The Wealthy Barber<\/a> is getting an update.<\/p>\nAdvertisement 2<\/p>\n
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David Chilton, author of the self-published book with a story built around money-management lessons by a Sarnia barber named Roy, is releasing an updated version Nov. 4.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it\u2019s such a challenging time right now out there for the under-45 crowd,\u201d with high housing and living costs making it tough to save, while there are many more financial products to choose from than in the past, Chilton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I wrote the original book, we had RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans),\u201d he said. Since then, tax free savings accounts, home buying plans and others have appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult for people to know, \u2018how do I prioritize? I can\u2019t do all of that,\u2019 especially with the cost of living being so high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think probably I should have written the update 10 or 15 years ago, but I was busy with other things,\u201d Chilton said. \u201cBetter late than never.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with publishing and public speaking, Chilton was part of the cast of TV\u2019s Dragon\u2019s Den for several years and recently created a successful Wealthy Barber podcast.<\/p>\n
He started out after university working as a stockbroker and wrote for a local magazine which led to a change in career to providing financial advice to teachers and then writing The Wealthy Barber.<\/p>\n
Manley\u2019s in Sarnia was the first store he convinced to carry the book, Chilton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy original goal was to sell between 5,000 and 10,000 copies,\u201d he said. \u201cWe overshot that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chilton believes the book\u2019s story format takes away the intimidation some feel about personal finances and is one of the reasons it ended up being such a success.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBy turning it into a story, using conversation, staying away from pie charts and graphs, that really seemed to resonate with people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really seemed like the right formula.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sales in 1989, the first year of its release, were solid \u201cbut nothing that would lead anyone to believe it was going on to become what it did,\u201d Chilton said.<\/p>\n
But by March and April of the second year, word-of-mouth was having an impact and sales were \u201cstarting to fly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a word-of-mouth book\u201d that has had its success from \u201cLarry telling Mary, telling Harry, telling Jane,\u201d Chilton said.<\/p>\n
The character of Roy the barber in Sarnia is back in the update, along with several new characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt talks a lot about the city, mentions specific restaurants, obviously all glowing comments because nobody loves Sarnia as much as I do,\u201d Chilton said.<\/p>\n
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His great-grandfather, James Barr, was mayor of Sarnia when Canatara Park was created, and Chilton\u2019s grandparents and parents were also from Sarnia.<\/p>\n
Chilton\u2019s family lived in Kitchener but spent summers in Sarnia while he was growing up. \u201cI developed a lot of friendships, a lot of ties,\u201d and he bought a place in Sarnia about a dozen years ago, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now, I\u2019m in Sarnia more than I\u2019m in Kitchener by a fairly wide margin,\u201d and makes a visit to the St. Clair River, beneath the Blue Water Bridge, each morning he\u2019s in town, Chilton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Kitchener too, but Sarnia is so close to my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This week, he was recording the audio version, another in a long list of steps leading to release of the update.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do a tremendous amount to testing as I go,\u201d which is one of the reasons the book has gone over so well, Chilton said.<\/p>\n
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Folks in the target audience were reading versions as the writing went along, their concerns or suggestions were incorporated into the manuscript, he said. \u201cIt takes forever to write a book that way but the end result, I think, justifies that amount of time invested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was easier to do that when I was younger,\u201d he said. The long hours and the editing process was \u201ca lot, but I\u2019m proud of the book and I\u2019m glad we went that direction again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like the original book, the update is self-published. It is being printed in Canada and will be available through Indigo, and in Sarnia at The Book Keeper book store.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll hand deliver the copies to (owner) Sue (Chamberlain) and team up there as soon as we get them at the start of November,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1003-so-barber1.so_.jpg\")
David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber, is shown in this file photo. (Colleen De Neve\/Postmedia Network) Calgary HeraldArticle content<\/p>\n