http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog personal finance that makes cents Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Your friends and family influence you. They affect the way you view life. If your friends are frugal, it's easier to be frugal yourself. But if they're wrapped up in consumerism and materialism, and can be difficult to resist the urge to join them. It's only natural to want to ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/20/ask-the-readers-how-do-you-handle-peer-pressure/ This post is from GRS staff writer Adam Baker. Baker, along with his wife and 20-month old daughter, will be spending the next couple of months exploring Thailand as they continue their recent backpacking journey. Since the start of the economic slump started in 2008, the U.S. government has issued several ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/19/stimulus-programs-cash-for-buyers-remorse/ Work on Your Money: The Missing Manual continues apace. I've finished the first seven chapters (happiness, goals, budgets, debt, frugality, income, and banking) and have just begun on chapter eight, which is about credit. As part of this chapter, I'd love to profile a GRS reader who gets by on minimal ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/18/links-roundup-no-credit-needed-edition/ To take control of your spending, you must first be aware of your spending. This mindfulness can be difficult for many people to achieve. GRS reader (and awesome artist) Tsilli pointed me to the work of Kate Bingaman-Burt, who has a unique way of being mindful of the money she ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/18/obsessive-consumption/ 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. Today at 3pm Eastern, Robert will by leading a ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/18/master-your-money-with-a-financial-health-day/ This morning, April wrote about trying to figure out how much house you need. In the comments, Tyler K. shared a photo of the house he and his wife live in. It has 450 square feet: "Last year our joint gross income was about $170,000," Tyler wrote, "but we still find ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/17/reader-story-a-very-very-fine-house/ This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. For more than a decade, Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has lived in an 89 square-foot home. His decision to live in a tiny house came from concerns about the effects a larger house would have on the environment, and his ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/17/how-much-house-do-you-need/ On today's episode of The Personal Finance Hour, I'll join Jim from Bargaineering to discuss the wonderful of banking. We'll talk about online banks, offline banks, high interest savings accounts, current CD rates, and more. (We'll also talk about how to optimize your accounts.) This show will air live at 3pm ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/16/the-personal-finance-hour-episode-27-banking-for-fun-and-profit/ This article is the eighth of a thirteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. One reason I got into financial trouble during my early twenties was that I wanted everything right now. I looked at what my parents had, and it didn't occur to me that they'd ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/16/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race/ This is a guest post from Sean Ogle, a former portfolio analyst who is now pursuing his goals of starting a business and seeing the world. You can read more from him at Location180. You can also follow him on twitter @seanogle.  Have you ever thought about doing something different with ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/15/reader-story-budgeting-for-a-lifestyle-change/ Starting a Roth IRA is one of the easiest — and best — steps you can take to save for retirement. I know I've written a lot about the Roth IRA in the past, but I still get questions all the time. People find them intimidating. For example, Lynn wrote ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/13/the-roth-ira-made-easy/ I'm old-school: I went to the bank to make a deposit today. (I make most of my deposits in person, inside the branch.) While I waited, I chatted with the teller, whom I know from many previous visits. "I'm writing a book about money," I told him. "What's the one ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/12/is-there-a-generation-gap-in-saving/ This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. For the past couple of years, my husband and I have not exchanged traditional, wrapped-and-Christmas-bowed gifts. Instead, we plan an experience. We started our anti-Stuff celebrations because neither of us could think of a gift we truly wanted. Then we'd each be scrambling to think ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/12/anti-stuff-holiday-gift-guide/ This is a guest post from Adam Jusko, founder of IndexCreditCards.com, an information and comparison site for credit cards that maintains a list of over 1200 cards. You can follow Adam on Twitter for quick credit tips and opinions. I've previously featured IndexCreditCards as "The Only Credit Card Guide ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/11/how-to-establish-a-credit-history-without-losing-your-shirt/ As many of you know, my pal Chris Guillebeau is crazy. He's been to 119 countries, and he just keeps on flying. He wants to see them all before he turns 35 (in April 2013). As you can imagine, Chris has accumulated a hell of a lot of frequent flyer miles ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/10/daily-links-frequent-flyer-master-edition/ This article is by GRS staff writer Adam Baker. Baker recently shared an in-depth video example of how you can save $521 when booking airfare online. Recently my 19-month old daughter managed to get her tiny hands on a ballpoint pen. Normally, this wouldn't have been a major event. This time was different. ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/10/creative-cleaning-with-everyday-products/ It's been a long time since I shared a good self-deprecating story about my own financial foolishness. Let me remedy that today. For the past month or so, I've been buried deep in writing my book. (I have bookhead, I tell Kris — my mind is wholly absorbed by this project.) ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/09/dumb-money-jd-the-junk-food-king/ This article is the seventh of a thirteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. I struggled with debt for over a decade. I made several attempts to tackle the trouble, but nothing seemed to work. Compulsive spending was part of the problem — I bought anything I ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/09/do-what-works-for-you/ "It's been a long time since you shared a recipe at Get Rich Slowly," I told Kris last week. "What about that pot roast recipe?" she asked. "You love that." "Yes. Yes, I do," I said. This guest post from my wife may be the best thing I've ever ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/07/the-best-pot-roast-ever-a-frugal-recipe-for-november/ This article is by GRS staff writer Adam Baker. Despite his best attempts, Baker struggles to budget while adapting to life in New Zealand. Earlier this week J.D. tackled an important issue with his tenet Large Amounts Matter Too. This concept goes by many names: Focus on big wins. Pick the low-hanging fruit Attack high-leverage ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/06/the-curse-of-a-big-win-mentality/ This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. A college professor once told my journalism class that freelance writing is something you should do on the side. It's not anything you could make a living at full-time.  I graduated and worked at an office job until I decided I wanted to ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/05/knocking-out-the-beliefs-that-hold-you-back/ 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 ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/04/daily-links-11643-words-edition/ 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 ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/04/ask-the-readers-what-do-you-do-for-frugal-fun/ 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. Every summer, my wife and I cull our closets for ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/03/the-regrets-of-christmas-past/ On today's episode of The Personal Finance Hour, I'll join Jim from Bargaineering to discuss financial rules of thumb. Rules of thumb are no substitute for proper analysis, but they can be an excellent way to make general plans. Today we'll talk about things like: When should you repair an appliance and ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/02/the-personal-finance-hour-episode-26-financial-rules-of-thumb/ This article is the sixth of a thirteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. Last winter, Kris and I re-financed our mortgage. In one fell swoop, we trimmed our monthly payments for principal and interest from $1386.60 to $1137.69, boosting our cash flow by $248.91 per month. If ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/02/large-amounts-matter-too/ It's been a strange October for me. At the first of the month, I began the transition to working full time on my book, Your Money: The Missing Manual. It's a much different challenge than blogging, and it's taking all my time. In theory, the book writing will be done ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/01/the-best-of-get-rich-slowly-october-2009/ Every month, my wife and I track how much time and money we spend growing food. This is the report for October 2009. (Here are the results for 2008.) As those of you who follow me on Twitter already know, it's been a l-o-n-g Saturday filled with all sorts of misadventures. ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/10/31/the-grs-garden-project-october-2009-update/ This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. When you have a need or a problem, there's usually a solution that can be bought. Buying a solution is often the easiest and fastest way to solve a problem — but it also can be the most expensive. When my husband ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/10/30/the-art-of-improvising-alternatives-to-buying-new/ 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 ... http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/10/29/pre-nuptial-agreements-are-for-everyone/