Reader Requests: Shape the Future of Get Rich Slowly

Another item that I have been curious about, but never looked into enough, is personally buying stocks in single companies. Is there an easy way for me to choose a company and purchase that stock, with as little fees as possible. It seems like making $10 bucks to cover fees for a trade would kill it.

Good luck to you! I am enjoying your posts.

I do have to second the request for info on Swiss bank accounts and offshore accounts….that would be a fun and funny post!

In general I enjoy frugality posts a lot and success stories are always inspirational.

JD,

How about an article about the pros/cons of using a Home Equity loan to pay off debt/fix up the house. I think in some cases, the interest is tax deductible.

Bill

P.S. Keep up the great work

I’ve been reading your page for a couple months now and really enjoy it! I find it very inspiring and helpful. I want to become financially savvy (debt-free and financially secure) and I rely on sites such as this one to guide me.

As for suggestions on future articles, I second the suggestion regarding health insurance for self-employed/freelancers/etc. I would be financially able to work part-time right now, but I have spondyloarthritis and so I need to find health insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions. I am also interested in advice on where to invest money. I have an IRA with ING but it is doing pitifully right now. I know that all conventional advice says to keep it and hold out till the market changes, if not actually put more money into it right now while prices are low, but that is really difficult to do… especially with all the doom-and-gloom stories out there. Is there anything giving decent results right now?

Thanks for all your work on this site and congrats on making the transition to full-time work on this site!

Congratulations! Good luck on your venture!

More articles that go “beyond the basics” would be great. “Pay down debt”, “start an emergency fund,” “be careful with credit cards,” etc, is great finances-101 advice, but it’s getting overdone in the PF blogging world.

More content on what you do once you’ve gotten the basics in place would be great. Some ideas are…

– How to deal with getting your financial life in order when others around you aren’t. It can be difficult when your friends are in messy financial straits, but you aren’t. How do you handle that?

– How to responsibly use credit cards. Could entail anything from recommendations of specific cards (US Bank’s REI Visa is a great card, btw) to how to improve mindfulness of credit card spending or pros/cons of credit cards vs. cash.

– Developing and maintaining financial discipline. If you’re getting (or have gotten) your financial life in good working order, that’s great – but how do you keep the momentum going day after day?

– How to grow your emergency fund. Many of us have taken to heart the Ramsey-inspired advice of the $1,000 emergency fund. But once you can increase that, how do you come up with a target number, and way to get there, that fits your circumstances, life and expenses?

– Profiles. Set up a standard questionnaire that you could send someone who has made progress on their own “getting rich slowly” journey. Were they in debt? How did they get out of it? What have they saved? What are their priorities? How do they stay out of debt, or balance debts and savings?

– Your experience on being a full-time writer (within reason, natch there are some things that your MYOB). How you’ve made the transition, how are you settling into the lifestyle? What do you do to make your days more productive? What are the challenges you face, the victories and failures, and how does all this tie in with your changing (and hopefully improving) financial situation?

I echo a lot of the recommendations for more on long-term investments, and couples and finances.

Many, many heartfelt congrats on you making the leap to full-time. Jodie and I are down in Eugene, but I’d love to buy you a congratulatory beer/ coffee/ bevvy of your choice sometime. Many, many congrats.

I have been reading GRS regularly for many months. I like the candid personal glimpses into your life.

I would like to see more written about “What to do after one gets out of debt, and before one reaches Financial Independence.”

I enjoy case studies.

Millionaire Mommy touches on this topic a bit, but I find her annoying, and somehow less genuine than GRS.

Also, what does one “do” after financial independence?

I loved Baddriver’s post above, and am struggling with the same issues.

Frugality is great, but we don’t want to squander our todays for the hope of better tomorrows either.

Note the sad parable of the man who scrimps and saves for a luxurious retirement, and drops dead of a heart attack before he retires.

Keep up the good work, and congratulations!

- Nick