I used to wonder why my colleagues’ blogs became strangely silent when they were working on their books. Haha. I don’t wonder anymore. Writing a book is an all-consuming process that’s difficult to describe. I’m thankful I recruited April and Baker as staff writers before I began working on my own book.
Progress on Your Money: The Missing Manual actually ground to a halt this week. Well, that’s not strictly true. I did miss my deadline on Monday, but it’s not for lack of trying. I’ve already written as much (~12,000 words) for the frugality chapter as for two normal chapters combined. The problem is that there are too many ways to save money! So, I’m producing a ton — I just didn’t finish the chapter on time.
The topic I’ll be tackling this morning is frugal fun. As I plotted the section last night, I realized we haven’t discussed this subject much at Get Rich Slowly. [...]

This is a guest post from Andy Jolls, founder of VideoCreditScore.com. Andy ran the myFICO.com business for a number of years and now educates consumers with free credit videos. You can follow him on Twitter at @vidcredit.
My wife and I were married a few years ago. I was working at myFICO at the time we got engaged, so I was already swimming in the world of credit, debt, and personal finance.
In fact, Suze Orman was a partner of myFICO, so I was exposed to a lot of her principles. For example, she believes that all couples should go through the prenuptial agreement process, which seems like heresy to most of her viewers. The “pre-nup” has negative connotations for most people, but Orman has a different spin on it — which I adopted.
Her concept is that a pre-nup doesn’t need to be focused on a negative outcome of divorce. Instead, it can [...]

This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. It’s also a part of National Save for Retirement Week
A few weeks ago, J.D. asked me to consider writing a post on retirement for National Save for Retirement Week. As it was intended, National Save for Retirement Week made me reflect on the state of my and my husband’s retirement accounts.
Currently, our retirement savings are a tad pitiful. I have a 403(b) through my employer, who contributes to my account whether or not I do. After five years of employment, I’ll be eligible for a match. I also have a Roth IRA, though I stopped automatic contributions when we buckled down to pay off the credit cards and the auto loan. My husband doesn’t have a Roth IRA or 401(k), as it’s not offered through his employer.
Retirement is important to us, but we decided to defer significant saving for retirement until we were out of debt and [...]

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 [...]

My wife just returned from a long weekend touring eastern Oregon with two of her co-workers. They drove from small town to small town, shopping for antiques and visiting museums.
On Saturday — with an early October snow falling outside — Kris and her friends stopped to eat lunch at La Laguna in the small town of Joseph (population 1054). As part of the worst job I ever had, I spent several weeks selling insurance door-to-door in Joseph, so I know the locals are friendly. Such was the case at La Laguna. Kris’s party struck up a conversation with their waiter.
He told them that he was raised in Joseph. When he was a young man, he moved to Portland; the big city seemed exciting. He had a good time, and is glad to have had the experience, but after a few years he moved back to small-town life in Joseph.
“Life is simpler here,” he said. [...]

This is a guest post from Robert Brokamp of The Motley Fool. Robert is a Certified Financial Planner and the advisor for The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement service. He contributes one new article to Get Rich Slowly every two weeks.
I’ve discovered the secret to becoming financially responsible: Go into serious debt. Or get married, divorced, or pregnant. And reading a good book helps.
At least, that’s what you told me. A few weeks ago, I asked you — the intergalactic Get Rich Slowly audience — for the stories behind your desire to get your financial acts together. We aren’t born wanting to be frugal, I argued, so for most people, something has to happen to inspire monetary responsibility.
There were approximately 80 responses, and I have summarized the results in the table below in a very non-scientific, arbitrary way. (What do you expect from someone who grew up in Florida?) You non-Floridians will notice that [...]