The phrase "pay yourself first" comes from the classic personal finance book The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Classon. In the book, which distills financial lessons in a series of parables, Classon writes: “A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough for food and charity and penance to the gods.”