To celebrate the second anniversary of Get Rich Slowly, I thought I’d do something a little different with my links round-up. Rather than share new finds from around the web, I’m going to point to some of my favorite stories from the archives.

And that’s what these are: stories. You won’t find hints on how to set up a budget here, nor advice about Roth IRAs. My favorite entries to write are the ones that involve real-life personal finance, the stories of real people trying to make sense of money and the future. I continue to believe that money is more about mind than it is about math, as these stories demonstrate.

  • The Entrepreneurial Spirit, a Tribute to My Father — My father was an entrepreneur. He was always starting businesses. He was always selling things.
  • The Worst Job I Ever Had — I made some poor choices at the end of my college career; as a result, I graduated without a prospect for work. No matter — I lived off my credit cards for a few months, basking in the glow of adulthood. Eventually I realized that I needed to find a job.
  • The Power of Yes: A Simple Way to Get More Out of Life — For much of my adult life I’ve been shackled by fear. I’ve been afraid to try new things, afraid to meet new people, afraid of doing anything that might lead to failure. This fear confined me to a narrow comfort zone. Recently, however, I made a single small change that has helped me to overcome my fear, and allowed me to get more out of life.
  • An Entrepreneurial Leap of Faith — My friend P. called last night. “I’m thinking of starting my own business,” he said. “I need some advice. I wondered why he wanted my advice.
  • Personal Finance on Film: The Farmer’s Wife — Since starting Get Rich Slowly, I’ve been searching for movies and television shows that highlight the financial struggles of real Americans, shows about personal finance ‘in the wild’. The first one that I can recommend without reservation is The Farmer’s Wife, a PBS Frontline documentary from 1998.
  • What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? — We had some good friends over for dinner the other night. While we waited for the roast to finish, Wayne and I took the air on the back porch. We talked about work.
  • You Are Your Own Worst Enemy — My friend Gillian called the other day — she’s been having money trouble and was looking for help. “I’m not really a financial advisor,” I told her. “I write about money, and I try to help people at my web site, but I’m not qualified to coach you one-on-one.” Still, she’s a friend, so I resolved to at least give her some advice.
  • Drama in Real Life: “You’re Fired” — We just fired an employee. Letting a person go is never an easy thing, especially at a small family business like ours. We treat our employees well, and relate to them as real men and women instead of cogs in a machine. But there are times when an employee just isn’t working out, and we’ve got to let him go.
  • Quitting the Day Job: Finding the Guts to Pursue Your Dreams — After months of deliberation, I’ve decided to quit my job at the family business.
  • Money Blueprints: What Our Parents Taught Us About Money — I had dinner with two friends from high school last night. We shared good wine, good food, and, especially, good conversation. We talked about how we perceived money when we were younger.
  • Drama in Real Life: Wrecked Rental — On Saturday we drove to Berkeley. Kris took me to a nice restaurant for my birthday lunch, and I made a stop at a comic book store. We were driving back on University Avenue, stopped at an intersection, when a car slammed into us from behind.

Finally, here are a few of my favorite non-stories. Again, these don’t contain any real practical tips, but they do get to the heart of my financial philosophy:

I look forward to a third year of exploring the world of personal finance. I look forward to having you along for the ride!