This post made me stop. I read it start to finish and wanted to go back and read it again. In fact, I just did. This was a beautiful, personal story told in a wonderful style. I love the way there are so many messages and bits of good advice you can take away. Instead of telling you things that are bad to do and things that are good to do – she shows you. It’s easy to ignore advice, but a captivating story sticks with you.

Usually when I add things to my reader, I go to the website and I scan through and read a bunch of older posts before deciding to add it. This is the kind of post that makes me add it instantly and then go back and read their website start to finish.

From that experiment, I created a financial tracking system for myself that I’ve used ever since. There is something about entering my spending into a budget that helps me make and keep spending priority decisions. I can see on an ongoing basis, where I’m going off-track.

A friend (far more frugal and financially wise than me) once said that you can change your mindset to enjoy savings as much as spending. That the accumulation of savings can be just as emotionally satisfying or give you the same rush as the spending. Can’t say I ever really got there, so when I feel the need for a mindless spend, I go to the thrift store. I can buy needlessly, freely, and it costs next to nothing. And if I change my mind after the return date, I can always donate it back and add it to my tax deductions!

To give myself a little thrill every time I make a mortgage payment, I have a Post-It countdown stack with dates on them. I’m currently at 9 (payments left) and it makes me giddy.

JD, I’ve been reading your blog everyday for about 6 months and I love it. Of the guest posts we’ve seen, this is my favorite for a lot of reasons. I LOVE reading about the psych. aspect of money/spending. It seems alot of readers could relate to someone like her and it would bring a female voice to the site. All genders are effected by overspending, but women often DEFINE themselves by how we “decorate” our bodies, homes, etc. Pealing back the layers of stuff to see what’s inside has been the most interesting part of my process, and I think April has a writing style that addresses these themes well. I really look forward to hearing from her again!

All I can say is what a waste.

Hope to read more from this writer.

So, I relate to April’s story because it is pretty exactly my story. However, I also related to AJ’s post, and I have NOTHING in common with him. Except debt, and that he was in the early stages of dealing with it.

It felt to me that April and AJ both wrote sincerely, from their hearts. That’s how I feel about JD, too. The posts about things or services aren’t uninteresting, they just don’t seem to have the same…soul.

It’s nice to see a combination of types of posts on this site, some dealing with the emotional or intangible aspects of finance, and some dealing with the facts and how-tos. I find that both are helpful.

Yeah, it also felt a bit like they were auditioning, but that’s to be expected.

JD, can you hire both April and AJ?

Just say “OM…..”

Also, I really loved the writing style used in this post. It was clear and easy to follow, as well as nicely edited. I get somewhat OCD on posts with spelling/grammer errors or random statements to fill a void. I felt that each piece of this post communicated something significant. I love how scholarly research was added(since I’m a nerd like that) and I like the idea of visual reminder being tied in too. I felt a lot of different concepts came together well.

I would really like to see more posts from April in the future!!!