As time has passed here at Generation X Finance, I’ve written hundreds of pieces that cover a wide array of topics. Some of these articles are run-of-the-mill, others are pretty good, and a few have really stood the test of time as great pieces. Here, I’ll try to highlight some of the best writings from the past, and also highlight those that have generated a good deal of discussion. If you’re relatively new to the site, this is a great resource to help you become acquainted with my style and the other readers.

24 Signs That You Could be in Financial Trouble - This is a series of 24 separate posts that highlight key signs that you could be in financial trouble. Some are obvious, but many more are more subtle signs that you might want to begin addressing the problem. With 24 individual posts to go through, this is certainly a good place to start.

How to Become a Millionaire in 5 Steps - Originally created as part of a Problogger.net group writing project, this post rapidly gained traction to become one of the most visited pages on the site. It is somewhat inappropriately titled “Top 5 Ways to Become a Millionaire”, but the writing project called for top five lists. This is more appropriately the five steps to becoming a millionaire. Either way, if you follow the five steps, becoming a millionaire shouldn’t be that difficult. Although, a million dollars just 20 years from now won’t mean a whole lot.

A Visual History of the Stock Market from 1996 - 2007 - As the market began to retreat in October of 2007, I wanted to put together an article that highlighted the fact that these corrections are perfectly normal. The reason is because people quickly forget the 3-4 consecutive years of double-digit gains, but as soon as the market has a bad month, everyone begins losing their cool. The markets go up, and the markets go down. Looking at larger chunks of the past will help people realize things aren’t as bad as they seem.

10 Tips for Dealing With Car Salesmen so You Don’t Get Hosed - While I pick on the car salesmen in this post, this concept is true for almost any salesperson. It is their job to sell, and they will use a number of tactics to try and sell you something so that they can earn a living. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you don’t go into the car buying experience with some knowledge, you’re bound to become overpowered by their sales tactics and spend more than you probably needed to.

Don’t be Fooled Into Thinking an Oil Change Every 3,000 Miles is Necessary - How long has this recommendation been going around? You’ve heard it before, that you should change your oil every 3,000 miles or three months, whichever comes first. Well, if you own a vehicle that was built in 1990, that might be true. Technology has done wonderful things to the modern automobile and motor oil. You might want to think twice before getting an oil change based on what the mechanic wrote on your reminder sticker.

A Visual Guide to the Morningstar Mutual Fund Comparison Tool - It probably comes as no surprise that I love Morningstar. They have the best fund research tools around, and the information they provide is priceless. One of the best tools is the mutual fund comparison tool. With this tool, you can compare a number of funds head-to-head and find out which one is best for you. This visual guide provides the information you need to get started using this free tool.

Use the Right Benchmark to Accurately Measure Investment Performance - Unless your entire portfolio is invested in a single index fund, chances are you need to do a little work to determine how well your investments actually did relative to an appropriate benchmark. Using the assistance of Morningstar yet again, I provide some tips that can help you establish an accurate benchmark to track your investments against.