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Just solve the problem!
While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.
Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks.
At first, it didn’t really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym!
Now, the obvious response here is, “Why didn’t you remove the sliver from your foot?” Great question!
How to be happy and lead a meaningful life
Overcoming fear is one part of living life without regret. You do that by being open to new people and new experiences, and by acting even when you’re afraid. Another aspect of a rewarding life is learning to find happiness in your daily existence — and building upon that happiness to construct a meaningful life.
Today, in the second part of this limited series on mastering your life, I want to share what I’ve learned about how to be happy.
More than two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote, “All knowledge and every pursuit aims at…the highest of all good achievable by action.” And what is that good? “Both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it is happiness, and identify living well with being happy.”
How to build confidence and destroy fear
My mission at Get Rich Slowly is to help readers achieve personal and financial freedom. I want to help you master your money and your life.
Generally speaking, we focus almost exclusively on the financial side of the things. This week, I’m going to shift gears and share some of the things I’ve learned about overcoming fear, finding happiness, and achieving personal freedom. (Don’t worry. We’ll get back to the hard-core financial talk very soon.)
In December’s discussion of wealth habits, I talked about what T. Harv Eker calls “financial blueprints”. Actually, I talk about them all of the time. Understanding your money blueprint is a vital part of changing your relationship with money.
How to find your purpose in life: 12 powerful exercises to help you discover purpose and passion
Happy blogiversary! Twelve years ago today, I launched a humble little blog about personal finance — this blog, Get Rich Slowly. It was meant as a way for me to share the things I was learning as I dug out of debt. It turned into so much more.
For the next couple of weeks, I’m on the road in the southeastern U.S., speaking to people about personal finance and meeting with readers.
This morning, for instance, I spoke to the 76 people attending Camp FI in Spring Grove, Virginia. My topic? No surprise: The importance of having purpose in your life. As you can see, I am a PowerPoint genius…
The stages of financial freedom: The road to financial independence
Today we’re going to explore the six stages of financial freedom. First, though, I want to introduce you to my friends Mac and Pam.
Pam is a pathologist and an elite ultra-runner. Mac is a former high-school science teacher and current stay-at-home dad. Together, they form a formidable financial team.
They’re also a couple of nerds. I mean, look at them!
Maybe because they’re such nerds, Mac and Pam have always put an emphasis on saving. But they don’t just pinch pennies. They’ve optimized their lives to boost their income and their happiness. They’re well on their way to financial independence. In many ways, they epitomize the ideals espoused by my Money Boss philosophy.
Mastering the abundance mindset (and changing your money blueprint)
Old habits die hard.
When you get to be a middle-aged man like me, you have forty-nine years of learned behavior to guide your actions and decisions — even when you know your choices aren’t necessarily for the best. Our mental blueprints (including our money blueprints) are deeply ingrained and tough to change.
Don’t worry. I haven’t turned into a spendthrift or anything. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how certain parts of my past continue to affect me, sometimes in huge and annoying ways. For instance, I fight an ongoing battle against a scarcity mindset. I haven’t been able to master the abundance mindset.
The crossover point: How to know when you’ve achieved financial independence
Today I want to introduce you to the Crossover Point, that magical place where you have enough saved that you can live off your investment returns. To start, let’s talk about one of my money heroes, billionaire Warren Buffett.
Buffett wasn’t always a billionaire. He started from scratch, just like you and me. Here he is in 1948 — when he had less than $10,000 to his name:
What a dork!
Buffett began making money when he was six years old. He’d buy packs of chewing gum for three cents each, then go door to door selling them for a nickel. (He refused to sell individual sticks; you had to buy an entire pack of Doublemint or nothing.)
“He could hold those pennies, weighty and solid, in his palm,” writes Alice Schroeder in her excellent Buffett biography. “They became the first few snowflakes in a snowball of money to come.”
Reader question: Does repaying a loan hurt your credit score?
Last week, on my review of Kristin Wong’s new book Get Money!, a reader named Luke left an interesting comment. Luke wondered:
One thing that I’ve taken to heart is debt reduction. In my case, student loans. I refinanced a while back to get a lower rate and have been paying almost triple the monthly minimum to accelerate payoff. The goal was to finish the loan payments a few months before we buy our first home (which we are currently in the middle of saving for our 20% down).
But I’ve encountered a sort of catch-22. As the individual loans get rolled off when they get paid, it’s been hurting my credit score because my average age of credit is dropping. (I’m 27 years old.) This is exactly what I don’t need before applying for a mortgage.
Quick money wins to help you feel more in control of your finances
This is a guest post from former GRS staff writer Kristin Wong. Kristin just released her first book, Get Money!, which J.D. thinks is pretty darned good.
I cringe when I remember learning to drive. At fifteen-years-old, I was impatient, full of nervous energy, and so short that I could barely reach the steering wheel. (Which is still kind of a problem, but I digress.)
My parents were backseat driving, of course, instructing me on how to drive the rural, dirt road just outside our neighborhood. “Let off the brake,” they said, and the car began to coast, slowly. Cool, I can handle this, I thought. “Hit the gas,” they said. Chaos ensued.
Loss hurts: Loss aversion and how to beat it
This guest post from Matt of Method to Your Money is closely related to our recent discussion on using barriers and pre-commitment to automatically do the right thing.
I’ve done some pretty dumb things with money. Maybe you have too. What I’ve come to realize is that those dumb actions were controlled by my money blueprint. And maybe you’ll agree with me that how our money blueprints affect the way we think and act toward money is a key factor in achieving financial freedom.
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