One classic book in the field of personal finance is The Richest Man in Babylon. It has been in print for decades as it continues to prove a popular read. The memorable stories in the book introduce various lessons related to succeeding financially.
Some time ago I thought to match up the lessons in the book with specific hledger commands. That is, what hledger command would I use show how well I was incorporating a given lesson?
It turned out that I could find relatively few matches. Yes, there were some hledger commands that corresponded directly to lessons, but I was left scratching my head for many of them.
Why was this? One initial thought was that hledger was somehow deficient. However, after some more reflection, I realized a better observation. The Richest Man in Babylon’s greatest strength is that it is inspirational. For example, it motivates people to live within their means, to get out of debt, to save, and to invest so that they can have a better future.
A program such as hledger, on the other hand, is tool to help you along the path to a better financial future. It helps you turn your motivation into meaningful results.
Thus, if you need motivation, read The Richest Man in Babylon. If you need a tool to help with finances, use hledger.