the richest man in atherstone

Having got my paperwork straight, I now have more of an idea of where I stand financially. Below is a quick rundown of what I have at the moment:

I have the following assets:

• Current account - £4607.69
• Mortgage ISA - £4140.66
• House - £100'000 (my valuation)

Thats a total of £108'748.35.

They are offset by the following liability:

• Mortgage - £46'000

Leaving an equity of £62'748.35.

Discounting my house and mortage, my equity is just the money I have in my current account. This four and a half grand is all I have to show for the previous ten years of my life. It is a little disappointing, really.

In The Richest Man in Babylon, Clason discusses seven cures for a lean purse. The first is 'Start thy purse to fattening'. This law is also discussed in just about every other chapter in the book, therefore stressing its importance. Clason recommends that at least 10% of a person's earnings should be saved. However, rather than using the term 'save', he actually refers to it as 'paying yourself'. The 10% that you pay yourself should be treated like any other bill or expenditure. In fact, it should be given priority over other expenses. There is no excuse not to put this money away for yourself. If affording it is a problem, you need to make cutbacks in other areas.

From this day forward, I will abide by this rule in earnest and save at least 10% (£200) of my monthly salary. Throughout my life thus far I have kept my savings in my Lloyds TSB current acount. This isn't too bad as it pay a good interest rate (4% AER) and I've been more than happy with the customer service I've recieved over the years. But now I think it would be beneficial to open a savings account to keep my savings separate from the money I will use for my monthly living expenses. This will also stop me dipping ino it by accident. So, my next task is to find the best savings account for my circumstances. I'll update when I've found it.