A steady stream of correspondents have written to this column in the past six months. This week, since you will be enjoying the start of a break when you read this, we?ll take a look at just a few readers? letters and let you enjoy the holiday season without my adding guilt to your festive, digestive activities.

In every case, those who wrote asked for anonymity. I suspect this has something to do with the writers not wanting to let their friends know that they are getting rich quickly. If you want to write, newspaper policy requires that you tell me who you are, but your secrets are safe with me. I hardly ever leave the house.

The first letter came from a country nearby (in the broadest possible sense of the word ?near?):

August 6, 2005: ?My husband and I have been married for 46 years this month and instead of keeping a piece of paper showing where we have spent our money, I have kept a scribbler with one page per month, showing where we aim to spend our money for the following month. This is our budget book.

?First I fill in the figures I know will be paid out monthly, beginning with money for our church and other charity; then car/house insurance, utilities, etc. By looking back over the years, I have a good idea what it might cost for any given month for these expenses (here in Canada it is heat, light, water, phone, cable TV/Internet; when we lived in Bermuda we had pretty much the same expenses).

?I fill in automatic withdrawals with the figures I know and make an educated guess at those that fluctuate. I actually budget for groceries and shop to keep within that figure; I add expenses that pertain to the current month I am working with, allowing for Christmas gifts, birthday and wedding gifts, yearly expenses, etc.

?We use our credit card for most purchases (so we can get air miles to travel to visit friends in Bermuda) so I put down a figure of what it might cost for that month - always paying off the full balance monthly; sometimes the credit card payment has to be adjusted as more purchases are made than anticipated. Each month includes a deposit to a savings account, or a similar account.

?My final figure is for miscellaneous, to cover unforeseen expenses or just extras for which we might need to use our debit card. At the bottom of the page I have a list of expected income and I always make sure the ?expense column? is less than the ?income column? and there is a balance to forward to the following month. If we spend more than expected on some things, I am forced to cut back on grocery shopping or miscellaneous items so we don?t fall into the trap of having expenses higher than income.?

October 23: ?I look forward to reading every Saturday. What I would like to talk about is the September 10 column about pensions. I am really surprised that none of the foreign workers have spoken out against the Government about not being able to get any benefit out of the government pension. I?m sure that $1,317.68 ($25.34 times 52 weeks a year), added to some people?s balance sheets, would make them have a better weekend.

?My own balance sheet looks pretty good, but when I look at taking on a mortgage, it ruins my weekend. Could you write your columns daily, so that it won?t take me as long to get rich??

November 27: ?I?ve tuned into your ?On The Money? articles. As I am often off the Island, I am reading them online ... great motivators. I am jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak, and will be able to look back in a year and see meaningful results!

?I am hoping to turn our kids on to the programme ? it sure makes sense. Savings 101 ... what a concept!?

December 17: ?I was inspired to e-mail you after reading your column in The Royal Gazette. Exactly the method you described in previous articles of ?getting rich slowly? has made all the difference in my life.

?Twenty years ago, I realised with some alarm that retirement was looming and I was spending all my salary ? and didn?t know what on! One of my daughters (who has always had an old head on young shoulders) suggested I create categories that applied to my spending and write down everything, including postage stamps.

?I did this for two and a half years (grumbling occasionally at the time it took) but, somehow, I found I had a surplus I could save, which encouraged me only to purchase what I needed, not what I wanted. Instant gratification had flown out of the window!

?I now have a very happy, comfortable life and can travel and give the gift of education, which means a great deal to me.?

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And there we have it, or some of it. Living proof, ladies and germs, that the process of getting rich slowly works, and can work for you too. Best of all, it?s free. All you have to do is to read on a Saturday and give it a go.

Now a spot of news, and then you can get back to the turkey.

In this first phase of he column, I?ve been introducing you to concepts, trying to give you a sense of what?s needed, and to reassure you that, here in Bermuda, wealth can be ? and arguably should be ? accumulated.

A new year is upon us, and I want you to make 2006 the year you get serious about your money. You have one week left of your old life, and the new one starts January 1. I guarantee that, if you follow the programme next year, you will be wealthier at the end than you were at the beginning, and like the last reader above, you too will be on the way to greater personal comfort.

Meanwhile, merry merry and all the best to your house from my house, or at least my garage.