http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog personal finance that makes cents Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:00:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's Independence Day in the United States, and that means time with family and friends. I don't have any financial tips from the Founding Fathers today. Instead, I have three fine performances of the U.S. national anthem. First up, a traditional rendition from Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians. (This group is ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/04/the-land-of-the-free/ I've written a lot lately about finding balance. It's important to save for the future, but how do you balance that with enjoying today? Each of us has to address that question in our own way. A reader named Max wrote to share his own dilemma: I've been working as a ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/03/ask-the-readers-save-more-or-see-the-world/ Money can't buy happiness. Or can it? The TierneyLab blog from The New York Times recently conducted an informal survey. Based on Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior, a new book from Dr. Geoffrey Miller, readers were invited to: List the ten most expensive things (products, services or experiences) that you ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/02/when-money-does-buy-happiness/ 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. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a group ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/02/how-long-you%e2%80%99ll-be-investing/ As of today, Microsoft Money is no longer available for purchase. Microsoft has essentially conceded that there's no demand for the product. From the website: With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/07/01/good-bye-microsoft-money-16-powerful-personal-finance-programs/ Get Rich Slowly keeps humming along! Thanks to your participation, it was another great month around here, with a lot of interesting discussions. I've managed to collate most of the results from the recent reader survey, by the way, and will share them with you in a few days. Meanwhile, ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/30/the-best-of-get-rich-slowly-june-2009/ Your financial choices do not stand in isolation. They have a cumulative effect. As you pay off debt, as you save for retirement, as you reduce your spending, you are creating a snowball of right action. Or, to use a better metaphor, each smart choice you make creates ripples throughout ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/30/why-pursue-financial-freedom/ Summer's here, and for many homeowners that means it's time for projects around the house. Since we bought our current home, Kris and I have spent a lot of money to make improvements. (At this very moment, contractors are painting the house!) Join Jim and me this afternoon for the ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/29/the-personal-finance-hour-episode-14-home-improvement/ Last Friday, I attended a workshop put on by Pamela Slim, who writes about entrepreneurship at Escape from Cubicle Nation. Before this meeting, I didn't know much about Slim or her message, but her work came highly recommended from my friend, Chris Guillebeau. "Pam is the real deal," he told ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/29/escape-from-cubicle-nation/ Every month, my wife and I track how much time and money we spend growing food. This is the report for June 2009. (Here are the results for 2008.) It's the beginning of summer, and that means our garden is lush and green and growing. It also means there's nothing exciting ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/28/the-grs-garden-project-june-2009-update/ Kris and I had a l-o-n-g day today. We rose early and drove to one of Portland's nicest neighborhoods for the 24th annual Eastmoreland Garage Sale. Officially, there were 141 families hawking their Stuff. Unofficially, there were well over 200. For seven hours, Kris and I walked up and down the ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/27/a-day-at-the-community-garage-sale/ This is a guest post from MLR at My Life ROI. If you like this post, check out his website or subscribe to his feed. One thing I love about reading Get Rich Slowly is that J.D. is always willing to get his hands dirty and throw on a different hat. ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/27/how-my-parents-saved-14000-on-home-repairs/ I'm in the process of consolidating all of my investment accounts at Fidelity. This isn't because I think Fidelity is "the best", but because I think they're good and they're certainly convenient. There's a Fidelity "investor center" not far from my home. (In other words: I'm not endorsing Fidelity; I'm ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/26/the-problem-with-market-timing/ It's been a long time since I pimped my fitness blog, Get Fit Slowly. To be honest, I haven't been writing there very much. I've been busy with this site. But I'm sort of proud and amused by the righteous indignation I mustered in my latest post: "Walk off 15 ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/25/daily-links-money-and-power-edition/ The hardest part of money management is just getting started. Once you have some momentum, it's easier to make the right choices. Kay has been reading personal finance blogs for almost a year now, and she knows that she needs to make some changes, but she doesn't know how to ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/25/the-first-three-steps-to-financial-freedom/ "Don't you have any tips for single folks?" I'm often asked. Like any writer, I tend to write from my own experience — that of a married man. Fortunately, there are plenty of single people in the GRS community who are willing to share the things they've learned. Here's a ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/24/my-sister%e2%80%99s-keeper-sharing-financial-goals-with-an-accountability-partner/ During yesterday's episode of The Personal Finance Hour, Jim and I spoke with Liz Pulliam Weston, financial columnist and credit score expert. Weston provided background on how the credit scoring system works, and offered tips for how to maintain (and improve) your credit score. During the show, Weston mentioned a ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/23/your-secret-credit-scores/ When I bought my used Mini Cooper in April, things didn't go exactly as I'd planned. Part of this was because I hadn't done enough research. But a lot of it was because the dealer had some tricks up its sleeve and I did not. At Car and Driver, Jared Gall ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/23/common-car-dealer-tricks/ Join us this afternoon for the 13th episode of The Personal Finance Hour. Today, Jim and I will be joined by a special guest, money writer Liz Pulliam Weston. Weston, "the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet", writes regularly for MSN Money, and is the author of Your Credit ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/22/the-personal-finance-hour-episode-13-credit-scores-with-liz-weston/ I did a little time traveling yesterday, and I didn't like it. "I'm going to clean the workshop," I announced at breakfast. "I know I should write or mow the lawn, but I'm going to clean the workshop." "Sounds good," Kris said. She rarely argues when I have an urge to ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/22/remnants-of-things-past/ This is a guest post from Ann Zerkle, a Get Rich Slowly lurker, and the founder of Heroes of Capitalism. As the daughter of a truck driver and stay-at-home mom, my family lived very frugally (and very happily). As an adult, I see the wisdom in the frugality of ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/21/the-wisdom-of-my-father/ I keep telling myself I'll share reader e-mail more often. You folks send me great stuff. For example, here's Ruth's story about her own millionaire next door. I loved reading about J.D.'s "secret millionaire" neighbor. This is a story about my own "secret millionaire" neighbor. He actually lives in the next ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/20/reader-story-the-secret-millionaire-and-the-mathmobile/ It's been several months since I've discovered a new money movie to share with you. I love these things, but I've exhausted most of my sources for Public Domain material. However, while browsing the Prelinger Archives again the other day, I discovered a little gem that had slipped my notice ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/20/what-makes-us-tick-a-short-film-about-how-the-stock-market-works-from-1952/ It's been a while since we touched on the subject of windfalls: money that unexpectedly falls into your lap. It's been so long, in fact, that I've started to receive questions about them, including this one from Aaryn: I wanted to get your advice as far as the distribution of windfalls. ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/19/ask-the-readers-how-to-handle-a-windfall/ Several years ago — as I was clawing my way out of debt — I did a dumb thing and subscribed to Newsweek. I didn't subscribe for just one year — I subscribed for four. As penance, I wrote an early GRS article about how having too many magazine subscriptions ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/06/18/the-accidental-slumlord/