Spare Change: Staff Writer Audition Edition

As you?ve all noticed by now, we?re in the thick of another round of staff writer auditions here at Get Rich Slowly. I never made a formal call for staff writers; instead, I just quietly accepted submissions from the folks who had the initiative to contact me when they noticed April Dykman was retiring. I believed (and still do) that this was a keen initial screening process.

I also believed I?d only said ?send me your stuff? to six or seven people. Oops. Turns out I was wrong. I?ve actually asked a dozen or more folks to audition to be a staff writer here. And since I want to share two articles from each candidate?well, that means there are a lot of articles to get through.

As a result, this process is going to last longer than I had anticipated. Even if I post two articles a day (which I?m going to do a couple of days wach week), it?ll be July before we?ve finished reading every submission. Please be patient. I know not everyone likes every article. But this process is important. We?re learning which voices you like, which writers I like to edit, and so on. It?ll be worth it in the long run.

So, keep paying attention. And once I?ve run both audition articles from each candidate, I?ll post a call for feedback on the writers. Readers won?t have the final say ? but your opinion will carry a lot of weight. Thanks!

News Flash!

Today, my colleague and friend Jonathan fields launched his latest endeavor, Good Life Project TV. Here?s how he describes it: ?[This project is] about building an extraordinary life, deeper relationships and meaningful bodies of work, businesses and movements. It?s about becoming a creator, a leader, a mentor, a giver, a doer. It?s about telling a story with your life that you?d want to read and share.?

I love it, and I think it meshes well with my vision for Awesome People, the site I launched (and abandoned) last year. I have grand plans for Awesome People, and think Jonathan?s Good Life Project is a good complement to my own own project.

Meanwhile, let?s look at some financial stories from elsewhere around the web:

As I?ve mentioned in passing, I like the idea of owning rental property. But that?s as far as it goes. Liking an idea and liking the implementation of the idea are two different things, and I?m smart enough to know that in this case, I?d hate owning rentals. Still, it?s fun to live life through others? eyes. In this case, I like this recent article from Phil at PT Money about how his first rental property isn?t really a great investment.

Next, Jim at Bargaineering recently shared some stats about median net worth by age. While there?s nothing really useful you can do with this info (and while net worth is an imperfect measure of wealth), these numbers are still fun to look at. (For me, at least.)

A lot of Get Rich Slowly readers hate the ?do what you love and the money will follow? mantra. If you?re in that crowd, check out a recent guest post from Patty Azzarello at Free Money Finance. She argues that ?do what you love? is bad advice. Me? I don?t think it?s bad advice; I just don?t think it?s universal advice. You really should do what you love, if you can. There?s no better way to make a living. But not everyone can ? or should ? pursue their passions. You need to know what?s best for you.

Finally, Thorin Klosowski at Lifehacker has put together a great little guide about how to avoid impulse purchases in the digital age. If you tend to spend too much on-line, check this out. My top suggestions? Avoid the sites that cause you problems, and make use of the 30-day rule.

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