If you're new here, you may want to learn what this site is about. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Get Rich Slowly is seeking guest entries for the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I’ll be around, but working on top-secret behind-the-scenes stuff.

You folks submitted a number of great articles while I was on vacation in August. I’m certain there are dozens of more great money-saving ideas out there. I’m open to any topic related to frugality, personal finance, or self-development. Anyone want to write about living frugally as a vegetarian? About charitable donations? How municipal bonds work? I will edit your submissions for clarity.

If you’ve got something to share, please drop me a line. (You can reach me via the contact page or by sending e-mail to either jdroth@ or tips@ care of this domain.)

A strong windstorm moved through western Oregon yesterday. It knocked out our power in the late afternoon. Kris and I bundled up tight to stay warm. We prepared canned soup on the gas range and dined by candlelight. We read magazines. We went to bed early: listening to the wind gust around us, wondering if any of our trees would come down. (The ground is sodden and we have many trees.)

“You should write about this,” Kris told me.

“Why?” I said.

“It’s very frugal,” she said. “Look at us. We’re hardly using any resources tonight. We’re saving money.” I laughed, but she was serious. “We should do this every few months — have a ‘power outage’ night. Use only candles. Live without power. Maybe your readers with families could do it to teach their kids emergency preparedness.”

I had planned to spend the evening writing and responding to your e-mail. Without a computer, all I could do was write this bit out longhand and hope to post it in the morning.

(p.s. Lots of trees down in the neighborhood this morning, but none of ours that I could tell.)