This is so kind and beautiful of you to give back to the community that has supported you so far. God bless you for the contest too.

Here comes my review of a book that shaped my life up till this moment

It was already at the end of the year 2021, I was at home (my hometown) lying down on the long pouch when I started thinking of how the new year would be. It was just on the 29th of December I think, and the thought of how the year 2022 would be for me. Just like I used to do, I was busy scrolling through some statuses on my phone. Something about me is that I am never one who loves to read books or novels, even when I do, I only flip through a few pages and then close it back. But I saw a book online which caught my attention. I thought of reading something that day especially since I was so bored while thinking about my life. I was 27 years old then without any savings even though I was on Hive, I already spent a lot and did not have much on me to start the new year.

I decided to download the book (pdf) to keep me busy, not knowing something was about to change my mindset from that moment. I'd thought it would be one of those books I wouldn't complete but this turned out to be a different one entirely which also led me to buy more books the following year.

The book is titled "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George Clason. Even though this book is an old book, there are great finance tips that changed my perspective.

That was how I began my journey into reading this book. I read the first chapter and the urge to keep reading on got me, I kept flipping page by page and was so engrossed that I didn't notice when the night was dark. The sound of the generator around 7 pm made me know it was night time. I was hungry but didn't stand up to go take my food because I started coming across some tips that made me decide my life at that point. It was then I didn't mind if my mates had gone far ahead of me because I realised that it is not too late to start something. You just have to begin somewhere and once you are determined, you will see a big result in the end. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

I was forced to eat my meal and even when I finished, I resumed reading the book. I slept so late at midnight because of a book that was about to begin a new season in my life. It wasn't that I didn't know anything about savings or budgeting but I never took them seriously. Many times when I save, I would be tempted to spend and when there is an emergency need, I would start going out to borrow money from people that paying back would become hard on me.

This book changed my life entirely when I read a part that says: "A part of all I earn is mine to keep."

At that instant, I took a new jotter and wrote the phrase down as I made it a routine to say it every morning when I wake up so I could always remember when I earned from Hive. Hive was/is my source of income and it was easy for me to pay myself first with 10% of my income.

Aside from that, this quote stood out for me till today. A quote by Arkad who was the richest man in Babylon. He said, "Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much. If one-tenth of all you earn is as much as you can comfortably keep, be content to keep this portion."

That was how I became eager and waiting for the new year to begin. The year finally came and my journey into savings has been a great impact and of help to me. It made things easier for me especially when my Grandma died in August as I was getting prepared for my National Youth Service Corps. I had to pause things and took from my savings to fund her funeral. I have two siblings in the university and it made things so easier to support them without lacking.

This phase of my life was so stress-free for me that I never relied on anyone for help financially but knowing how saving part of my income has been of great help and support to me. I wouldn't have had the thought of saving and being determined if I hadn't read that book and till now, it has been a habit to keep part of my income while letting it work for me too. Thanks to my big sister who also mentored me on how to start investing my money which I am living for a long term knowing how big my money would yield in the coming years.