“Make thy gold multiply” implored Arkad, the wealthy sage in George Clason’s wonderful story “The Richest Man in Babylon.” This was the third of seven cures for a lean purse and suggested that merely saving money is not enough; one must invest and hopefully earn a return on it as well.
So it stands to reason that the fourth cure “Guard thy Treasures from Loss” relates to the prudence required when investing. “The first sound principal of investment is security for thy principal” teaches Arkad to his eager listeners, cautioning them to “Be not misled by thine own romantic desires to make wealth rapidly.” He went on to share his own early experiences that taught him the importance of this cure. Because he was beginning to accumulate some extra coins—above what he required to live on—he decided to give them to a friend who was a brick maker and who was traveling over the far seas to Tyre. The “plan” was for his friend was to invest in jewels to bring back and sell, agreeing to share in the profits. The problem occurred when they discovered that the “jewels” were actually shiny bits of glass, immediately revealing to him “...the folly of entrusting a brick maker to buy jewels.”
How many times are we tempted to take a short cut and hire a lesser qualified person (including ourselves!) to handle an important project, only to be disappointed in the results? “Better by far to consult those experienced in handling money…” in order to “…prevent thy purse from being emptied once it is well filled.”
We can certainly learn much from the experiences of others and this lesson underscores the importance of working with a qualified financial advisor. You work hard to earn your “shekels” and it just makes perfect sense to hire a reputable advisor to look after them!