{"id":2182,"date":"2008-11-20T05:00:21","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=2182"},"modified":"2024-03-05T13:46:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T20:46:40","slug":"do-the-tools-of-personal-finance-actually-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/do-the-tools-of-personal-finance-actually-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Do the Tools of Personal Finance Actually Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
New visitors to Get Rich Slowly are sometimes skeptical. “Do the things you write about actually work?” they ask.<\/p>\n
Absolutely they work.<\/p>\n
They work financially, but many of them also work psychologically. That last bit may be the most important. I frequently say that money is “more about mind than it is about math”, and I mean it. We all know the basic arithmetic behind money management \u2014 it’s the psychological stuff that gets in our way.<\/p>\n
The techniques I write about are tools. Different tools are appropriate for different situations, for different jobs. And whereas I might use a hammer and a nail to hang a shelf, you<\/i> might use a screwdriver and a screw. So it is with money. Each of us needs to assemble a toolbox appropriate for our own circumstances, for our own needs.<\/p>\n
There are some important things to know when putting together your own personal finance toolbox.<\/p>\n
Just as it’s important to select the proper tools for a home improvement project, you need to choose the correct methods for managing your money.<\/p>\n
You would not use a hammer to cut a board. Similarly, your Roth IRA<\/a> is not the right tool for saving an emergency fund. The “ask for a raise” tool isn’t critical if you run your own business. You can’t clip coupons to buy a house. (Well, not yet anyhow.)<\/p>\n If you work at minimum wage and have already cut your expenses to the bone, frugality tools are going to be less critical to your success than tools that help you raise your income. When you can no longer reduce your expenses, it’s time to take a different approach.<\/p>\n Now that my non-mortgage debt has been eliminated, I no longer need the debt-reduction tools I used to employ every day. They’re still in my toolbox in case something breaks in the future, but for now I’m working on other projects.<\/p>\n Certain tools are almost always useful, however. Frugality and thrift generally reward those who know how to use them well. Everyone can profit from knowing how to save for the future.<\/p>\n It’s a mistake to believe that every piece of financial advice \u2014 every tool in the toolbox \u2014 will be applicable to you and to your situation. In fact, I’ve learned that most individual pieces of personal finance advice aren’t useful for me at all! (Many of the techniques I share at GRS don’t apply to my life, but I share them anyhow because they may be useful to others.)<\/p>\n<\/span>Some tools become less useful over time<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>You cannot be an expert with every tool<\/span><\/h2>\n