The Wealthy Barber
Encyclopedia
The Wealthy Barber is a personal finance
book by David Chilton
. The book is structured around a story of three people in their late 20s visiting Roy, the title character, for lessons in financial planning. Each chapter of the book describes a different visit and a different element of financial planning. Each month along with their lessons the three students are required to start carrying out the actions prescribed by Roy. In addition to these individuals, Roy also shares his financial knowledge with the customers of his barber shop.
The story is set primarily in Sarnia, Ontario
, where Roy has been operating a barber shop for several decades. As a young man, Roy had planned to become a lawyer, but those plans are derailed. He ends up taking over his father's barber shop. Worried about money, Roy visits Mr. White, one of the town's wealthiest men, and asks for advice on financial planning. This advice paves the way for Roy's accumulating wealth.
The basis of the book is Roy's advice to "save 10 per cent of all that you earn and invest it for long-term growth." In that, it draws from the advice first set forth in The Richest Man in Babylon. Subsequent chapters discuss wills and life insurance, RRSPs, buying a home, income tax and saving and spending.
Roy (and thus Chilton) is not as harshly anti-debt as some other authors, like Dave Ramsey
. However Roy does advise that extra money should go to pay off debt. And that credit cards are "anathema
" to well-run personal finances. Roy does believe that if you are investing 10% and maxing out your RRSP, day-to-day spending doesn't matter too much to your overall financial picture.
According to the book's website The Wealthy Barber has sold over 2 million copies in North America
. This book remains a popular guide to the often confusing world of personal finances and is often recommended as a primer to this subject in many investment clubs.
Personal finance
Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit. It addresses the ways in which individuals or families obtain, budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future...
book by David Chilton
David Barr Chilton
David Chilton is a Canadian author from Sarnia, Ontario. Today he resides in Kitchener, Ontario where he runs his own financial planning business and publishing company. In 1989 he self-published his book The Wealthy Barber. A look at personal finance, it went on to sell over three million...
. The book is structured around a story of three people in their late 20s visiting Roy, the title character, for lessons in financial planning. Each chapter of the book describes a different visit and a different element of financial planning. Each month along with their lessons the three students are required to start carrying out the actions prescribed by Roy. In addition to these individuals, Roy also shares his financial knowledge with the customers of his barber shop.
The story is set primarily in Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, where Roy has been operating a barber shop for several decades. As a young man, Roy had planned to become a lawyer, but those plans are derailed. He ends up taking over his father's barber shop. Worried about money, Roy visits Mr. White, one of the town's wealthiest men, and asks for advice on financial planning. This advice paves the way for Roy's accumulating wealth.
The basis of the book is Roy's advice to "save 10 per cent of all that you earn and invest it for long-term growth." In that, it draws from the advice first set forth in The Richest Man in Babylon. Subsequent chapters discuss wills and life insurance, RRSPs, buying a home, income tax and saving and spending.
Roy (and thus Chilton) is not as harshly anti-debt as some other authors, like Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey
David L. Ramsey III is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tagline that "It's about your life and your money," and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the...
. However Roy does advise that extra money should go to pay off debt. And that credit cards are "anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
" to well-run personal finances. Roy does believe that if you are investing 10% and maxing out your RRSP, day-to-day spending doesn't matter too much to your overall financial picture.
According to the book's website The Wealthy Barber has sold over 2 million copies in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. This book remains a popular guide to the often confusing world of personal finances and is often recommended as a primer to this subject in many investment clubs.
External links
- The Wealthy Barber website
- A Wikibooks Study guide