Do any of you yesterday were empty purses?

- All - answered the disciples.

- But all you earn differently. Some receive more than others. In some families are more numerous than the other. Yet equally empty your wallets. And now I tell you the truth unusual. She says that what each one of you calls his "urgent needs" increases as your earnings, if you are not opposed to this.

Not to be confused with the pressing needs of your desires. Each of you desire more than you can afford with the money. Therefore savings coins and go to meet these desires. But always remains unmet more.

All people desire more than they can afford.

Do you think that if I am rich, I can afford it? It is not true. I do not have time for everything. I did not have the strength. The distance that I can go, too limited. I can not eat whatever I want. I can not enjoy all the pleasures of life, which I would like.

Listen to me, just as the weeds thrive in the field if the farmer leaves plenty of room for their roots, and desire to grow in man, if he has the opportunity to meet them. Wish a great many, but only a small part of them you can afford.

Think about their life habits. They are responsible for all costs when considering sound can be reduced or eliminated. Therefore, write down all the things that you are willing to spend money. Please select the ones that are needed, and those that can be paid out of nine-tenths of your earnings. Cross out all the rest, to rank them by the set of desires that will remain unfulfilled, and do not feel sorry for them.

An excerpt from the wonderful book "The Richest Man in Babylon"