Whew! It took a long time — nine days instead of the scheduled seven — but I finally finished the frugality chapter for my book. Do you know how difficult it is to compress that topic into a single chapter? It’s worth an entire book by itself!
The version I just submitted to my editor is 11,643 words and includes April’s should I buy it? flowchart. I expect the published version to be significantly shorter, but we’ll see.
How much is 11,643 words? It’s about 39 printed pages. It’s also the equivalent of 12-15 major blog posts. If you wonder why I’m so quiet around here, it’s because I’m pouring so much into the book. I appreciate your patience.

Though I’ve been writing nearly non-stop for the past week, I have managed to collect more articles than usual to share. Rather than provide extended commentary, I’m just going to bullet-point the good stuff today:

The Consumerist has a story [...]

On April Fools’ Day 2007, I posted a tongue-in-cheek article describing the lifestyles of the rich and stupid. This list of the dumb things people do with money in one of the most popular posts I’ve ever shared.
I’ve softened a little since then. Yes, I think that people do some stupid things with money, but I’ve decided it’s not my place to judge them. I’ve done plenty of dumb things myself over the years. (Though certainly not on the scale as Dennis Kozlowski, who threw a $2 million birthday party for his wife, a party that featured an ice-sculpture of the Statue of David that pissed vodka.)
All of this is prelude to the first link in our daily roundup. (Why do I still call it a daily roundup? It hasn’t been daily since 2006. It’s weekly, at best!)
The Boston Globe reports that former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker is broke and in debt. Walker has [...]

It looks as if today will be a record day for traffic at Get Rich Slowly! The current record is 48,244 visitors on 31 July 2007 (while we were on our trip to London and New York). 08 January 2008 is a close second with 47,749 visitors. At only 1:30 this afternoon, we’ve already had 42,673 people swing by! (Most of them are coming from this Laura Rowley article to my list of alternatives to Microsoft Money.)
It’s actually been a great week here: high-quality articles, excellent (and plentiful comments), and high traffic. It feels good to see things humming along like this even while I’m absorbed in my book project. Thanks, everyone, for contributing to the conversation. There’s still a chance (a slim one, but a chance) that this will be a record week. From January 4th to January 10th this year, 215,977 people visited the site. So far this week, 176,612 folks have stopped [...]

Many GRS readers have urged me to take a more active role in charity and giving back to my local community. So when my friend and colleague Chris Guillebeau asked me if I’d be willing to help with a local cause, I decided now was a great time to make the leap.
On Friday, October 23rd, Chris and I will attend a benefit dinner and auction to support Sisters of the Road, a local non-profit that fights homelessness and poverty in Portland. If you’re in the Portland area, you’re welcome to join us (and our wives) for this event. Registration is $85 per person and includes dinner, drinks, an auction — and a lively hoe-down. There’s more information at The Art of Non-Conformity. If you’re in the area and feel inclined to join us, we’d love to see you there.
Meanwhile, here are some financial articles that have caught my eye recently:
This morning, USA Today ran an [...]

I’m in full-on hermit mode for the next few days. Kris is out of town — on a road-trip with friends — and I’m devoting every waking hour to my book. (Well, I’ll walk the marathon on Sunday, but aside from that…) It’s actually kind of fun to dedicate myself to a single project for a prolonged period of time. Makes me feel like a real writer.
Speaking of real writers, here are some recent articles I’ve liked elsewhere on the web:
Many people ask me, “Should I invest while still in debt?” There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question; as with most decisions, you must do what works for you. Still, Matt at Debt-Free Adventure has taken a stab at exploring the pros and cons of each option. If you’re in debt and thinking about investing, take a look at his suggestions.
Though I still haven’t finished reading The Paradox of Choice, the book has had a [...]

At long last, work has begun on my first book. The outline is complete, the contract approved, and writing has commenced. It’s a little overwhelming. Writing for GRS everyday has taught me to create short personal pieces on a deadline. But 300 pages? Wow. That’s like Mt. Everest! As clichéd as it sounds, I’m trying to take it one step at a time. I’m breaking things into small pieces. If I can finish three manuscript pages per day, I’m golden.
Speaking of “golden”, here are some great finance articles from elsewhere around the web:
First up, I enjoyed these questions and answers with a lottery winner. This fellow managed to get rich quickly — but he’s being smart with his prize. He won a $30 million lottery jackpot, which netted him $20 million after taxes and fees. He gave a million to each of his parents, gave a million to his sister, and paid off the debt [...]