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 (October 17 – October 23, 2009)
Ethical Frugality Week: Hidden Replacements Is it an honest thing to substitute a lower cost item into the package of a higher cost item in your home?
Ethical Frugality Week: Hotel Visits What items in a hotel room should you feel okay putting into your luggage?
Ethical Frugality Week: Haggling When is it okay to start negotiating for price? What should you expect from haggling?
Ethical Frugality Week: Free Samples How “greedy” should you be when you have the opportunity to pick up some free samples? Is it cool to grab fifteen packets of ketchup and then go home and fill your ketchup bottle?
Ethical Frugality Week: Lifetime Guarantees How long should a lifetime guarantee last? How “abusable” is it?
Two Years Ago (October 17 – October 23, 2008)
18 Things a New Homeowner Should Do Immediately to Save Money I’d give this checklist to any new homeowner. There are lots of great things a homeowner can do to maximize the value of their new home purchase.
When Networking Doesn’t Work: There’s No Value in Just “Touching Base” I think if you’re not giving value to someone or getting value from them, why are you communicating with them?
That First Taste of Financial Success It’s so easy to fall back into bad habits when you begin to feel financial success. Here’s how to not fall into that trap.
Stop Wasting Money on Disposable Things Disposable things mean that you’re going to eventually chuck them and it’s a net loss for you. Look instead for non-disposable items that will last for a very long time, even if you have to pay a bit more up front. You’ll use them forever and they’ll still have value in ten years.
Giving Outside the Box: Generosity on a Limited Budget Give your time. Give your talents. Give your unused or unwanted possessions. There are so many ways to give that don’t involve you busting open your wallet.
Three Years Ago (October 17 – October 23, 2007)
Stumbling on the Simple Things I do this, actually. My biggest stumble? Keeping up with my inbox.
Five Reasons Why Having A Child Isn’t As Expensive As You Might Think Most of the huge costs for raising a child don’t include the areas in which you save by having a child, and some of those can be a tremendous help.
Seven Lessons Learned From The First Issue of Money Magazine I really enjoyed making this article, because it enabled me to read this classic issue of Money.
Twelve Tactics For Defeating the Starbucks Habit I used to have a bad “Starbucks habit.” Breaking it not only saves a lot of money, it can also help your health.
Handling A Child’s Material Wants and Impulses This is pretty much a daily challenge for us, given we have a four year old and a three year old at home. They need different lessons because there’s an 18 month gap between them.
If you’d like to browse through more of the archives, visit the chronology, where all posts are listed in chronological order.
Ten Ways to Get More out of The Simple DollarUpdated!
This is kind of a FAQ for new readers and is posted each week along with the Time Machine. Here are ten great ways for new readers to dig deeper into The Simple Dollar.
1. Subscribe by email or RSS. Visiting The Simple Dollar’s website is great, but for many people, it’s more convenient to receive the articles in another form. It’s easy to join 60,000 other subscribers and get The Simple Dollar’s content by email or in your RSS feeder (if you’re unfamiliar with RSS, check out Google Reader.
2. Comment. Each article on The Simple Dollar has lively discussion. Just click on the green square in the upper right of each article on the website and join in!
3. Become a fan of The Simple Dollar on Facebook. I put up questions and other materials about once every week or two on Facebook (so you won’t be flooded with Simple Dollar updates). Join in the conversation with other Simple Dollar fans and occasionally get some interesting freebies, too.
4. Follow me on Twitter. I post interesting articles, quotes, follow-up material, commentary, and other material on Twitter. Follow me! If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s essentially an open discussion forum for people to share ideas and thoughts with other like-minded folks – you just choose the people you want to listen to and their ideas and thoughts are all delivered to you on a single page.
5. Read my story of financial meltdown and recovery. The Simple Dollar isn’t based on what I’ve read in books or learned in school. I’ve made a lifetime of financial mistakes – The Simple Dollar is a record of what works for me during the process of getting my life on a better track.
6. Download my free 49 page e-book. Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page is completely free. It summarizes all of the key lessons I’ve learned along the way about personal finance in one tidy package – in fact, all of the main principles can be found right on the cover.
7. Dig through “31 Days to Fix Your Finances.” 31 Days to Fix Your Finances is an article series that outlines how you can get a grip on your finances over the course of a month.
8. Send me your questions and suggestions. Send me an email and let me know what you’re thinking, what you’d like to see, and any questions you might have. I try to respond to as many emails as possible and I read them all. I may even use your question in a future article!
9. Become a “Friend of The Simple Dollar.” If you find the stuff on The Simple Dollar valuable and are willing to spend five minutes or so a month to help me out with small things, please consider signing up to be a “Friend of The Simple Dollar”.
10. Email a great article you find to a friend. Find an article that you think your friend would love? At the bottom of each article, you’ll find a link that says “Email this” – just click on that, type in your friend’s address, and send it right along to them!
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