Some of the ideas Robert presents reinforce those in other books we have reviewed. Like The Millionaire Next Door, Robert points out the difference between having a big salary and building wealth. In Babylon, Robert emphasizes the importance of paying yourself first. In his opinion, it's more important to systematically invest a portion of your income than to pay your bills or to pay your taxes. Robert also has a definition of an asset versus a liability that is different from conventional accounting.
Investors generally focus on accumulating assets and avoid liabilities.
Simply stated, assets generate income or cash. Liabilities consume cash. Rich people accumulate assets. People who aren't rich accumulate liabilities. When we accumulate these things, we are not really accumulating wealth, we are consuming it.