In the book Engineering Happiness, economists Manel Baucells and Rakesh Sarin cite the fundamental equation of wellbeing: happiness equals reality minus expectations.

The course had to be roughly 40,000 words in length, and the whole had to be divided into ten smaller “chapters”. Why 40,000 words? Because 40,000 words are roughly five hours when read aloud. Essentially, my task was to encapsulate the most important facets of financial independence in ten half-hours (4000-word) lectures.

It occurred to me today that the spending moratorium I've set for myself in 2021 is, in a way, like writing poetry. Let me explain.

For decades, I've been a proponent of habit tracking. Habit tracking sounds and feels nerdy to a lot of folks, so many people avoid it. That's too bad. Habit tracking is a powerful tool that can help you make better decisions about your life.

While walking the dog last weekend, Kim noted that I've been getting a lot of packages in the mail lately. “What's up with that?” she asked.

You see, when I started Get Rich Slowly, it was clearly a forum for me to share my experiences as I dug myself out of debt. After I succeeded, I sort of lost my way. (Well, and a bunch of Real Life stuff made me lose my focus.) So, I sold it.

Folks, there's a difference between the terms “saving rate” and “savings rate”. The two are not the same. And generally speaking, when people in the early retirement community talk about “savings rate”, what they really mean is “saving rate”. Confused? Let me explain.

I used to be a collector. I collected trading cards. I collected comic books. I collected pins and stickers and mementos of all sorts. I had boxes of things I'd collected but which essentially served no purpose. I can't say I've shaken the urge to collect entirely,...

People of all races are now saying: “Enough is enough” and #BlackLivesMatter. If that's genuine and that sentiment holds, then yes, let's end police brutality and racial violence. But let's not forget that what sustains it all is economic violence. That must come crashing down too.

Over the years, I've found that it's fun to read a different kind of money book in my spare time. I've discovered the joy of classic biographies and success manuals, especially those written by (or about) wealthy and/or successful men.