Action Beats Inaction This article is the 13th of a 14-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. Three years ago, I was a different woman. I was recently divorced, I had no savings, retirement or otherwise. I was starting over from zero because of my impotent goals coupled with the fact that I had just gone through a divorce. I was over $185,000 in debt. I just began speaking again and writing books. I spent my free time on my bicycle to free my mind, find

Nobody Cares More About Your Money Than You Do This article is the 12th of a 14-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. I’ve read a lot of stuff lately about how scammers take advantage of other people. (Example, here is a brief summary of seven psychological tricks con artist use.) (Excerpt from Lloyd Morgan) Seven Psychological Principles Con Artists Exploit Inherent human vulnerabilities need to be taken into account when designing security systems/pr

Financial Balance Lets You Enjoy Tomorrow and Today This article is the 11th of a 14-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. It originally appeared at Soul Shelter in a slightly different form. For more than a decade, I was buried in debt. My relationship with money was a one sided love affair because I had zero respect for money. I earned a decent income, better than most and somehow I still couldn’t seem to get ahead. I lived paycheck-to-paycheck on a

Failure is Okay This article is the 10th of a 14-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. The ability to keep going in the face of failure is critical to success when learning any new skill to include learning to manage your money. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes with money every day. I’ve made tons in the past, and I continue to make them. Here are just a few examples: I managed to take on over $185,000 in consumer debt before turning things aroun

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good This article is the ninth of a fourteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. You want the best for yourself, for your spouse, for your family. You want the best car, the best house and mortgage, the best job, the best mutual funds, and the best savings account. You want things to be perfect. We all do. Perfection does comes with a price and is the lowest standard you can set for yourself because the only perfection

Slow and Steady Wins the Race This article is the eighth of a fourteen-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 occurred to me that they’d been working their entire lives to get to financially nowhere because they had the attitude that “you can’t take it with you” resulting them in spending whatever little money

Do What Works for You This article is the seventh of a fourteen-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 wanted, even if I couldn’t afford it, and there was another factor, too. Everything I’d read gave the same advice for debt reduction: Start by paying off your highest-intere

Large Amounts Matter Too, Are You Penny Smart, Pound Foolish? This article is the sixth of a fourteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. A few years ago Chris re-financed his mortgage. In one simple decision, he trimmed his monthly payments for principal and interest from $1050.60 to $650.50, boosting his cash flow by $400.10 per month. If he had consumer debt, that’s $400.10 per month he could have used for his debt snowball. It’s $400.10 per month

The Small Stuff Really Matters This article is the fifth of a fourteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. Getting started with smart personal finance isn’t always easy. It’s one thing to read about the steps you should take, it’s another thing to actually do them. Your debt is so overwhelming or your saving goals seem so lofty that you begin to believe that the only way you’ll ever get where you want to be is by winning the lottery. Part of the prob

Pay Yourself First This article is the fourth of a fourteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. It’s also a part of National Save for Retirement Week. One of the oldest rules of personal finance is the simple admonition to pay your self first. All the money books tell you to do it. All the personal finance blogs say it, too. Even your parents have given you the same advice. I know from personal experience it’s hard. That money could be used someplace