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<center>***...A part of what you earn is yours to keep***...</center>

As I grow, I begin to learn more about finances and how to do well with money, and one of those lessons I have learned is primarily from the book I read over a year ago, "The Richest Man in Babylon". This book contains powerful lessons to learn about building your finances, and playing smart with it. It is actually the best book I have read so far about finances and will definitely have to read it again and again.



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The first lesson to learn about finances is: *A part of what you earn is yours to keep*. You should not spend all that you earn; instead, you should keep some money for yourself. When you spend money, you pay others with the money you earn. We should also learn to pay ourselves by saving money. 

When you save money, it is important to save at least 1/5th of your income. That is approximately 20% of your income. This way, you will be able to grow your money. I have learned this and I save more than 20% of my income monthly. I earn only on Hive, but I do my best to save some in HBD and, at the same time, convert some to my local currency and keep saving them too. This is to ensure that I have money to grow someplace.


<center>***...Control thy Expenditure...***</center>

As you save 20% of your earning, learn to control your expenditures based on the 80% you make. Do not live more than your income; instead, learn to live below your income and try to save as much as possible, as this will help save you from debt and emergencies that may arise that may require money from you.

A lot of times, having to save money has saved me from situations and debts, and because of these, I have grown interested in wanting to save money for different goals, especially emergencies and also for investing. 

Talking about investing, it is important that, as you save money, you learn to make your money work for you. I know this is a popular phrase used in most scam ventures, but they know its true but then use it against you. This is why you need to "*guide your treasures from loss*", and only put your money in things you understand, have done research on, and are sure are legit.

There are different forms of investment available and platforms that offer them; make sure to take necessary research on the credibility of these platforms and also seek professional advice.

<center>***...Invest in yourself...***</center>

There is no better form of investment than spending money in shaping your skills and in your education. These skills are what will make you valuable in society and will fetch you more income. So try to consider your skills as a form of investment; if it takes you to pay for a particular skill to learn, do so.

Anything valuable cannot be easily seen for free and even it is free, you should find a way to pay for it. Why? If someone offers to teach you for free and you find a way to reward the person for what he is doing, you will grow interested in him or her and encourage him or her to expose more secrets and teach you more.

If you are asked to pay to learn a skill and you see it as something valuable, then pay. Don't always look for free things and valuable services cannot be gotten for free. Seek to improve every day and invest in yourself.






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