The middle of April is a Big Deal in my world.

The trees have nearly finished blossoming, which means my allergies will soon go away. We're seeing more of the sun, which means the worst of my seasonal depression is behind me. Today, on the 15th, Get Rich Slowly celebrates its anniversary.

In the Beginning

When I started Get Rich Slowly, I had no idea what it was going to become. I had no grand plan or vision. I just wanted to write about money while accomplishing three goals.

There's been an influx of new readers at Get Rich Slowly lately. To serve as an intro the new folks (and to celebrate the site's fourth anniversary, and in honor of Financial Literacy Month), today I'm going to review my financial philosophy. Although we covered each of these points in turn last autumn, it's been a while since I collected these core values in one location.

Based on my research — and my experience with what does and doesn't work — I've compiled a list of fourteen guidelines that form the basis of everything I write. Some of these tenets draw on age-old wisdom: "Saving must be a priority" is just the ancient truth that you've got to "pay yourself first", for example. But other rules — such as "do what works for you" — I came up with based on my own struggles.

Here, then, are the fourteen tenets of the Get Rich Slowly philosophy: