Yesterday I shared a guest post from Leo of Zen Habits. His guide to minimalist money was a sort of overview of good financial skills, useful information for those in the first stage of personal finance. But some long-time GRS readers couldn’t relate to Leo’s post.
Today’s post goes in the opposite direction. It’s a meditation for those in the third stage of personal finance (or beyond), and it’s probably going to seem foreign to those who are still struggling to get debt under control.
The evolution of spending
Before I developed smart money skills, I spent without thinking. I accumulated debt because I had no self-control. I bought what I wanted, even when I couldn’t afford it.
To repay my debt and build wealth, I learned to be frugal. I was never able to completely discard my tendency to spend, but I curbed it sharply. In fact, I became so frugal that I would debate whether to use [...]

This article is by Adam Baker, a new GRS Staff Writer. In addition to writing for Get Rich Slowly, Baker blogs over at Man Vs. Debt, where you can find his personal background story and read more of his writing.
Last week, I adjusted several preferences on my PayPal account. I added and verified a new e-mail address and swapped my linked bank account. Shortly after finalizing the changes, I received a brief e-mail from PayPal stating that I needed to log in order to verify my account.
Nothing seemed suspicious at first. But after closer examination, I noticed that the message was requesting that I log into a client provided within the e-mail itself. ”That’s weird,” I thought. Then it hit me: A well-timed phishing attack had just penetrated my e-mail account’s spam filter. I couldn’t believe how similar it was to the legitimate e-mails I’d received earlier that day confirming my account changes — or how perfect the timing [...]

Ah, the tribulations of a tightwad — they are many.
On Monday, I walked a mile-and-a-half to the hardware store to buy some 1/2-inch washers, nuts, and bolts. (Remember: I’m trying to walk 5-6 miles per day now, so I usually walk for all of my errands.) Every month this hardware store mails us the same coupon — $5 off a $25 purchase — so I took it with me, just in case. But my bill was only $19.88. I couldn’t find anything for $5.12 that I wanted, so I couldn’t use the coupon. At home I discovered that my 1/2-inch fasteners were too big.
On Tuesday, I walked a mile-and-a-half back to the hardware store to return the 1/2-inch hardware and buy 3/8-inch washers, nuts, and bolts instead. I took the coupon, but my total was even smaller this time. I couldn’t use it. I walked back home only to discover that my 3/8-inch fasteners were [...]

Earlier today, I wrote about Brett Wilder’s The Quiet Millionaire. It’s different than most personal finance books I’ve read. It’s targeted at those who are further along their financial journeys rather than at those just starting out. Still, there are bits and pieces in The Quiet Millionaire that are applicable to everyone.
I particularly liked Wilder’s list of the seven enemies to financial success (which is my phrase, not his). Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking of this notion again and again. He writes:
If you want to become and stay the quiet millionaire, you must plan and manage your financial way of life…You must be proactive in order to obtain the financial life you want. By doing this, you will overcome the seven major obstacles to financial success.
Wilder is saying that we know there are certain common barriers to wealth. These obstacles arise for everyone. Because of this, it’s possible to plan [...]

We’re back!
After a six-week hiatus, The Personal Finance Hour returns Monday afternoon with an easy-going episode in which Jim and I discuss what we’ve been doing since you last heard from us. (Short answer: Jim’s been trekking across Europe; I’ve been walking and biking all over Portland.)
We would love to have you call with questions and share your own experiences! What have you been doing lately to improve your financial position? Have you had any frugal fun this summer? This will be a fairly open-ended discussion, so feel free to share your story.
There are four ways to hear the show. You can listen through an audio feed at the show page, or you can dial the call-in number at (347) 327-9144. You can also listen through this widget:

Note that the widget always holds the archive of the most recent episode. So, right now it probably contains our last show from mid-July, in which we [...]

At 10am yesterday morning, Kris and I climbed into the Mini Cooper and to head for the county fair. We’d only been driving for a few minutes when Kris pointed at a sign. “Look! An estate sale,” she said. “Let’s stop.”
Kris and I like estate sales better than garage sales because they usually feature nearly everything a person has ever owned — not just the cast-offs. Family members have generally pulled the plum pieces, but there are still plenty of treasures remaining to be found.
In this case, the treasures we purchased included:

40 canning jars for $7
a pair of pruning shears for $3
a carousel clothesline for $20

Estate sales don’t always mean that the previous owner of the Stuff has died. That’s frequently true, but sometimes they’re simply moving on to another situation. The best estate sales are those at which everything is for sale, not just “collectibles” or “antiques”. At the former, you can usually find [...]