Free Money Finance March Madness, Round 2, Posts 33-40

We're continuing with the second round of Free Money Finance March Madness (if you wonder what's going on in these posts, see my article announcing March Madness and/or click on my March Madness category link and scroll down to read all the posts involved in this subject.) I've listed each "game" (one post versus another) in segments along with the wording provided by the author when the post was submitted. Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two as commenters have the chance to win a free book. Here we go:

GAME 17

• Ten Low Cost Ways to Reduce Money Stress - Money can be stressful; don't let it rule your thoughts. When you're overwhelmed with money issues turn to this list and your troubles will melt away.

VERSUS

• LBYM Tip: DIY Repairs - This post is a sleeper that might surprise a few people.  As someone with limited skills in the DIY arena, I share my experience of saving money by tackling an appliance repair with the help of an online community and the Internet.  As the story unfolds, you will find yourself with the confidence to try and tackle your own DIY repairs and save yourself some money in the process.

GAME 18

• The High Cost of Waiting To Buy A Home - This post breaks out time as a control variable in home purchase.  It shows how buying as soon as you are ready puts hundreds of thousands of dollars in your pocket, and also contrasts with not buying at all.

VERSUS

• The Science (Fiction) of Coupons - This is my most controversial article ever. Coupons might look like a great deal, but they're really not worth the trouble for most people. I received a lot of heat from coupon fans, but I stand by my philosophy that coupons are a waste of time.

GAME 19

• Introducing the 401(kid) - Teach your kids the benefits of saving for the future by providing a parental match.

VERSUS

• It Is Amazing What Some People Will Insure While Ignoring Their Most Important Asset - This post brings to light the insignificant things people will insure while completely ignoring some of the more important things in their life. Hopefully it makes people stop and think before dropping a few hundred dollars to protect their electronic gadgets. Too many people are concerned with living in the short-term frame of mind that long-term issues are usually ignored.

GAME 20

• Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar - I like this one because it's a perfect example of how easy it is to use everyday occurrences to teach kids about money. And guess what? It works!

VERSUS

• What the Heck is Beta? - Many of us flip through our mutual fund and investment prospectus' and see this mystical number called beta.  What the heck does it mean?  How can I use beta to make smart investment decisions?  This post also highlights important shortcomings and caveats about using beta.  Often, blog posts will discuss positives without negatives.  Don't fall prey, hear both sides of the debate.

Comments

[Dan Melson]

My choices:
18: The High Cost of Waiting To Buy A Home
19: It Is Amazing What Some People Will Insure While Ignoring Their Most Important Asset
20: Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar

[fivecentnickel.com]

17 - Ten Low Cost Ways to Reduce Money Stress
18 - The High Cost of Waiting To Buy A Home
19 - Introducing the 401(kid)
20 - Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar

[FMF]

I just received this from Nick at Punny.org:

FMF,

I just tried posting my picks for Games 17-20, but I received the following error:

An error occurred...
You are not allowed to post comments.

Please correct the error in the form below, then press Post to post your comment.

I tried multiple times to no avail. If it matters, I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.2, the same release on the same computer I used to vote last week.

Please accept my votes by e-mail for this round:

17. LBYM Tip: DIY Repairs
18. The Science (Fiction) of Coupons
19. Introducing the 401(kid)
20. What the Heck is Beta?

[Super Saver]

17, DIY
18. Coupons
19. Insure
20. Beta

[jim]

Ten Low Cost
Science of Coupons
Introducting the 401kid
Teaching Kids

[Ben]

17 - 10 Low Cost Ways
18 - Science Fiction of Coupons
19 - Amazing What People Ignore
20 - Teaching Value of Dollar

I think Nick's vote should be disallowed because it was a proxy vote, I didn't see anything in the rules about proxy voting :) Now if he would have picked "Ten Low Cost Ways to Reduce Money Stress" it would be a different story.

[My New Choice]

There's nothing wrong with that proxy vote, particularly since he voted for my DIY post. :)

17: LBYM Tip: DIY Repairs (if Ben can vote for himself, so can I :)
18: The Science (Fiction) of Coupons
19: Introducing the 401(kid)
20: Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar

[FMF]

Yes, you can vote for yourself. ;-)

[FMF]

Voting is now closed for this round.

[Ben]

Hmmm, what happens for a tie?

[FMF]

If there's a tie, here's what happens:

1. If I have a strong preference for one piece or the other, I cast the deciding vote.

2. If I have no preference, I flip a coin. The post at the top of the bracket is heads, the other is tails.