest Man in Babylon" taught a principle so simple, yet so powerful, that it remains the foundation of wealth-building nearly a century later: Pay yourself first.

The Lesson from Ancient Babylon

In Clason's timeless parable, a poor scribe named Arkad becomes the richest man in Babylon by following one simple rule: "A part of all I earn is mine to keep."

Arkad saved at least 10% of everything he earned—not after paying his bills, not after treating himself, but first, before anything else touched his money.

This isn't just ancient wisdom. It's the foundation of every successful wealth-building strategy ever created.

The $10 a Day Challenge

Let's make this practical. What if you committed to paying yourself just $10 a day?

That's:

• $70 per week
• $300 per month
• $3,650 per year

Sounds manageable, right? Now here's where it gets interesting.

If you save $10 a day and earn a reasonable 7% annual return:

• In 10 years: $52,000+
• In 20 years: $153,000+
• In 30 years: $370,000+

That's the power of consistency combined with compound growth. And it all starts with $10 a day.

Think of It as Your First Hour

Here's another way to frame it: Your first hour of work each day belongs to you.

If you work an 8-hour day, that first hour—roughly 12.5% of your time—should go straight to your future. Not to the landlord. Not to the credit card company. Not to Amazon. To you.

Most people work their entire lives making everyone else rich: their employer, their mortgage company, their utility providers, the government. The first hour of every day goes to everyone except themselves.

Flip the script. Claim your first hour.

Why "First" Matters

You might be thinking, "I'll save what's left over at the end of the month." Here's the problem: there's never anything left over.

Expenses expand to fill available income. It's called Parkinson's Law, and it applies to money just as much as time. If you wait to save what's "extra," you'll be waiting forever.

But when you pay yourself first—when the money moves automatically before you even see it—something magical happens. You adjust. You figure it out. You don't even miss it.

Making It Automatic

The wealthy don't rely on willpower. They rely on systems.

Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a savings or investment account. Schedule it for the day after your paycheck hits. Make it invisible.

The money you never see is the money you never spend.

Start Where You Are

Maybe $10 a day feels like a stretch right now. That's okay. Start with $5. Start with $3. The exact amount matters less than the habit.

What matters is this: make the commitment that a portion of everything you earn is yours to keep. Not later. Not someday. Now.

As Arkad discovered thousands of years ago in Babylon, wealth isn't about how much you make—it's about how much you keep. And keeping starts with paying yourself first.