Aga Aquino

I had just graduated university and recently started my graduate studies while working as an assistant instructor, that (for the purposes of this story) paid modestly well, at least better than most nurses in the city. This meant that I was in a comfortable position financially, and money was never really a problem. But I was an outlier, as common problem back then, in distant past of year 2011, employment was tight and this brought about one of the most annoying trends to plague the city, and with me in my bubble, I was not prepared to face it at the time.

So I was enjoying my free time, I remember being in the faculty office, coffee in a paper cup bought from the vending machine in the hall, my laptop open and I began preparing notes for my class the following week. I was so immersed in my work, that I had not noticed the text message I received a couple of hours earlier. It was from an unknown contact, a number I had never saved on my phonebook before. At first I was assuming it was a marketer trying to sell me stuff (I never should have written my number to that real-estate agents form), but surprisingly it was from an old classmate, one I have barely spoken to in years.

I was single at the time, and the last intimate contact I ever had was years. It was strange (to say the least) to get a message from a female friend, and my neurosis began picturing the future we would be spending together, including our wedding up to our final moments as we grew up together. It was stupid, but for a lonely guy, any sign meant everything. This influenced how I interpreted the text message, and I was excited to meet someone and spend time with them.

This story does not end well though. I met with her, we talked a little and no sooner I found myself in a large conference room with several other dupes being conned by teams of master salesmen trained to indoctrinate their targets into joining a pyramid scheme. And I was almost a victim, but when I went home that night, I was ready to break into my bank account and use my year end bonus (which was equivalent to half a years pay) and go in and invest into the “business”. Luckily my parents talked (nagged really) me out of it, and now, years later I am thankful that I listened.

And this story is here as a reminder that people will want wealth, and in desperate times, would make deals with the devil just to get by. But I have yet to meet a multi-level marketer who could live a consistent lifestyle in the long run, and I could talk about this more, but this [mini-documentary by Rare Earth] could talk about it way better than I could. I guess the thing with wealth is that it’s never that easy, and the book I read this week sums it up simply: generating wealth is a skill that you master over time.

A part of what I earn is mine to keep

The book begins with the story of how Arkad became the richest man in all of Babylon by practicing a series of skills thought to him, that he practiced over the years and in turn taught to the people of the kingdom. It was an interesting story, and I liked that it didn’t go in circles to get to the point, no cryptic messages or riddles.

The advice the book gives is nothing new, but presented in a pragmatic way. I found myself thinking deeply about the message of frugality and treating money as a tool, and the reality of money never growing over days but years of careful cultivation. It begins with understanding that wealth begets wealth, and that an empty purse can never give you wealth, so start by filling your purse.

Quick Rich gurus are all about the fast track to the rich lifestyle, and I find it disheartening when I take financial advice from so called experts only to end up with less money than I started with. Hardly is the idea of keeping your money taught to anyone, because frugality is the habit of the poor. A financial guru once said that the road to wealth is by taking the mindset of the wealthy, to go and live like a rich person, and thus spend like a rich person, to force yourself into the wealth and growth mindset. But this is terrible advice, because how does it make sense that the fastest way to make money is by spending money? Arkad says to first fill your purse, and stop money from leaving it. Smart spending, saving and improved income streams, having a full purse is the first skill that not many people master.

The rest of the book follows with general common-sense advice for investment, that I have gotten from many other sources before.

Overall the book is a great read, with lessons that a lot of people can make use of in any stage of their life that involves money. And I would recommend this to anyone, especially young professionals who just started their life in the rat races.

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So what happened to pyramid scheme?

Well I did argue with my parents about me taking out my hard earned bonus to “invest” in the pyramid scheme, so I ghosted them practically and for a while I would have my regrets as I see their expensive cars with their logo plastered on the back pass by the roads of the city on a regular basis, but as months pass by they did slowly disappeared from the city zeitgeist as people began to wise up to their schemes, but sadly at the cost of my people losing their money and ending up thousands in debt. Though they disappeared, new pyramid schemes will take their place, with outrageous calls to dismantle the oppressive chains of the employer upon it’s workers. Financial independence is at their finger tips, only if they take it.

But anything that comes too easy will always come with a heavy price.

Advice is one that is freely given away but watch that you take only that is worth having.