Many newer readers of The Simple Dollar haven’t been exposed to the hundreds of great articles in the archives of the site, so this is a weekly series that highlights the five best posts from one year ago this week, two years ago this week, and three years ago this week. I call it … the Time Machine.
One Year Ago (February 28 – March 6, 2009)
The Cost of the Psychology of New When I re-read this post, I was reminded of an email I received from a reader recently who didn’t like PaperBackSwap because she couldn’t get all of the newest releases on it. I pretty much never buy a new release in book form – I use the library for those. I don’t buy books unless I’m sure I’ll reread them multiple times. The cult of the new is expensive.
Depression Cooking I loved these videos – they were the best thing I’ve seen on YouTube, perhaps ever.
Personal Finance and 1,000 True Fans Planting the seeds of powerful relationships might cost you a little bit now, but it’ll reap huge rewards later on.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Building a Big, Healthy Emergency Fund Emergency funds are a vital tool for personal finance success, but many people have difficulty getting started with one. Here’s a guide to doing just that.
Do You Want to Be Rich? Being rich is not my goal (trust me, if it were, The Simple Dollar would be quite a bit different). Is it your goal?
Two Years Ago (February 28 – March 6, 2008)
The Stock Market Is Way Down This Year… Here’s Another Way To Think About It I look at stocks being down as an opportunity. The companies themselves haven’t changed a bit, but their cost is lower. That’s called a sale.
“Freegans,” Dumpster Diving, and the Limits of Frugality We all have some personal lines that we won’t cross. Yes, for me, dumpster diving to save money on food is one of them.
Financial Planning for Self-Employment: What’s Different? The biggest challenge with self-employment is that your income is very irregular. You don’t get that steady paycheck week in and week out and you have to plan accordingly.
Learning the Right Lessons from Your Mistakes When you make a mistake, it’s worth your time to step back and think deeply about why you make it. If you don’t, it’s easy to draw the wrong conclusion.
Six Ways to Break Free of the “Purge and Splurge” Cycle This type of cycle happens in anything that requires self-discipline, from spending control to dieting control. Here are some techniques to control it.
Three Years Ago (February 28 – March 6, 2007)
Personal …