Get Rich Slowly

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!In October, Michael wrote with a question about credit cards. Because I try to discourage credit card use, I haven’t posted it. But my attitude is beginning to soften. [...]

“To develop a better understanding of the wise use of credit, let’s spend a few minutes with a certain individual we’ll call Mr. Money.” Here’s another short video from Sutherland Educational Films designed to teach young adults about their finances. In this installment, Mr. Money teaches John and Judy about the ins and outs of [...]

This is a “dueling bloggers” post between me and Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Read his post about not using home equity to pay off unsecured debt, and share your thoughts about this issue with us!
You’ve spent the past few years being dumb with money. You realize that now. Your credit cards are maxed [...]

My first two “Ads I Hate” posts seem to have struck a nerve (1, 2). You folks really hate the consumerist mentality these ads promote. From the e-mail and comments I received, it seems that you especially loathe the “Life takes VISA” ad campaign.
Nick pointed me to this ad featuring the New Orleans Saints:

I think [...]

This morning’s discussion about credit cards and emergency funds was interesting. Many commenters noted that if you have a history of using credit responsibly, a credit card can actually make an acceptable buffer in case of the unforeseen.
JenK made an analogy I like: “Credit cards, like knives, are not risky in and of themselves. [...]

Sometimes I wonder: Have I always had personal finance conversations all the time? I don’t often initiate them, but money seems to be a constant topic, even when people are unaware that I write about it every day.
Just this morning, for example, I met with a fellow who needs some boxes to ship his woodworking [...]

Earlier this month, Julie warned us that Macy’s had flipped her store card and sold her data to Citibank. I recently experienced something similar.
A few months ago, I received some “advance checks” in the mail from Bank of America. You know the ones — the kind of checks your credit card uses to entice you [...]

Russell Heimlich passed along the following ad that seeks to plant the seeds of consumerism in our children, making the task of financial literacy more difficult further down the road. “You never run out of money!” Indeed?

Here’s what The Consumerist had to say when they wrote about this toy last Monday:

Fashion Fever Shopping Boutique, the [...]

The October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports contains a credit card roundup, including an overview of the best and worst cards based on responses from 36,000 readers. The best cards generally came from credit unions, and the worst from large banks. “Almost anyone can join a credit union these days,” the magazine says, “and it [...]

Here’s something light and easy for a summer Sunday afternoon. Until today I’d completely missed out on “Will it Blend?”, which is apparently the 20th most popular series of clips on YouTube (based on subscribers). Several months ago “Will It Blend?” destroyed 24 credit cards.

“We have some really good news,” says Tom, the host.
“We just [...]